Learn and Grow with Me at Awesome Blossom!

I’ve always loved sharing what I know and love, and that is twice as true when it comes to welcoming people into the world of paper flowers. The creation of The Posey Box online tutorials nurtured a greater love of teaching within me. Guiding others through the basics and mechanics of paper flowers has only increased my passion for education.

That’s why I’m so excited to launch a new workshop series with Jessie Chui of Crafted to Bloom. We’ve named it Awesome Blossom! because our classes are all about the joy and fun of paper flowers. 

Awesome Blossom! consists of eight online LIVE workshops. We will start with an introductory workshop to teach the basics of paper flower techniques, both for beginners and more experienced paper florists. We’ll use that strong foundation to then move on to a new flower or foliage each month: eucalyptus, jasmine vine, hybrid tea rose, Japanese anemone, bomb peony, and stock. To finish the series, Jessie and I will show you how to beautifully arrange all of your creations together. 

The Story Behind the Blooms 

This all started with me wanting Jessie to teach everyone how to make her amazing bomb peony that she created earlier this year. It is such a show stopper and so beautiful to gaze upon. It could stand all by itself, but I knew that it would be spectacular in a floral arrangement. After much persuasion, I convinced Jessie to co-teach a workshop series that culminated in one beautiful arrangement or bouquet! 

We had many discussions on which flowers we both wanted to teach. Simple or complicated flowers? How many? In the end we chose what would look best with Jessie’s bomb peony, our original inspiration. We talked, Googled, and flipped through multiple floral books trying to settle on cohesive but unique looking flowers that would go beautifully together. 

Trying to find supporting florals that would stand up against a peony was so hard! We went through dozens and dozens of flowers, discarding ideas left and right before we settled on the chosen one. We wanted blooms that supported and made the peony look even more gorgeous, highlighting all the features that we love about that flashy flower. We also wanted our flowers to be able to stand alone, create unique lines, and tell stories in the arrangement. 

Our main goal was to take these chosen flowers and break down the complicated bits to be simple and easy for any student to learn, whether a beginner, intermediate, or advanced crafter. We wanted to guide our students step by step, flower by flower, so that they learned the skills behind crafting a flower rather than just copying one bloom. And we wanted to build up to something big, which meant teaching how to plan each step of the way. We would show students how to pick the paper and the colors, and even determine how long or short each of the stems should be to create stories within the final arrangement.

Most importantly, we wanted our workshop series to be fun, a way for our community to grow together and have an amazing, happy experience, no matter their skill level. Awesome Blossom! was born.

What You’ll Learn from Awesome Blossom!

Our workshop series will run from September 2021 to May 2022. Each month we’ll tackle something new, and each new flower or foliage will increase in complexity. Remember, we’re learning skills, then building on them every month.

September 2021: Basic Techniques

Both Jessie and I wanted to open the Awesome Blossom! workshop series with an overview of the different techniques needed in the later classes, plus discuss how we chose the paper weight and colors used later on.  

This will give our students time to practice and get comfortable with how to handle crepe paper. We will go over the various ways to cup German and Italian crepe paper, as well as how to laminate and give structural integrity to the petals and leaves that we have chosen. You’ll learn how to fringe stamens so finely you won’t believe it, plus learn how we curl and fluff our petals to create volume and luciousnes.

October 2021: Eucalyptus 

After the basics, Jessie will show you how to make eucalyptus in two different ways. Foliage is frequently overlooked, but is often the most stunning complement to flowers. Eucalyptus foliage is popular in arrangements and bouquets for good reason. The one we will be making is called Baby Blue, as it has bluish green leaves that alternate from side to side. 

Jessie loves everything about it. It offers strong lines to draw your eye, great coverage between flowers, and its bluish tint makes pink flowers pop. She’ll show you how to use a template and cut freehand, laminate leaves to create a more durable structure, and alternative ways of painting the leaves to achieve layers that mimic that elusive powdered-blue or green tinge. Finally, she’ll share with you the top three things she considers when making and choosing foliage for arrangements.

November 2021: Jasmine Vine

In November, I will lead the third workshop on how to make a jasmine vine. The jasmine vine will add a needed contrast to the eucalyptus, plus create beautiful lines. The ombre white and magenta jasmine flowers anchor and bridge your florals to your dark foliages. I will show you how to make these tiny florets and buds, as well as show you how to color them to match the flowers you will be making in the coming months. Along with the little blooms, I will teach you how to quickly make lots of foliage easily, how to wire and blend your leaves to create a vine, and how to attach the floral sprig to your leaves. 

We’ll take a break in December, since we are all busy with friends and family that time of year.

