Do-It-Yourself: 5-foot Animal Topiary!

Drive-by events are now the new normal. And knowing me, I embrace whatever hurdles and completely let my problem-solving creativity run wild.

My older sister is having our FIRST niece or nephew (they have decided to wait until birth to find out the gender!), and this called for no small occasion!

I'd seen countless photos of drive-by events with balloon arches and wood-panel backdrops, but I wanted something else.

Through my research of floral statues and installations, I decided on a plant-covered elephant for several reasons:

1) The drive-by shower spanned 2 weekends (each day 8am-8pm) so cut flowers would not survive multiple weeks in LA heat.

2) I wanted a structure that would also serve as a photo spot and organically space guests 6 feet from my pregnant sister. This is also why I didn't like the idea of an arch or backdrop, because people are awkwardly standing far apart in pictures.

THE INSPIRATION:

THE PROBLEM:

Most giant topiary frames were going for $400-1,000. And that's just for the frame! Never mind the cost of greenery to cover it!

THE SOLUTION:

+ Zip Ties (all structural supplies found at Home Depot)

+ Patches of Sheet Moss: I searched endlessly online, but everything was WAY too expensive. Just one 11'' x 11' sheet was selling for ~$15, and I knew I needed way more than that. I asked everyone at the LA Flower Market and found a very sweet vendor who helped! She sold me whole boxes of moss patches for $35 each. It took me 2.25 boxes to cover the entire elephant and the "B-A-B-Y" letters. Message me and I can provide more details on the vendor!

PROCESS:

Sketch your vision (if that helps you)

I wanted my baby elephant with the trunk going UP so it looked playful.

Cut and shape each piece of your animal. For me, that was body, arms, legs, head, ears, & trunk. Reinforce each piece with the annealed wire because the chicken wire is very flimsy.

Weave the annealed wire within the chicken wire and try to border each shape to provide the best support. For example, weave the entire circumference of the head with annealed wire. That way, you have a very solid mechanism for attaching the joining piece (the ear for example). If you attach chicken wire to chicken wire, it doesn't matter how many zip ties you use, it'll still be floppy.

Attach all the pieces using the annealed wire and zip ties.

I learned the hard way to wear plastic-coated gloves to protect from the chicken wire! :(

Once your structure stands and is generally shaped how you want, turn that guy on it's back and stuff it like a turkey!

I filled plastic bags with crumpled newspaper.

Begin the laborious process of covering it in real moss.

Building the frame took me in-total 7 hours (I would work on it a couple hours at a time after work). The moss was a different story! I knew I had to do it within 1 "go" because real moss browns over time! This meant, starting 2 days before the first shower.

I spent 6.5 very dehydrating hours (98 degrees that day) hot-gluing moss to this elephant. I've run a marathon before, but this took endurance!

When every inch of wire is disguised, you're done!

WEEKEND 1 OF BABY PALOOZA:

Photography by Spencer Mar

As you can see, my sister still looks like a model even when pregnant. We can all hate her now.

LETTERS: simple yet elegant!

WEEKEND TWO: Elephant goes on a Rainforest Safari!

I made adjustments for this weekend because:

1) I needed tropical flowers that would survive a full day of heat and sunlight. (last weekend I took away the flowers from 11am-5pm and didn't want to deal with that worry again)

2) I couldn't find any tropical flowers in blue, so I changed the colors to green and pink. I purchased a new chiffon draping for $4 at the fabric district (!! super sale!), and added new details to give it personality. Luckily I've been making seat cushions, so I was able to add these cute pink ones last minute! I drew inspiration from Tarzan and UP: wood furniture, basket weave, & books.

In total, this elephant cost me about $120. That does sound like a lot when added up, but a fraction in comparison to upwards of $650! And my sister and brother-in-law loved it, which is all that counts!

Happy July <3

I hope there are things that bring you feelings of productivity, joy, and contentment during shelter-in-place.

Beach Chair Treatments & A Sweet Hairpiece!

My family went on a mini vacation to San Diego (Paradise Point Resort) since each room is a separate bungalow, ensuring no hallways and no shared airspace, per my older sister's request!

I've been curious about the SD Flower Market, so of course I snuck out early in the morning to see!

We planned to have a bonfire on the beach (ordered through the resort), so I wanted to dress-it-up with flowers somehow. Here's the result!

I had to be creative since on vacation I had none of my usual supplies. The SD Wholesale Market sold floral tape for $3.20, so I felt that was an economical decision since I was in need for waterproof tape anyway.

Ingredients:

• Blue Delphinium

• Magenta Celosia (I used 2 varying shades)

• Sea Shells

• Waterproof Floral Tape

These chair dressings are SUPER simple using the tape!

STEP 1:

Use the delphinium as your base since it has buds all along the stem.

STEP 2:

Add the celosia in a "stair-step" pattern.

STEP 3:

Scatter the sea shells, adhering them with the tape and wrapping around the stems securely. Make sure the shells are clean and dry to improve tape effectiveness.

Secure the garlands to your chair with tape. If the stems are too think to have a "draping effect", you can scrape and thin them out to be more flexible.

HAIRPIECE

On vacation, I binge-watched a slew of videos posted by "Passion Flower Sue" on Instagram. She is a master at her craft of designing wearable flowers. She even has a book on sale that I'm dying to get my hands on!

I couldn't wait to try a "wearable" even though I didn't have any of the proper equipment. I had to get a little creative to make it work. It's not great, but it came out!

NEED:

• Flower blossoms of your choice

• Something to use for the "spine" (I used the handle of a plastic takeout bag)

• Needle & thread (hotels often have vanity kits!)

• Bobby pins or an alligator clip

PROCESS: Sew your blossoms to the spine, making sure they're lying the direction you want. Then pin it to your hair! As you can see, I alternated between this bright pink cox comb flower and blue delphinium blossoms. It isn't as neat as I would like, but that's why I have to practice!

The really awful back-side, so you can be encouraged that things don't need to be perfect your first try!!

Enjoy!

A Dr. Seuss-Inspired Piece

I went downtown in search of Fabric, told myself no flowers today, naturally bought flowers.

I saw these amazing branches named "Persian Silk Tree" and couldn't leave without them.

Then I spotted these trees that reminded me a lot of trees I've seen in Dr. Seuss books. What roped me in is I found out they're named "Trees of Heaven" (cue the tears).

Image courtesy of Google ("Ten Tired Turtles in a tuttle tuttle tree")

A vendor had a cart of vases on SUPER-SALE and offered me these for $2 each!! They're such misfits, I love them. The chipped paint also adds character.

The steps for this piece are quite simple, it's more the shape and structure that can be tricky since you're at the mercy of the branch bends.

What's so compelling about Dr. Seuss is the way he addressed social issues with tact, and made the stories digestible to children. What a genius. During this time, where I struggle to find the words to articulate my daily oscillation of news-related-emotions, it's fascinating to look at someone like Dr. Seuss who placed his thoughts into fantasy. And those colorful stories are imprinted in the minds of millions.

May we all strive to express ourselves with such lighthearted grace, and prioritize the morale education of children the way he did.

Anyway, Happy Sunday! Time for virtual service...