Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Dying Silk Flowers

I am so honored to be 1 of 5 party planners to display a tablescape at this weekend' s Baby & Tween Expo at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

I am going to display my Mary Poppins Tea Party with a few modifications :)

One of them will be carousel horse balloons on PVC pipes wrapped in ribbon with a floral ball as a finial. Since it is such a small ball (4"), I wanted flowers that would lay flat. I went to WalMart and got 4 bunches of flowers for $12. My primary colors for the party are red and pink so the white and yellow daisies were not doing anything for me. I decided to dye them to match the decor. I have never done this before so I was taking a risk. First, I soaked the flowers in water and added boiling water to the powdered dye. I used Rit Dye in Rose Pink.

I used a big container with a big bottom :)

The dye bath was only about 1" deep. I only left them in for a few minutes and then dried them on paper towels.



Since the centers started out yellow, they turned a reddish orange. Close enough for me to go with my red and pink theme.



Here is the before and after. I really like the result! Can't wait to show you lots of pictures of the entire presentaion. I will be setting up on Friday so stay tuned!






15 comments:

Polka Dot Moon said...

You amaze me! The flowers are beautiful :)

DesignDazzle.blogspot.com said...

clever. luv it!
i'm waiting...not so patiently...for pics....for your booth! I would love to go to the hollywood bowl with you. It's not in the budget at this time. If i was still in so cal, it would be an absolute yes. Thanks for asking!

Joanne Kennedy said...

You are so creative! I bet you will have the best set up by far. Can't wait to see it all put together.

If you EVER need help with a party I would LOVE to help you. I would be thrilled to see you action...my price is good too. Can't beat it...free. LOL

Hugs,
Joanne

Tristan Robin said...

the white house needs you!

you have such a vivid imagination and eye for detail, I hope you become fabulously famous and rich and do parties for others who are fabulously rich and famous!

dana said...

I know you must be going crazy with all of the details involved in such a great event. I've never dyed silks before (except to use the Design Master spray and paint on the color), but I've used RIT on lots of fabric stuff. The flowers turned out great!! ANOTHER great use for RIT dye! I'm certainly looking forward to seeing photos of your display. I know it will be great. L, Dana

PS My DIL took my little gr.girl down to the OZ exhibit we are having here in KC until the 26. She was decked out in her Dorothy outfit. They took photos of her on the yellow brick road--to use for her b.day party invites (Wiz of OZ theme). I thought you would enjoy that! :)

Chris @ Celebrations At Home said...

Great Tip! Can't wait to see pics from the event!

Amy @ Living Locurto said...

I can't wait to see your party display!!

Kendall said...

So creative! They turned out great!

Anonymous said...

i can wait to see the pictures from the show ! Lovely flowers- Dina

Valarie said...

I just stumbled across your blog from Tristan at Enchanted Revelry. I love your flowers, and can't wait to see the finished carousel horse.d I am looking forward to looking through your old posts.

Daisy said...

beautifully done you deserve a pat on your back. the colors look lovely.

amy * stem * said...

Can't wait to see it!

amy & lisa said...

Awesome idea!! I can hardly wait to see the rest of the pictures!! :)

Unknown said...

Wow......Fantastic results on the daises, they look amazing...clever thing you!
I can't wait to see all the event photos you are going to post!
Have fun!

philippines flower said...

Oh' that flower was so cool! This is the first time I saw like that I really like it it so pretty amazing!

toni