Decorate your home for Christmas. Demonstration

A christmas demonstration on creating beautiful floral and creative designs for your home this festive season. With simple and easy ideas and some tricks of the trade! Come along to The Mackays Hotel, Wick. Tuesday 2nd December. 7.30pm - 9.30pm.

Featured designer on Floral.Today

I was delighted to help floral friend Garrett with his American blog floral.today, and pages which are published world wide.  I met Garrett in 2013 at the Fusion Flowers Summer School, which that year was taught by Germany's Bjorn Kroner. Pop over to Floral.Today to find out how I answered Garretts questions :) xxx

Amanda Coghill Featured designer on floral.today

Tina, Matthew and a dog named Pheobe!

I first met Tina 11 years ago when we both stayed at the same halls of residence in Edinburgh. 

The vast majority of designs I took home from college were put straight in to Tina's room! 

So it was an absolute pleasure to be asked to do her wedding flowers. As it happens I also knew her fiance from school! 

Tina wanted something very natural looking to co inside with getting married outside in the grounds of the Loch Ness House Hotel. So we went so the country garden look. She also asked if I could make something for her gorgeous black lab Pheobe as she was to be their ring bearer. 

The photos of the lovely Tina, Matthew and Pheobe are by 

Chantal Lachance Gibson Photography

Shelley's bouquet.

When Shelley came to me to talk about her wedding bouquet, it didn't take long for me to find a picture of a bouquet to show her. In the 2013/2014 Fusion Flowers wedding magazine there was a design by Alex Segura from Spain. I was lucky enough to be at the photoshoot and to see the bouquet in all its glory. It was stunning and Shelley thought so to! 

So with hours and hours of work the frames were made for Shelley's bouquet, Kerri's bridesmaids bouquet and two smaller wand designs for the two smaller girls. 

The frame was made from Gold decorative wire and hundreds of crystal and pearl beads and then diamante's on the white phalaenopsis orchids. 

I was delighted with the way that it turned out and as was Shelley when I arrived on Saturday morning with all the flowers! 

 

Shelley's Bouquet

 

Kerri's Bridesmaids bouquet

 The flower girls bouquet and the Mini maids bouquet

Dates for the diary!

I love nothing more than getting to be creative! This week I have confirmed another demonstration for the lovely Sutherland Floral Art Club. It's not until November but looking forward to creating a wonderful Christmas winter wonderland with flowers. 

Before that I will be demonstrating at the Caithness County Show. You can find me in the Flower tent on the Friday night and Saturday afternoon. Times are yet to be confirmed but as soon as I know you will to! 

Angels decending from above...

It's no secret, I love doing something different. The Fusion Flowers International designer of the year competition is an amazing opportunity to really get your teeth in to something different. The first year I competed I designed a pair of angel wings as a bridal piece. Mostly to be different but also because I have a love of wings and feathers. 

I didn't receive any awards for the wings, but I have had so many wonderful comments about them and they have been shared by florists, designers and friends all over the world.

Photography by John Baikie

Model. Natalie Oag.

That just picked look....

Ruth asked us to create her wedding flowers for her and told us she wanted a country garden feel to her flowers. Ruth and David were married in the Kingsmill hotel in Inverness. Bouquets for her and the bridesmaids and a bouquet for her little girl Rhea. She had bird cages for her table centres that she wanted us to put flowers into. 

We decided to go with shades of pinks with some Tanicitum to really bring through the wild flower look and to tie in with the gold theme running through the wedding decorations. Rhea also carried a bouquet of Tanicitum. 

Top Table arrangement

Bird cages

 

Rhea's bouquet along with Maisy.

Bouquets.

Garden styled bouquet.

Ruth and her maids with their bouquets.

Thank you to Susan at SDM Photography for her pictures!

SDM Photography Facebook

SDM Photography website

Sugary pinks!

We were delighted that the lovely Farrah asked us to do the flowers for her Wedding last August. At a previous wedding fayre Farrah had spotted our lovely waxed roses and decided those were the flowers for her! 

Farrah had a lovely dress with lace detail. So to soften her bouquet I added some wax flower and some Astilbe. Her maids wore a candy pink, so I mixed up the flower shades in their bouquets.

The roses were coated in wax and had a light irredescant glitter to give just a slight shimmer. 

We hope you agree that Farrah, Susan and Kerry all look stunning! 

 Susan, Farrah and Kerry.

Photography by Julie Fraser photography
Julie's facebook page

Julies website 

That age old question...

What's your favourite flower?

If I had a pound for every time someone asked me what my favourite flower was, I'd be rich. Truth is...many florists probably do have a favourite, however I don't have one! Well not one that stands out anyway. 

Im going to show off one that I do adore though, the Grape Hyacinth - Muscari. 

I absolutely love using these delicate flowers in designs. Mostly for their gorgeous blue colour. It stem allows natural movement as well which adds to any design. 

It's a spring flower which can be available in late Autumn at a slightly higher buying price. There are several varieties of Muscari all with different tones of blues, whites and hints of green. 

They are perfect for design work where something delicate is needed, but yet impact is required. I used the blue in a bridal shrug that I designed as my qualifying piece for The RHS Chelsea Flower Show in 2010/2011.

Ive also used the white and the blue in bridal bouquets which added the blue colour required into a hand tied design, and a light lace effect needed in a shower bouquet. 

White Muscari in a shower bouquet.

Blue Muscari in a hand tied bridal bouquet.

Blue Muscari used in a Bridal Shrug design.

It's It'

Fusion Flowers International Designer of the year competition 2013.

Woo hoo! 

Over the past 4 years I have competed in the Fusion Flowers magazine, annual competition. I was always delighted with the bronze awards that I had been given due to the high standard of not only designs but also because of the high level of judging.

This year however I was absolutely delighted to have been awarded a bronze and a SILVER! Yay! I have broken the bronze curse.

Ive already started to get my teeth into the 2014 competition...starting with the fiddly detailed bits and sketching out new designs and ideas. Here's a look at this years awarded designs. 

CASCADE - BRONZE AWARD

CIRCLES - SILVER AWARD

Well hello there!

Hello!

Welcome to my blog.

Here I will post and keep you all up to date on the crazy goings on of the life that is

Amanda Coghill - Creative Freelance Florist.

So to begin with..here's a little bit about me. 

I am a 28 year old Florist, Freelance Florist, Floral Designer, Flower Fairy...what ever it is you would like to call me...but basically flowers are my life and my passion. To date I have won two RHS Chelsea silver medals. Four Bronze awards and a Silver award for The Fusion Flowers International Designer of the year competitions between 2010 and 2013. 

Based in the far north of Scotland in a little town called Wick, in the County of Caithness...one of the most beautiful places on earth..well at least when the sun is shining it is! 

From an early age I've been "playing with pretty flowers" competing in my first flower show at the age of 7. By 13 I had my first Saturday job in a flower shop, at 18 I went to college to train, by 21 I had opened up my own shop Amanda's Creative Florist. For seven and a half years I worked from the shop, until in August 2013 I took the step to close the shop and go freelance. Allowing me to open up many doors of opportunity in the flower world. 

My main passion is bridal work. I absolutely ADORE creating beautiful bouquets for my brides. That hasn't changed with the freelance work. Im already looking forward to creating several amazing designs for my brides to be this year. 

 Me..so you have a face to the typing voice.