On Day Two of the Francoise Weeks workshop, we worked on woodland bridal bouquets using the Oasis European Bouquet holder. Each designer chose a palette of flowers, moss, sticks and foliage and got to work. It always amazes me how different the completed designs look when everyone is choosing from the same materials! I have to say…my favorite part of the bouquets were the handle details. In the photos below, I propped the bouquets on a piece of wood hoping you would be able to see the details. And then I began to realize how beautiful this display would be at a wedding reception as a way of incorporating the bouquet(s) into a centerpiece. Just a thought…

Francoise consulted with Leah as she created the bouquet below…

Leah Werner (Texas)

Sheri used kale to cover the base of her bouquet and lamb’s ear for a soft-to-the-touch handle…

Sheri (Blumen Meisters Flower Market)

I loved Jana’s creative use of variegated foliage on her handle…

Jana Mayfield (Arkansas)

Charlotte opted for a complete lamb’s ear base and got some advice from Francoise as she created a cascading bouquet using pussy willow.

Charlotte Warren (Texas)

Kathy paid close attention to detail using tiny delicate blooms and intricate placement…

Kathy Maguire (Texas)

In the afternoon Francoise had each of us choose a sculptural piece of wood (some were fashioned into vases) and we created one last design as the workshop drew to a close.

Botanical Brouhaha

Rachel Maguire (New York)

A group picture and hugs goodbye…until we meet again!

From left to right: Jana, Linda, Leah, Francoise, Kathy, Rachel, me, Sheri, Charlotte

To celebrate a successful workshop, Rachel cooked one of the best dinners I’ve ever eaten…seriously…and Francoise and I spent one last evening with the Mcguires before traveling home the next day.

Love these people and loved this dinner! I jumped up from the table and snapped a picture for you guys. Is that rude?

Rachel shared her recipes with me…have you ever tried fennel? You should!

Finocchio al Forno (Fennel Baked in Cream)

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Roasted Brussels Sprouts:

Ingredients

Brussels sprouts, peeled and halved

olive oil

salt + pepper

Toss the Brussels sprouts with olive oil, salt and pepper. Bake at 425 for 30 minutes, stirring after 15 minutes.

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Roast Chicken

Ingredients

1 3-4 lb. chicken

lemon

garlic

rosemary

1 cup white wine

4-5 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed

other fragrant things!

1 TBSP butter

Preheat the oven to 425. Heat the butter in a medium sauté pan. Rinse and dry the chicken, and rub with salt and pepper. Sear the chicken in the hot butter, a minute or so on each side, just until the skin is slightly brown. Remove the chicken from heat, and place lemons, rosemary and other fragrant herbs in the cavity. Add the wine and the garlic to the pan.

Bake the chicken until done, when a thermometer inserted into the thigh reaches 165.

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Thank you Francoise, Kathy, Dave & Rachel for a memorable stay in Austin. And thank you to my fellow designer friends for allowing me to watch you design, photograph your work and share it on Botanical Brouhaha.

If you would like to attend a Francoise Weeks Workshop, you can click here to view her calendar.

Tomorrow we begin the recap of the NYC 2014 Chapel Designers Conference!