The Flower Blog

For the second year in a row we asked Prom customers to post a snapshot of themselves wearing Gillespie Florists flowers on our Facebook Fan Page to get the chance to be crowned the Gillespie Florists Prom King & Queen! Voting is today and tomorrow!

Here is what our Prom King & Queen Hopefuls had to do:
·  Take a snapshot wearing Gillespie's Flowers.
·  Post it on our Wall.
·  Tag everyone in the picture.
·  Gillespie’s adds the picture to "Prom King & Queen Contest Album".
·  Then they ask friends and family to "Like" their photo or make a positive comment on the photo.
·  One week after the end of Prom Season, we will tally up the "Likes" and Comments and whoever has the most wins!

What do they win?
The Queen will be crowned with a tiara, flowers and both King and Queen will be awarded with $25.00 Gift Cards to Gillespie Florists!  And don't forget, Bragging Rights!

Want to help decide who wins?

Click Here to go to the "Prom King & Queen Contest Album" and “Like” your favorite Now!

Winners will be announced on Facebook May 26st!

Check out our Fabulous selection of Prom Flowers!

Every year on Memorial Day weekend, my Mom and Dad drive to Greenfield, IN to visit the gravesites of my mother's parents and grandparents. My parents decorate the grave sites with permanent botanical flower saddles, designed in the favorite colors and flowers of our deceased relatives. When I was young, my siblings and I would make the journey with our parents. At the time, I didn’t understand the significance of the gesture, but I do now...

For our family, Memorial Day is a time to gather together to reflect and share wonderful memories of our loved ones who have passed away. We meet at our Aunt and Uncle's house in Greenfield and we travel to the cemetery together. After we place the saddles on the graves, we go back to their house and we have a big cookout. While the children play in the backyard, the adults share stories and count our blessings.

You might think that this would be a sober occasion, but it’s not! We laugh until we cry, enjoy the company of others and relive the great memories!

This holiday weekend, get your family together and remember your loved ones... Enjoy your family!

Something you may not know about Memorial day is that it was originally Decoration Day and originated from the American Civil War.

Last year, I blogged about the 2011 ‘Glee’ Prom and had positive feedback so, here’s the scoop on what flowers our favorite characters wore to ‘Glee’ Prom 2012!  First and foremost, I noticed that there more characters on ‘Glee’ wearing Prom flowers this season compared to season. As a florist, that makes me very happy!

No Dino Flowers!

The theme for the 2012 ‘Glee’ Prom was Prom-asaurus.  Although there weren’t any flowers from the Jurassic era, there was plenty of variety in the types of flowers worn to the prom. Like last year, the characters wore carnations, roses and orchids. However, this year, daisies made an appearance and so did keepsake bracelets!

Most Memorable Corsage

The most memorable corsage in my opinion, was Rachel's because of the story behind it. Rachel, Blaine and Kurt decide to have an Anti-Prom party. Because Finn was nominated for Prom King, he felt obligated to attend prom. After a surprise from Quinn, Finn decided to ditch Prom to be with his girl! He gallantly showed up to Anti-Prom and talked everyone into going with him! Before leaving for Prom he gives Rachel a corsage. She wore orchids again this year but with a twist- light pink dendrobium (which was a great accent color for her dress). Her corsage looked similar to the one pictured here, including the keepsake bracelet.

Favorite Corsage

I absolutely loved Quinn’s corsage! In my opinion, her corsage way way too big last year (it engulfed her hand)! This year, her corsage was the perfect size and beautiful! Her corsage was placed on a keepsake bracelet that sparkled and shined.  The corsage had perfectly matching lavender ribbon, white accents and white roses(I think). It’s hard to tell what the exact flowers are when these girls are dancing all over the screen! Quinn’s corsage was similar to the one pictured here.

Boutonnieres

I did not care for Kurt’s Boutonniere. It was too simple for my taste-just a tiny pin-on mini-carnation. It’s not that Kurt has to have some humongous boutonniere but I certainly expected more style for him! Though I liked Blaine’s boutonniere, I was surprised by it, too. He had on a large white carnation with a metal boutonniere holder, which is very cool and the style you would expect to see this season.  However, if you look at episode from last year, he wore almost the exact same boutonniere. The only difference was that the carnation in the holder was pink instead of white. I was expecting a little more pizazz from them both! Blaine’s Boutonniere was similar to the one on the right.