January 2022: Hybrid Tea Rose

In the new year, Jessie will teach you how to make the incredible hybrid tea rose. When you think of roses, the hybrid tea rose is probably what comes to mind. It’s such an iconic flower and for good reason! As it opens, it unfurls its outer petals ever so gently around that beautiful swirl in the middle. It’s the perfect flower to create textures deep in an arrangement and layer with other flowers to create depth. 

Jessie will show you how to create not one, but three forms: a tear-dropped shaped bud, a tight rose, and a blooming rose. You’ll make all three by simply changing up the technique she uses. She’ll also show you how to create (and why you should use) color variations in your burgundy-merlot-aubergine roses, plus how to add shadows on petals using a painting technique from the Renaissance period. 

You’ll be well equipped to whip out a garden’s worth of beautiful roses in time for Valentine’s day. A perfect gift for your loved ones.

February 2022: Japanese Anemones

I can’t wait to show you how to make these fluttering blooms, the Japanese anemones! They are so sweet and only measure up to about two to three inches. I will start by breaking down the various parts of this anemone. Did you know that the petals of the anemone are actually called sepals and not petals, and they can range from five to twenty in number? That it has bracts to hold up all its sepals? By better understanding its anatomy, you can better create one from crepe. 

Though the petals might be simple, I will show you how to elevate this simple bloom by learning how to cup, reverse cup, and flute the petals, plus how to add tiny details to each so that they will stand out and be unique. But the main show stopper will be those intense yellow stamens in the center. The biggest challenge is creating uniform fringe for these delicate stamens. I will teach you how to cut your stamens so they are equal and thin. The tricky part of this flower is gluing and wrapping them evenly around the center of the anemone. I’ll share a special trick that I do to make this easy for you!

March 2022: Bomb Peony

Get ready to reserve two days in March where Jessie will cover how to create her beautiful majestic bomb peony. As the show-stopping focal flower, the bomb peony is a mass of petals and beauty. They scream, “Look at me!” You can create a simple arrangement for your home with only a few stems in a vase, or you can weave them in with other flowers to make a statement piece. Either way, they’re sure to stop people in their tracks. 

But how many times have you tried to make this stunner only for it to end up looking like scrunched up tissue? Jessie will talk about what to look out for when designing a peony and what you should keep in mind when creating any white flower. She’ll teach you how to colour the paper, how to free-hand cut, and how to shape and attach the petals so there’s a randomness to them that looks natural and effortless. After you’ve made this flower with her, you’ll know how to look at a form of any flower and know how to tackle it in sections. 

April 2022: Flowering Stock

In April, I will teach you how to make this stock flower! Have you ever created a multi-flower stem before? It takes a bit of planning. I will show you how to create flowers in various stages of bloom: tiny green buds, about to bloom, and full bloom. I will explain the mechanisms of building multiple stems to create a smooth and clean transition from bud to flower, flower to flower. You’ll learn how to space your buds and florets to show the various bloom stages on one stem. I’ll also teach you how to easily cut multiple petals. After this workshop, tiny petals will no longer be a fear for you! Think hydrangeas and cherry blossoms!

May 2022: Floral Arranging

Finally, you’ll be ready to put all these blooms and foliages together. At this point, you’ll have a collection of stunning flowers, and we’ll show you our tricks for arranging them! You’ll be given a recipe for how to make a small arrangement and a large arrangement, as well as suggestions for how to create a light and airy arrangement or a dark and moody arrangement. We’ll be using the Abby compote and Holly Chapple pillow, which are very popular with florists.

How to Join Our Awesome Blossom! Community

Again, this series is all about becoming better paper florists, not just recreating one flower. Not only will Jessie and I cover the basics, but we will give you insights on how we tackled paper blooms from start to finish. We’ll have bonus techniques available to show you how to add a special touch and elevate your creations. If you need extra help, a team member will be available during our live classes to help you out. 

We want Awesome Blossom! to build our community, as well. Our private Facebook group will be a place to get to know each other, share creations, ask questions, and access info like templates. We’ll also have one of our team members kick off the fun with a cutting party one week before class. They will help you figure out the best way to cut your petals so you will be ready to put them together with Jessie and me! 

Awesome Blossom! seats will be available to purchase on July 26, 2021. I highly encourage buying the bundle for all eight classes that is only available from July 26 to August 6, 2021. This will be the lowest price that you will find for this incredible workshop series. But don’t worry if you don’t want the entire bundle, you can purchase them individually at a higher cost.

We can’t wait for you to join Jessie and me on this eight month journey from start to finish and share our love of paper flowers! You’ll leave a better paper florist.