Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Stress Busters

KB10109_w4Believe it or not, recent behavioral studies have uncovered quite possibly the simplest way to improve emotional health and wellbeing – flowers. Considering the fast-paced and highly-stressed lifestyle most of us lead today, this comes as a welcome discovery. Besides exercise and other personal lifestyle changes as stress relief, flowers can also be used as a way to feel better and more relaxed.

It has been found that being around flowers triggers uplifting emotions like happiness. Flowers are also able to enhance good feelings such as life satisfaction and also affect people’s behavior in a social situation.

As natural and healthy mood moderators, flowers have the power to:

  • Immediately alter moods
    When someone receives flowers, happiness is almost instantaneous, displaying excited smiles indicating extreme pleasure.
    • (This result occurs in all age groups.)
  • Affect moods in the long run
    People who receive flowers are more likely to be less anxious, depressed and restless. They experience heightened enjoyment and are more satisfied with their lives than those who have not received flowers.
    • (Think of seniors in retirement homes.)
  • Create intimate bonds with others
    Being around flowers makes people more sociable and leads to increased contact with others, especially friends and family.
    • (The “Valentine” Effect.)
  • Brighten up spaces and create a sharing atmosphere
    Most people position their floral arrangements in highly visible places such as the living and dining rooms, and in hallways and entrance halls. In other words, the flowers are placed in areas where visitors are welcomed.
    • (An instant “I value you” message!)

There's no two ways about it – with such a compelling argument, there's no reason why we should let stress get the better of us. Especially in the present day environment, anything that helps us feel better is most welcomed! Surround yourself and your loved ones with flowers, and see the difference for yourself.

Friday, April 3, 2009

It’s Prom Season!

We are busy preparing an assortment of corsages and boutonnieres for the multiple proms in our area.  We feature a range of wristlet options for corsages… freshwater pearl, crystal, shimmery slap bracelets, decorative wire and traditional elastic.  We also carry several accent choices for corsages and boutonnieres… crystal butterfly clips, crystal and pearl accents strands, bouillon wire in an assortment of colors and styles, crystal flowers and other decorative additions.  Stop by to see our full selection and to place your order!

CIMG1704 CIMG1633 CIMG1640 CIMG1642 CIMG1696CIMG1684  CIMG1693CIMG1686

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Valentine's Day

Can you believe Valentine's Day is right around the corner?  We have been busy getting the shop ready.  If you have not made plans yet, it might be a good idea to start thinking about what you want to do.  February is right around the corner.

To get you in the mood, here are some gorgeous flower arrangements from Better Homes and Gardens.  These are just a few, go to their website for more ideas and inspiration.

tulips better homes and gardens box better homes and gardens bouquet better homes and gardens

 

Also, click here to see some of our posts from last year.

Monday, January 26, 2009

Exciting News

We had some wonderful press coverage at the end of the 2008.  We are proud to announce our selection as Readers' Choice Best of Atlanta Florist for 2008 in Atlanta Magazine. This honor means so much to us since it is a reflection of our level of customer satisfaction in the community. Thank you to all of our wonderful customers who voted for us!

One of our weddings has also been featured in the Knot Magazine Atlanta Spring 2009 edition.  Click here to see the online version.  We are thrilled to see the flower pictures - taken by the very talented Scott Chester of W. Scott Chester Photography - that they chose to feature. 

Thursday, January 8, 2009

It’s a New Year!

All of us at KaBloom (Marianne, Linda, Don, Michele, Laura, Tim and Cooper (our newly initiated delivery driver) rang in the New Year with much excitement and anticipation. We were wondering how the economic meltdown in the last part of 2008 would affect the business and we’re happy to report that the holiday season from November to December was good to us. We had such beautiful Christmas trees and wreaths on display at the shop and received many oohs and aahs from customers shopping or just looking.  Thank you, Don!

 

And now all the left-over ornaments and adornments are an incredible 50% off! That also applies to all other holiday items – and fall items (still some left!) are at an all-time-low of 60%.