Principal Figgins’ Boutonniere was a pleasant surprise! He wore a daisy boutonniere similar to the one pictured here. Daisies are becoming a more popular Prom flower choice. We design with daisies frequently in corsages and boutonnieres here at Gillespie’s. Principal Figgins pulled off his look with style and looked very comfortable in it!

In Indianapolis, our Prom season is coming to a close with only two weekends left.

 If you are a GleeK like me and want ‘Glee’ Prom flowers to accent your style, click below!

Mother’s Day is as much about the children as it is about Mom. Letting your kids be a part of the gift giving process will provide them a way to express their individual love for Mom. It really is the thought that counts! Here are 5 easy to make gifts that you and your family can do together for Mom.

1. Recycled Puzzle Piece Photo Frame
Don't throw out your puzzles with missing pieces. There are plenty of crafting opportunities waiting. This is an easy to do project and Mom will love the end result! A personalized photo frame! Let your children pick out their favorite picture of themselves and build a puzzle frame around it. Follow the link for a supply list and super easy instructions!

http://www.makingfriends.com/recycle/puzzle_piece_photo_frame.htm

2. Bouquet of Photo Flowers

Looking for a bouquet of flowers with a little personal touch? Make this precious keepsake for Mom or Grandma this Mother’s Day and they will cherish it always. You can bring these photo flowers to your local florist and have them add it to a fresh arrangement for you! Mom will love the smell of fresh flowers and always cherish the photos! Follow the link for a supply list and instructions.

http://crafts.kaboose.com/bouquet-of-photo-flowers.html

3. Create a home video for Mom.

My siblings and I made a Michael Jackson Music video for Mother’s Day one year and she still has that tape to this day! As you can imagine, it was pretty comical with 5 kids and 2 dogs running around the living room all dancing terribly to “Bad”. She says it is a gift she will never forget! She mentioned it the other day and it is what inspired me to write this blog! So, get out your camcorder and create mom a music video she will never forget!

4. Potpourri Sachets

Almost every woman loves air fresheners! This is an easy project for you and the kids that Mom will really use!  Potpourri Sachets is a versatile air freshener because you can put them anywhere! From your rearview mirror, your dresser drawer,  Fill pretty little organza bags with potpourri to give Mom! Follow the link for a supply list and instructions.

http://www.makingfriends.com/winter/valentine_potpourri.htm

5. Create A Fresh Bouquet for Mom

We have Dads come in with their kids to pick out flowers for Mom and it is the sweetest thing to see! They come back to our cooler and Dad helps them pick out flowers that they think Mom will like. A salesperson is always nearby to assist! Then Dad lets us know if he would like one of our designers to create a bouquet for Mom and have it delivered or if he would like us to wrap up the flowers to take home. If you decide to take the flowers home, it makes a fun project for the kids and it won’t hurt the wallet either! You can save 20% - 60% by taking the flowers home and vasing them yourself! Make it even more memorable by video taping you and the kids making this special bouquet! 

Is Mom out of town this year? Need us to deliver a beautiful custom made gift? Click below to go to our website!

Glowing Prom Flowers? Is this for real? Yes, it is! We excited to introduce Galassia Flowers Fluorescence corsages into our prom collection!  This product enhances the natural beauty of flowers, and takes flower color to a new level by giving them a spectacular glow!

For their beauty to be revealed, they need ultra-violet (UV) light supplied by custom-designed illumination device and a specially formulated solution applied directly to the flowers.  These unique devices are imported from Adelaide, Australia- a city with a strong reputation in plant science research and development.  We are honored to be one of the few florists in the United States that can provide this product to our customers!  As a matter of fact, we learned about this product from networking with a florist in Las Vegas, Nevada.  

Galassia Corsage - Lights on in lighted room!

How does it work?
First, we create a one of our signature corsages and design it on the Galassia bracelet with the lighted device attached. Next, we spray Galassia special formulation of fluorescence on the entire corsage. Then, when the big night arrives, the corsage is worn on the wrist, complete with an adjustable band.  The device has a convenient on/off switch so you can decide when to light up the room! 

