Episode 714 - Life in Gloom
J shares an array of Halloween Projects and Crafts- in this Special Holiday Episode- dedicated to Halloween… and shows you fun ways to create a Life in Gloom… get it???! - Watch this Special Halloween Episode - “Life in Gloom” here- NOW!
This show is of special interest for fans of Halloween, as ways to include flowers in your festivities are presented. Included: a bouquet of black blooms, building a cemeterrarium, pumpkin couture, flowers bloom while cauldron bubbles, and dried flowers are given new life for the holiday.
We begin our Halloween Festivities with Faux Flowers- (AKA- Silk Flowers or Fake Flowers) - in an array of Black, Burgundy, Grey and Purple… this gives us a great opportunity to create a centerpiece- with lots of texture and contrast. I found this container at the Local Craft Store- and I filled it with Dry Flower Foam… it’s grey in color as well… and it’s more sturdy- and it doesn’t require me to glue the faux flowers in place… yet holds them securely… this means I can move flowers around- or use them for other projects in the future. I love the Cemetery or Gothic shapes cut out along the border of this metal container. Some people believe that arranging Faux Flowers is easier than Fresh Flowers- and I think that is true- because you can easily move stems - or lengthen them if you make too short of a cut. I also LOVE to use one of my Favorite Tools- the Knipex- for arranging Faux Stems- it cuts through the dense stems- just like butter… and it’s a titanium blade- so it stays sharp… you can get your very own Knipex- here- or check at your local DIY Home Store- to find your own… they are also called Hand Held Bolt Cutters… here’s a link to my Favorite Knipex Tool!
J shares how to make an All Black - Faux Flower- Centerpiece- that will be perfect to decorate your “Life in Gloom” Boo-fet… Watch this Special Halloween Episode of “Life in Gloom” here!
Next up- is one of my All-time Favorite Projects I’ve created on Life in Gloom- the Cemeteriarium - It’s a Fun take on a Terrarium - that features mosses- fresh and dried flowers and permanent stems! I found this little Black Greenhouse- again at the local craft store- and it looked like the perfect place for a terrarium… but I wanted to spook it up a bit… I found a collection of TINY Tombstones at the Local Craft store- and thus the idea for a Cemetery- and Terrarium cross over was born… I walk you through this project- step by step… first filled the base of the Gothic Greenhouse with Midnight Foam from Oasis Floral Products.. it’s a black fresh flower foam- that I soaked… so that I could add Fresh Flowers (it’s actually Nine Bark from the Garden- some dried flowers- fresh and preserved mosses- and some Artificial Black Branches… all of those combined turned my Terrarium into a miniature Cemetery- that was completed by the Tiny Tombstones… I love this project and I hope you enjoy it too…
J shares tips to Create a Cemeterarium- That’s a Monster Mash-up between a Terrarium and a Cemetery- in Miniature… You’ll love this fun project- in our “Life in Gloom” holiday Special- Watch it Here NOW!
Everyone Loves Black Flowers- or so it seems… I know there is a fascination from my days at the Flower Shop I owned with my family… every new employee wanted to paint a Rose Black- or would ask about Black Flowers- so the desire runs deep! As I noted in the first segment of this show- if you want true black flowers- it’s best to search the Faux Flower Aisle at the Local Craft Store or Independent Florist… at the same time- an Independent Florist is the ideal spot to inquire about other Black Toned Flowers… as stated- they are usually not ACTUALLY BLACK but a dark shade of Red, Burgundy or Purple… so in this segment we talk about “Black Calla Lilies” - actually a dark purple… “Black Roses” this one is color enhanced- by taking a Deep Red Rose and painting it black… there are also black flowers that you will discover- if you look in Garden or Seed Catalogs- like Hellebores, Tulips and Even Iris… I hope you enjoy looking for Black(ish) Flowers- for your “Life in Gloom” Projects…
This week’s Featured Flower is “BLACK” and J shares suggestions for Black Flowers- in both Faux and Fresh… Find out what Flowers come in the spooky Color Black- in this Halloween Episode- “Life in Gloom”… Watch NOW!