Clearance

 

We have to clear out all these items in preparation for the florist’s busiest day of the year – Valentine’s Day! New vases, new plush, new designs are waiting in the wings to go on display, but we need the room. Take advantage of our sales!!!

Heart-shaped rose photo is courtesy of Jerry Downs

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wishing you have a wonderful day with your family and friends.

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Fall Weddings

With Thanksgiving tomorrow, I guess it is time to post some fall wedding ideas!  Check out these beautiful fall inspired flowers.  I love the idea of using natural materials.  The bark covered vases are gorgeous.  The boutonniere with the kumquats and eucalyptus pods are super cute too.

bark

purple 

boutonniere

center apples 

calla

centerpiece 

Pictures from brides.com and The Knot; click on each picture to get more details.

Monday, November 24, 2008

Fall Vase Hack

Martha Stewart brings us a simple way to create a fall look with some of the small vessels you have on hand.  Wrap a dried corn husk around a small vase and then, tie some ribbon around the bottom so it holds.  You will have yourself a beautiful vase to put some fall colored flowers in for Thanksgiving in no time. 

corn husk votives

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Flower Pumpkins

So cute! I love this idea of using pumpkins and mums for these arrangements.  What a great decorating idea for Thanksgiving.  You could even do this with the kids. 

pumpkins

Click here for details from Better Homes and Gardens.

Friday, November 7, 2008

Thanksgiving Table Settings

Come on over to the shop today or tomorrow to see some table setting examples at our Holiday Open House!  We will have demonstrations on using ribbon for decorations, creating your own centerpieces for the holiday table, decorating Christmas trees, and more!  We hope you will stop by for the party!

In the meantime, here is some inspiration for your Thanksgiving Table - just a few short weeks away.

thanksgiving-table-settings-de floral-centerpiece-thanksgiving-cp1106-de
 
dessert-table-ENTERT1106-de thanksgiving-table-7-de

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Holiday Open House

Wow!  I can't believe Thanksgiving is just a few weeks away.  To prepare for the holidays we are hosting a Holiday Open House.  Check out the details below.

Friday, November 7th, 12 pm to 8 pm

Saturday, November 8th, 9 am to 5 pm

We will have the store decorated with holiday decor and tablescapes.  We will give you some decoration and DIY tips with demonstrations.  You will get a chance to meet our designers.  And we will have some noshes & nibbles and wine & drinks to share with you, as well as door prizes!  Please stop by.

Friday, September 19, 2008

Sandy Springs Festival

Be sure to check out the Sandy Springs Festival this weekend! Here are the details for the event:KaBloom Sandy Springs Festival

Hours - Saturday: 9:00 am to 7:00pm and Sunday: 11:00am to 5:00 pm

Where - Right near CityWalk

What - community fun! Don't miss the pet parade at 11:00 am on Saturday. And you can register early tomorrow morning for the Doug Kessler Lightning 10k.

Click here for more information.

[The picture on the right is from last year's festival.]

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

COLOURLovers - Wedding Palette Possiblities

I spent sometime this morning playing with the COLOURLovers website.  Wow.  If you like experimenting with color, you can spend a good deal of time on this website.  I think it would be really helpful for someone planning a wedding (along with decorating, floral design, you name it).  Say you are struggling with which colors to use for your wedding.  With this website, you can take a favorite painting, photograph, or whatever; throw it into the COLOURLovers picture palette inspiration tool; and ta-da! - the colors that were used in the picture pop up on the screen.  From there, you can create a inspired color palette for your wedding. 

One of my favorite paintings is the Girl in the Window by Dalí.  So, I took a weblink for that painting and came up with this palette.

girl in the windo dali colour lovers palette

Check out KenzieKate's guest post on Design*Sponge for a more detailed description of how to use this website.

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Air Plants!

