happy thanksgiving!!!

a bouquet i created out of wheat, wrapped in chocolate lace...shot by the lovely stephanie williams...

hope your day is full of yummy food, warm moments and lots of thankfulness for the blessings we have been given!!!

1st birthday party for baby ellie

i first met sarah k. chen and her adorable daughter ellie at a picnic last july...baby ellie was just the cutest thing and i could not look at her without wanting to nibble on her chunky little arms! so when sarah asked me if i would design the florals for ellie's 1st birthday i HAD to jump on board!

linda ly was the mastermind behind the girly, anthropologie inspired day and i have to say, the details she and sarah crafted BLEW.ME.AWAY!!! the look was soft, delicate and whimsical, with a dreamy color palette of blush pinks, coral, yellow and gray, accented by seafoam greens...so let's get to the details!

i was obsessed with this custom made dessert backdrop, designed by linda to look like the cover of an anthropologie catalog...

melody from sweet and saucy came up with the most dainty, perfect cake ever!

a beverage station was set up with pink lemonade, gray + white striped straws and vintage bottles filled with coral charm peonies and pink ranunculas...i LOVE that floral sheet hanging in the background! another killer touch!

upon entry, guests were allowed to take a hand-made felt flower clip and wear it as a hair adornment or a boutonniere! ps. that vessel on the right was a vintage find...i loved the floral/bird pattern on it and knew i had to use it for this party!

some cute little party goers...of course wearing hand-crafted party hats, designed by linda and sarah!

i mostly stuck to clear glass and white milkglass for the vases but i was able to sneak in some of my seafoam green milkglass as well and it added a great pop of color! the girls accented those vases with some whimsical "e" for ellie badges...

gathered in the middle of each table was a series of white milkglass, all filled with coral charm peonies, gray dusty miller, pink + cream parrot tulips and yellow billy balls...the look was ruffly and lush! we accented the setup with a pink rose soapdish and a vintage toiletry bottle...

colorful pendants always set a festive mood!

there was even a bunny petting station for the little ones!

and can we PLEASE take a moment here?!?! this is hands down one of the most creative invites i have ever seen! each guest received a cardboard box filled with pink filler and another cardboard box tied with twine and holding the invite...each box was stamped with the ellie chen "anthropologie" logo...

and here it is! the invite was a hand bound mini booklet, made to look like an "anthro" catalog...and everything, down to the layout, the font type, where the font was placed...everything! all of it looked exactly like the real thing!

all the photos inside were of ellie, of course, and were taken by the hostess, sarah k chen...

and here is the hot mama herself with the birthday girl of the hour!!!

happy birthday miss ellie!!! can't wait to see where the road of life takes you!!!

special thanks to linda ly for crafting, creating and designing one of the cutest parties i have ever been a part of! to melody for ALWAYS coming through with the most amazing cakes and desserts...and to sarah k chen and her fab photog friends (ace, crystal and ming) for the awesome pictures!!!

JL DESIGNS featured on snippet + ink

i adore the snippet + ink blog...like truly ADORE...kathryn consistently creates some of the most beautiful and inspiring design boards around...and when you are lucky enough as a vendor to have some of your work featured by her...well..it's kind of a big deal :)

here are a couple boards my work has been seen in lately:

board #421 - cotton candy

the yellow ranuncula cake was from a collaboration i did with utterly engaged, sweet and saucy and stephanie williams...

board #435 - autumn yellow

the assorted yellow ribbons were ones i used on a photo shoot with utterly engaged and stephanie williams...

board #419 confetti and cake

the bouquets were ones i created for a wedding over the summer and they were shot by mary jane photography...

also, kathryn featured a "french farmhouse" tablescape i did with jasmine star, wildflower linens and melody from sweet and saucy...

thanks kathryn for all your support lately!!! it is ALWAYS exciting to see my work grace your blog pages! xoxo

sneak peak of photo shoot with stephanie williams

i have worked with stephanie williams numerous times on various photo shoots...and her work consistently BLOWS ME AWAY...but i have never been behind her lense...until now!