I think it’s fun to create Halloween Couture- and that means using some of the NEW Trendy Colors- that are making their way into “Life in Gloom” Decor… like Chartreuse Green, Purple and Orange… and even this past year- I saw Hot Pink and Electric Orange- combined for Festive Take on Halloween… for this next project- I paint Fresh Pumpkins- and adorn them with Micro Glitter- and then hollow out the pumpkin and fill it with Fresh Flower Foam- and then arrange coordinating Colorful Flowers inside… it’s a fun way to dress up a simple pumpkin- and make your color palette for your “Life in Gloom” Celebration…
Time for Some Halloween Couture- J shows how to paint a pumpkins- and also fill it with flowers- and accent with Micro Glitter- in this “Life in Gloom” Halloween Special… Watch it here NOW!
When Visiting the Local Craft store- I came across a wonderful Ceramic Cauldron… in both Small and Large Size… I opted for the Large Size… so that I could insert a small cylinder vase inside… this serves two wonderful purposes… one- I could create a fun arrangement featuring some of my Favorite Florigene Flowers- that come in Wonderful Shades of Blue and Purple… Moon Series Carnations- that are Deep Purple, Blue Applause Roses- in a wonderful shade of Blue Violet- and Blue Ocean Series Chrysanthemums- I accented it all with Viburnum Berries- from the Garden… and then hand-tied the bouquet to fit inside the cylinder… that left me room around the outside of the Cylinder Vase- to add warm water to the Cauldron… and then drop in some Dry Ice- for a spectacularly SPOOKY Effect… I love the effect Dry Ice can give at Halloween- and I’ve used it most of my life… I love adding the Dry Ice effect- to many different celebrations…
Flowers Bloom- and Cauldron Bubble… Whaaa????! - J loves to incorporate Dry Ice into his Halloween Decor- and this Cauldron filled with Purple Flowers- and Spooky Dry Ice- is just the ticket - Watch the complete HOW TO- in Episode 714- “Life in Gloom” - Here Now!
The Next Project is made with Dried Dahlia Blooms- that happened quite by accident- I had a lovely bouquet of small ball shaped dahlias- that I had on the dining table- and I had to leave for a trip- so I un-intentionally left them - and they ran out of water- and they dried perfectly… I love them- and I saved them for this fun “Life in Gloom” arrangement- that features Manzanita Branches- and the Dried Dahlias- and to make it even more spooky- I’m adding “GLUE WEBS”… that’s right- I share my trick for using two pieces of styrofoam - and bit of hot glue- to create webs- that look just like spider webs on this arrangement… Be sure to check out this project- I show you all the step by steps tips for creating Webs- on just about anything!
It wouldn’t be a “Life in Gloom” Special- without a Flower Crown- and J shares how to make A Halloween Themed - and Beautiful Flower Crown- that you can use to enhance your costume- or to decorate your Jack-o-lantern… Watch this Halloween Special of “Life in Bloom” Here NOW!
Finally- what would a “LIFE in GLOOM” Be without a Flower Crown- I make a Flower Crown from Start to finish- with my classic (and SUPER Easy) Techniques- that anyone can do… using the Couture Colors I chose for the Pumpkins… Chartreuse Green, Purple and Orange… Everyone loves a flower crown- and it’s a fun addition to many different costumes… and for this Segment we add it to our Pumpkin… another great way to add a flower crown to your “Life in Bloom”…
I hope you enjoy- this Halloween Special- the will help you create your Very Own “Life in Gloom”… filled with Boo-quets- and great decorations for a “Boo-fet”… remember- Flowers are powerful and they add so much to any celebration… Happy Halloween- I hope it’s “Life in Gloomy”… heheh!
Watch Episode 714- “Life in Gloom” - for all these Fun Halloween Project… at this Link NOW!