Galassia Corsage - Lights on in dark room! 

The product works best in a dark room and produces a “black light” effect. The battery life is 6-8 hours but the formulation can last for months!The photos above are showing the same corsage in a lighted room and in a darkened room. Wow! What an amazing difference!

If you want the Galassia Flowers Fluorescence on your corsage, Contact us at 317.273.1100 or use our convenient Contact us form!

Check out this video of our glowing prom corsage in action!

My Top Five Prom Corsages

We have had two weekends of Proms and are coming up on three more! I get asked all the time what is my favorite prom corsage. I don’t have just one favorite because Gillespie’s has so many! But I think I can narrow it down to five.

5. Pink Ice

This corsage has a unique bracelet that has rhinestones cascading down the hand! To help hold the rhinestones in place is a small adjustable ring that goes on your middle finger. We added light pink sweetheart roses, sheer metallic silver ribbon, metallic silver leaves and rhinestone sprays.

4.  Couture

Couture is a breath-taker! This prom corsage has a rhinestone “belt” bracelet with white Mini Callas, sweetheart roses, sheer silver ribbon, strands of rhinestones, rhinestone sprays, diamond like pins, glass & rhinestone picks, black lazer leaves and black feathers! We could not have fit anything more into this wrist corsage is we tried!

2. Pandora

This was my absolute favorite corsage last year and for good reason! This corsage has the perfect combination of colors and offers diversity with its accents. I have tons of girls model their corsage after this one! Pandora is designed on a rhinestone and silver flash bracelet, has orange sweetheart roses, feathers, purple flash ribbon, green ribbon, lazer leaves and spiraled wire.

1. Sugar Skulls

Prom is about dressing up in your dream dress, getting your dream date and dancing the night away! Every girl wants their prom dress to match their style! Sugar Skulls is the embodiment of that! We want customers know we can tailor our corsages to them! Sugar Skulls is created on a black bracelet with a vintage feel and has lavender sweetheart roses, statice, lazer leaves, black feathers, rhinestones,  black beads, black flash ribbon and skull accents.

Create a Prom corsage that matches your personal style! Click below to start now!

Gillespie Florists King & Queen Contest!

Here's how it Works:

• Take a snapshot of you and your date wearing Gillespie's Flowers.

• Post it on our Wall.

• Tag your self in the photo as well as anyone else in the picture.

• We'll put it in our "Prom King & Queen Contest Album".

• Then you ask friends and family to "Like" your photo or make a positive comment on your photo.

• One week after the end of Prom Season, we will tally up the "Likes" and Comments and whoever has the most wins!

It was brought to my attention recently that someone used a picture of mine on their blog. This did not come as a surprise to me because this is not the first time it has happened. In recent years we have become more active in social media and the web in general. By becoming more active, we share more photos.

share what is happening in our shop on a particular day.  We even share funny moments at the store with a snapshot!

Perhaps the most valuable reason to post images to the web is to share our custom designs with customers so they can have confidence when they place their order in our hands.  We are proud to be a family owned, local florist, capable of artistry for every occasion.

Cons:

Our images, artistry and hard work can be copied.

The unique items that we make can be seen worldwide and can be copied. Someone can steal our pictures, place them on their own website, Facebook or blog and claim the images as their own.

Look at the Pros and Cons. Do you know what I see? A lot more reasons to share my pictures than not. If you are a florist, photographer or individual who is concerned about sharing your photos on the web, think about all of the benefits and try not worry about the down side.  

I look at my images as a resource for everyone.  There is nothing wrong with a customer taking a picture to another florist and asking them to make the same or similar item (we take it as a compliment)! I even accept other florists designing similar bouquets or products from our website, photographing it themselves then placing similar products on their own website. Each and every designer has their own style which will create variations within the finished product.  What aggravates me is when someone copies and pastes a picture from the web and claims the photo as their own unique design. The bottom line, give credit where credit is due.  Ask for permission or do the work yourself!  

There are some things you can do to protect your images.

Want to see some of Gillespie's beautiful images? Click below to go to our website!

Thank you to Santamary Florist and Greenhouses for your beautiful picture!