last week we had a photo shoot and she took new head shots for me (which i have been desperately needing)...below is a tiny sneak peak of whats to come...

and YES, that coral charm peony is real ;)

thanks steph! can't wait to see the rest! xoxo

JL DESIGNS featured in latest edition of southern weddings magazine!

i am SUPER excited to announce that 5 of my bouquets are being featured in the 2010 annual issue of southern weddings magazine! this is the second year in a row my work has been featured by them and i am so honored that my florals are gracing their pages!

a special thank you to lara and the rest of the southern weddings team! and CONGRATS on the beautiful new mag! can't wait to see the full thing when it hits news stands!

i also have to give it up for my girl, stephanie williams, who took the amazing photos of my work and who i wish i could hire as my full time LIFE photographer - for business AND personal! :)

middle row (1st four shots): white veronice bouquet, pomander ball of yellow mums, peach garden rose bouquet, white balsa wood flower and dusty miller bouquet

bottom row (2nd shot): peach ranunculas, scabiosa pods and blushing bride bouquet

thanks ladies!!!! xoxo, c

JL DESIGNS featured on hostess with the mostess!!!

hostess with the mostess featured our "anthropologie style, owl baby shower"!!!

this is a big deal! this blog inspires readers daily to get their creative on and become a home entertainer! it's so cool to inspire people in ways other than weddings! click here to read the feature...

thanks to jen over at HWTM for the awesome feature!!! we are blushing over here :)

tastemaker's dinner for tres LA

every year, the upscale catering company, tres LA, hosts a "tastemaker's dinner" for some of LA's best and brightest wedding and event professionals. it's basically a chance for them to stretch their creative muscles and showcase some of their finest food. at the same time, it's a chance for them to collaborate with other creative vendors...like me! ;)

this year they brought in the lovely kristin banta to design and coordinate the evening, which was held at boulevard 3 in hollywood. i did all of the florals and decor elements, fete accompliprovided the KILLER mirrored tables and white louis chairs, wildflower linens designed the ultra luxe faux suede runners, mimio papers created the gorgeous silver boxed menus andvictor sizemore captured the vibe of the event beautifully! what a dream team for me to work with!

when kristin told me what rentals and linens she had chosen, i knew this would be a perfect fit for all my "mod baroque" props and decor pieces...

mercury glass and white ceramic artichokes dotted the tablescape...

the white candlesticks were collected from various homegoods, z galleries and floral suppliers in my area...

and tall white ostrich plumes sprouted from silver trumpet vases...

we suspended 3 of my white ornate frames from the second story on back side of the room to give the illusion they were floating...

raspberry theme florals were arranged in small white containers and placed on top of the flat candlesticks for added drama...

kristin chose the layered silver and fuschia charger plates and collaborated with desiree at wildflower linens on the geometric, graphic runners and white pique napkins...

florals consisted of fuschia and raspberry roses, tulips, coxcomb and hanging amaranthus...we added white ostrich feathers to the taller pieces to coordinate with the tall white ostrich plumes in the center of the table...

mercury glass candlesticks and silver bulbed vases added a great reflection against the mirrored tabletops...

white finials added more texture and style to the overall look...

i LOVE how kristin alternated the white backed louis chairs with clear backed ones...genius! and can we talk about how amazing the mirrored tables are?!?! even if a client can't afford to use them for all the dinner tables, what about just using one for a desserts table, placecard table, etc? its all about strategic placement :)

the gorgeous silver boxed menus from mimio...

an overall room shot...

meanwhile, the cocktail hour was held outside in the courtyard...we just did simple little white vases holding all fuschia tulips or raspberry coxcomb...

i accented the fireplace mantle with a bunch of white empty frames and flickering candles...

as dusk approached, it made for quite the ambiance!

just a glimpse of the AMAZING food we devoured that night!

this was a surprise for all when two girls performed aerial arts by dangling from a huge metal cube! i admit, i shrieked with fear quite a few times...those girls be crazy!

what a night! thank you to all who played a part in making it so spectacular! how on earth will we top this next year?! ;)