My handmade pussy-willow front door Christmas wreath has just been revamped. I didn’t want to take it down even though I made it for Christmas so I decided to revamp it and make it into a ‘hurry up spring’ wreath. I removed the fairy lights to start with, and then the red velvet ribbon that was holding it to the door frame. The little fluffy white blossoms (not sure I can get away with saying ‘pussies’ here?!) still look fabulous after a few months although some are starting to brown but I quite like them that way. I ‘enhanced’ the wreath with the left over berry buds from my birthday flower arrangement and also added a lovely brown velvet ribbon to replace the red one. I am rather pleased with it, it looks quite striking but what do you think? I have decided to just keep adding to it once things die off – so instead of replacing or removing altogether, I will just add more to it over the coming months and see what transpires. I shall keep you informed on how it looks if you like. For further details on how it was made, see below.

Here is the full view of it:

To see what it looked like for christmas, click here (you will need to scroll down to the bottom of that post).

PS. I just added the direct ‘my heart wanders’ link to the sidebar here for you so you can easily check up on any updates you may have missed on the project. No deadlines have yet been set so don’t panic! But I will be setting one very soon. But before then we will check out some more inspiration for the project. And if I can remember how to do this sidebar thing I might add this little wreath too so you can click on it through the coming months and see how it changes. Ooh I’m having so much fun here in the (blog)house!

How to:

I am not the most patient of creators so you can be assured that whatever I make is super easy and quick. First I had a lightshade metal frame lying around so I cut out the middle bits. Then I cut the hard bottom stems of each pussy willow branch and bunched a few together (for time saving only) and curled them around the frame, securing them in two places with thin copper wire. I did this until I was satisfied with the shape and look of the wreath. Then I simply tied little leftover black and white ribbon in bows around some individual branches. I added little berry-like buds to the wreath and hung it up on the door with a brown velvet ribbon. It took approximately an hour to make in total.

Allow me to set a scene for you: You are on a tight deadline and you are driving like a mad-woman picking up props from shops all over the city (one word: stress). You need to source things like moss, twigs, and branches and you are 3 hours away from the closest forest. Strange props? I’ve had stranger. You find yourself in the residential back streets of one of the plushest suburbs of Sydney as you are told there is a rather unique floral studio somewhere close by. You spot the name on a humble corner dwelling and screeching to a halt you park, lock and run in within your 5 second time frame. You open the door and as you close it behind you, your whole world changes. Yes, think Narnia: magic lingers in this very room.

Ducking and weaving in between exquisite spotted moss branches dangling from the ceiling like natural forest-found chandeliers, you don’t know where to look – up, down, around, behind… it is as though a forest grew right up out of the studio floor, you half expect to hear a fluttering fantail pop out and sing you a song. Each piece of flora in this studio has been handpicked by one incredible artist – Tracey Deep…

Images from Warick Orme Photography

Tracey is an aptly famed floral sculptor from Sydney, Australia. Her company, Floral Sculptures is based in Woollhara and her clients range from crazy people like me, to stars like Nicole Kidman and Russell Crowe. She makes magnificent sculptures from seemingly ordinary pieces of twigs, branches, trunks, grass, moss… if you come across a tossed bit of dead bark chances are Tracey has made something you never dreamed from such a piece. When I first spotted her work it was at a joint exhibition with photographer Anson Smart, and just recently she launched another exhibition with Warick Orme . The exhibtion, entitled TRIBE was opened by the very talented Kylie Kwong.

In this exhibition, Tracey transforms industrial raw materials into harmonious works and in affect, transcends all boundaries. Her interwoven pieces reflect nature’s own beauty, turning harsh weathered objects into flowing translucent forms. As the press release perfectly describes, the pieces weave and flow like the patterns in nature -always changing.

Inspired by the fragile innocence of a seed, Tracey appreciates its raw beauty, using this fresh form to create a rare vision.

“My works reflect a poetic play of light and shade, luscious textures and sensual forms, inspired by the essence of nature.” – Tracey Deep

It is Tracey who inspired and in essence taught me to look at nature with a more imaginative eye, to be bolder with my floral choices when I style, and now this has become one of my trademarks – it is not unusual for my clients to see me drag an unusual branch from out of their very own backyard and place it inside their home. My boldest moment was when I carefully wrapped a 2 metre piece of exquisite lichen and moss covered fallen branch from my friend’s farm property in Eastern France and dragged it on the 4 hour train journey back to Paris for a home I was in the midst of styling. In the back of my mind I did wonder if Tracey might be just a little proud of me.

For more information on Tracey’s work or to place an order email her at floralsculptures@bigpond.com

P.S. in the voice of those commercials ‘don’t try this at home’, all branches I collect are strictly on my own or friend’s private properties which I have had permission to collect from, it is not advised to go rummaging through any national parks or wildlife sanctuaries as it disrupts the natural flooring, not to mention it is illegal. But by all means have a look on the grounds of your own backyard, you’ll be pleasantly surprised what beauty lurks there!

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Tracey’s studio can now be found at Studio GO1/59 Great Buckingham St, Redfern.2016

While roaming the blogosphere the other day, I stumbled upon Felicity’s floral photographs at All Things Bright and Beautiful. Ethereal yet intense is how I would describe her work so far. I was surprised to learn that she is just a beginner, I think she has a hidden talent don’t you? She is inspired by photographers Petrina Tinslay and Lisa Cohen and is originally from Victoria in Australia. She’s a bit of a shy one as that is about all I could find out about her! But I’d like to encourage her with her camera as I’d love to see more work from her and see how she develops. So, please give a round of ’emerging talent’ applause for Felicity, and let’s hope we see more of her photographs in the future. I shall leave you with this beauty, and be sure to visit her blog here to see some more…

Ronel Jordaan is a a textile designer from Gauteng in South Africa. Inspired by nature, she gives “free reign to her imagination” using felt as a preferred medium and sometimes combining it with other natural fibres like cotton and silk. Ronel has trained women in the art of felting and these women now produce the designs with her and have also begun creating their own designs.

Stunning work Ronel. My faves are the rock cushions. For more visit her
website here…

I know it’s a little early, but I have something special for you this Christmas. Get your woollens on and wrap your mittens around a bowl of chocolat chaud. Then close your eyes and open them with the understanding you are about to be whisked away to a magical land. Enter…

(Click here to read more…)