DIY Florist | If it's not what you're looking for, make it your own

For my birthday, the Fiancé bought me a beautiful bouquet of dried flowers from Pike Place Market, made up of thistles and other more "rustic" plants that might come to mind when you imagine autumn/winter blooms.

It was beautiful and I loved its texture; however, being the critic/perfectionist I am, I had two issues with it...

1) It had a lot of purple in it, and I really don't want to come off as snotty, but purple just isn't a shade I'm typically drawn toward. Of course I wasn't going to complain about the bouquet (it's really the thought that counts), it was just something that stood out to me.

2) This thing was a monstrosity. I don't own any vases large enough to contain it! I had to put it in a glass ice bucket that could pass as a vase.

This evening, I was determined to change both of these "issues," convert my dining room into a florist shop, and create the bouquet I was envisioning.

This is what the bouquet looked like before I started. Large and overwhelming, no?

(please excuse the low quality of this iPhone photo...)

First, I disassembled the entire thing, covering my dining room table in dried flower piles (and getting them all over the floor where my cat decided they either made fabulously unique toys, or tasty, crunchy treats). I separated the flower piles by type so they would be easier to identify and untangle when I needed specific pieces:

For the most part, it was relatively easy; however, the suckers above (at right) were really pokey... painfully pokey, in fact. Then, piece by piece, I reassembled the blooms into a much smaller, more manageable bouquet (which will last me all winter!):

After a long day at work, reimagining this bouquet was exactly the "nightcap project" I needed: Away from my computer and hands-on (even if I was poked and prodded along the way). I highly encourage you to try redesigning some blooms of your own!

*swoon*

Paige

Font Queen | I could stare at typefaces for hours...

Each Tuesday, I receive an email titled, "You Got Served," from the Served sites of the Behance Network. It covers art, design, fashion, photography, typography, and more from leading creative professionals around the globe.

One of the typefaces featured this week is called Queen by Face from Monterrey, Mexico. Not only do I think the lettering is fabulous, but I particularly like the quote with which they chose to display the font:

Yep, short but sweet post; but remember, I'm pacing myself. I don't want to get too far ahead and all overwhelmed again. Stay tuned and things will get better.

Thanks for visiting me again, everyone. You're all lovely.

*swoon*

Paige

Anyone home?

Hi, there... if you're even there...

I thought I'd drop in for a little visit...

Guess what? I miss Swoonworthy.

A lot.

Like a lot alot.

I miss styling,

and writing,

and the whole combination of it all that results in,

that's right,

blogging.

I've been thinking about it for a couple of months now. I've just been so busy and overwhelmed with my job (which I luckily love!) for so long now and it's now all bubbling to the surface. I knew I wouldn't be able to continue blogging with everything else I have going on...

...but I can't deny it any longer. I miss it so much.

I also have lots of exciting news to share. Well, maybe not "lots," but two things, technically.

First, today is officially the end of my first quarter-century on this Earth, and the start of my second. That's right, my 25th birthday. You know when you're little and people ask you if you feel older and you say yes even though you really don't? Well, to be 100% honest, I sort of do this time around. I feel like I've been an "adult" for awhile now, but just the words TWENTY. FIVE. sound so much older. But in a good way.

Second, the Boyfriend and I got engaged back in February and are planning our wedding for late August 2011! I guess I should get used to calling him the Fiancé on here, huh? Anyhow, we're paying for the wedding ourselves, so we've gotten creative and have a ton of DIY projects coming up... which is one of the reasons I'm writing:

I'd love to come back to Swoonworthy—maybe not everyday like I used to—but at least to drop by every once in awhile and share some of my wedding planning projects and to simply document the entire process for myself. My heart is fluttering just thinking about it all (blogging+DIY+wedding)!

Alright, here I go again. Blabbing on and on and on...

For the time being, I'll leave you with one of my favorite engagement photos (what am I talking about, they're all my favorites!) of the Fiancé and I taken back in late July by the lovely Jen Huang of Jen Huang Photography (who just so happens to be a college friend of mine!). She gets to fly all over the country and take amazing photos. Lucky duck.

*swoon*

Paige