Two whole years of Oh Happy Days

Two years ago, on this day, I married my best friend. Since then we have done some travelling, purchased our first home in the city we love, and we are presently expecting a baby. The years just keep getting better and I can't wait to see what next year has in store for us! 

Oh, By the way...

We're having a baby! I've been busily planningplanning her nursery, and carefully selecting fabrics has been point of order #1. Here's the palette I've come up with so far: (n.b. All of these fabrics are available at my favourite fabric shop Tonic Living)

I have so many projects up my sleeve for the upcoming weeks, and with the impending summer break, I might even have some time to write about them here! More on the nursery progress to come...as of this very second, it's a bit of a nightmare!

Tissue Paper Peony

The peony is my absolute favourite flower. I often find myself wistfully daydreaming of its pink petals and pretty fragrance in the dead of winter, when alas, there are none to be found.They conjure up visions of summer afternoons filled with sunshine (not to mention of course, my wedding.) In my dream-life I have a rambling English garden positively overflowing with them. I decided that next-to-perfect would be creating some tissue paper confections on this blustery February evening. Valentine's Day Eve, as it were...

My first order of business was finding a reliable source on the matter. I wanted a tutorial that didn't require special tools, a lot of time, or a lot of skill for that matter. I happened upon this one, and I can personally attest to it:

Here is the outcome looking lovely, and quite realistic in the vase that my sister brought back for me from Korea. This is also known as its permanent resting spot, once I manage to fashion some iteration of a stem:

These flowers also make beautiful substitutions for your run-of-the mill bow. They really only take a few minutes and one sheet of tissue paper to make. It's recycling at its prettiest!

I highly recommend you give these flowers a try. They would make beautiful shower decorations or a cute little posy for a flower girl. Get creative!