The designers are having so much fun with air plants these days! Also known as Tillandsia, air plants are so easy to care for and add a bit of spunk to an arrangement.  Air plants do not have roots, do not require soil, and mainly thrive on the dust and moisture in the air, which means they are super easy for those missing a green thumb.  There are so many ways to use these plants: add them to an arrangement, use them on a piece of drift wood, or place them on top of some beautiful river rocks - that is just the start, the possibilities are endless.

To round out the summer, try getting an air plant and putting it into one of the shells you found this summer at the beach.  Here are the instructions for how-to do it!

airplant in shell 

[via Martha Stewart]

For more information on air plants, click here and here.

Thursday, August 7, 2008

College Living

It is that time of the year.  The car gets packed to the gills and you head out to start a new year.  College students all over the U.S. will be decorating their dorms and college apartments over the next few weeks, if they haven't already.  The first year is always the most exciting and overwhelming.  What to bring?  There is tons of advice out there on this.  I remember the monster list I had with great suggestions on items that I needed for the year.  Here are a few lists that I found online: Off-to-College Checklist, Bed Bath and Beyond, and the Container Store.  The Container Store also has some tips for college living on their main dorm room page. And here are some more suggestions to keep organized and manage in a small spaceNational Geographic also lists some resources for taking your dorm room green. Remember to check with your school to find out what is allowed in your dorm room and don't forget to plan with your roommate!

My one suggestion would be to add some live plants.  They bring life to the room and offer an inexpensive option for decor.  Try African Violets, succulents, or a money tree for easy to care for options.  Lucky Bamboo or wheat grass are two other ideas that would work too!  Go to your local florist and see what is available that you like. 

african violet bamboo 2

[photos via pusgums and cyntheticflava]

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Wedding Featured

robin and jon

One late night last week, I received word that some of our wedding photos were going to be featured on Elizabeth Anne Designs blog.  When I opened up the link, I was blown away with the super nice comments and photo selection for the post.  Today, I finally had a chance to poke around the blog some more and let me say that I am amazed by all the gorgeous weddings and decoration ideas posted on their site.  Be sure to check out their blog regularly for wedding inspiration!  We are SO honored that they posted some of the photographs from our wedding.  Check out the feature on their blog for some pictures by the very talented W. Scott Chester.  Thank you Elizabeth and Anne and thanks to Cristen of W. Scott Chester photography for forwarding along our photos. Also, you can see some of the floral arrangements created by KaBloom of Sandy Springs!  Thanks Don, Linda, Michelle, and Tim for all your work that day! 

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Some Pieces from Around the Web

Check out the links below for some of the items that I have bookmarked over the past few months. 

Flower Arrangements

Vases

Miscellaneous

 

If you take a flower in your hand and really look at it, it is your world for the moment.

Georgia O'Keefe

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Internet Blues

Sorry Folks for the lack of posting here. I have had intermittent Internet access. But I am back online here and will really get back to the regularly scheduled program. Today is a catch-up day, and the rest of the week we will be on a family vacation. So, we will be back next week! In honor of the Internet Blues - here is a blue arrangement using ranunculus and muscari from Martha Stewart. Click here for instructions on how to put it together.

ranunculus and muscari

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Vases by Alyssa Ettinger

Alyssa Ettinger has some really nice white porcelain vases for sale in her etsy shop. I have a soft spot for old milk jug style jugs - so I just loves these! (Right: Milk Collection, $30; Left: Set of Three, NYC Theme, $110)

dairy bottles nyc antique bottles

I also love the detail here for the knitware vase (Flat Mod Cable, $150).

cable knit vases

Found via PoppyTalk and click here for more designs.

Friday, July 18, 2008

Upside Down Callas

Check out this gorgeous arrangement from Hotel Murano. I love the calla lilies hanging down inside the vase - some good floral engineering to accomplish that one!

hotel murano toby weiss

Hotel Murano is located in Tacoma, Washington and is inspired by glass art.  For more photos of the hotel, click here.  [Found via Apartment Therapy and photo by Toby Weiss of the B.E.L.T blog.]