Fat and Sassy vs. Skinny

Written communication is one of the best ways to capture someone's attention, especially when it arrives by way of a unique greeting or note card. Petalos di Pauli creations feature unexpected botanical embellishments like chunky gerbera daisies that speak "Happy Birthday" and blank note cards bearing Swarovski crystal-studded miniature blooms.

In the studio, we refer to designs that have fluffy flowers or require protective padding as "fat and sassy" due to the extra girth of the resulting mailing envelope. For best results with mailing cards with delicate embellishments, you'll need to protect the design by inserting the padding that comes with the card between its front and the envelope.

Fat and sassy cards may require additional first class postage if the envelope thickness is greater than ¼ inch. When in doubt, we recommend having it measured at the post office to assure a successful delivery.

Some fat and sassy designs have "skinny" versions that are still eye catching but omit design elements, like pearls or crystals, that would require special handling and surcharge (extra postage). If you see something in our On-line Boutique that you'd like to have skinnied, we are always happy to take custom orders.

For more tips on creative social expression, sign up for my newsletter "Petals & Pearls by Paula."

Cheerfully Yours,

Paula Estes
Botanical Artist
Petalos di Pauli

Happy Earth Day 2010

"Earth Day is the first completely international and universal holiday that the world has ever known.  Every other holiday was tied to one place, or some political or special event.  This Day is tied to the Earth itself, and to the place of the Earth in the whole solar system."

- Margaret Mead, 1977

Today is Earth Day and we at Petalos di Pauli are sharing some great ways to make the Earth a "greener" place, while also having some fun.  

Grow an avocado tree!

If you eat avocados, it's easy to sprout the seeds into air-purifying, carbon-fixing houseplants.  Its easy (even your kids can do it!) and instructions abound on the Web.  Here are some we found on howtodothings.com.

1. Find a ripe avocado. Avocado pits are most likely to grow if they come from a ripe fruit. When you eat the avocado pear, clean off the pit and then soak it for 48 hours in warm water. If you can keep the water warm (in a propagator or on top of a heater), then the pit will grow more quickly.

2. Find the top. Most avocado pits are egg-shaped, with the bottom broader than the top. Some are rounder, but the top is always smooth and the bottom, wrinkled.

3. Find a container. If you want to see the roots grow, you will need a clear container, such as a tumbler or a jar. Otherwise, a plant pot will do fine.

4. 'Plant' your pit. To see the roots grow, you need to suspend the pit above water. Find 3 or 4 toothpicks or hair grips and push them into the pit gently, until they will just support its weight. Then fill the container with warm water so that the bottom of the pit just touches the water. If you're using a plant pot, then bury the pit in potting compost so that half of the pit is still above the soil.

5. Keep warm. Warmth is the key to getting an avocado pit to grow. The ideal temperature is around 70 F. At this temperature, the pit should start to grow in around 10 days. At cooler temperatures, it can take 5 weeks.

6. Keep watered. Keep the water level in your container topped up so that the pit is just touching the water. If you planted your pit in compost, then keep it moist - putting it in a plastic bag will help.

7. Keep an eye out for growth. The first sign of life will be root growth, which will not be visible if your pit is planted in compost. Only when the roots have started to grow will the pit send out a shoot. If the water goes cloudy and starts to smell before this happens, then your pit will not grow. If this happens, it probably wasn't fertile to begin with, and you should start again with a fresh pit.

8. Pinch out the main shoot when it is 6 inches long. This is to help make a bushy plant rather than a tall tree. It may leave your avocado with no leaves, but don't worry - it will grow a new shoot and new leaves in about a week.

9. Re-pot. Your avocado plant can survive on just water for several weeks. When the roots are well developed, plant the avocado in potting soil in a small pot. It will be happy there for several months.

10. Move into a final pot. When the avocado looks too large for its pot, or unhappy, it is time to replant it in a 10-inch pot, which will be its permanent home. It will probably be 2 feet tall before this is necessary.

11. Pruning. Your avocado wants to grow into a tree, and you will need to keep pruning it to keep it bushy and manageable. Simply cut back shoots that are too long.

12. Ongoing maintenance involves feeding with liquid feed every two weeks when the avocado is actively growing. Every 3 or 4 years, replant it in the same pot with some fresh potting soil. Your avocado will need plenty of light and water plus an occasional misting and dusting.

Looking for some other ways to be "green"?  Here are a few websites we discoverd:

• Our company can provide some great "green" choices for your wedding or special events.  How about invitations printed on sustainable  paper sources?

• Find a local brewery and take a tour or pick up a selection of brews to enjoy at home. http://www.beertown.org/

• Making is often greener than buying.  One great site for inspiration and how tos: http://www.instructables.com/

• Got new or lightly used running shoes you're looking to unload?  One World Running will send them to runners in need around the world.  (If they're deemed too worn, shoes go to Nike's Reuse-a-Shoe program instead, and wind up paving a playground.)  Learn more at http://www.oneworldrunning.blogspot.com/

• http://www.babyplays.com/ is the Netflix of toys.  Yes, the shipping comes with a CO2 price tag, but on the balance, its green: Renting toys instead of buying them means less plastic in the world.  (And in the landfill.)  No wee ones in your life?  The subscription makes a great gift.

Images by Maria Keays and emdot via Flickr, used under a Creative Commons license. 

Fresh Garden Mint Is Perfect for Steeping

What a rainy day in Southern California today! Days like this make a hot cup of tea even more enjoyable. While I have not yet incorporated mint leaves into a greeting card (give me time), this prolific botanical does make regular appearances inside my Perfect Steeper, a loose tea steeper so brilliantly designed that I've given it the official THINGS WE LOVE stamp.

My garden provides a perpetual supply of mint, and I often offer the just picked leaves to clients  who visit my studio. But when I'm not brewing a pot I prefer to use the Perfect Steeper. I also use it when I'm on the go and enjoy drinking it right from the tumbler at meetings and when traveling.

The Perfect Steeper can be purchased from our On-line Boutique. Click on THINGS WE LOVE.

Why I'm just like this snail

While tending my garden, it occurred to me how much I have in common with this little flower pot. Both our previous careers involved working in an office! My buddy here dispensed tape. And I dispensed information and implemented software for businesses. Now we both get to work outdoors, and we both have a fondness for all types of succulents.

While the garden is a common denominator, there is another trait I share with the snail; we both honor the pace of a tedious and complicated process. People have commented that they would never have the patience to accent flowers with tiny glass marbles, or spiraled wire stems. And the thought of filling an order for hundreds of custom cards wrinkles their forehead.

Growing from hobby to full-time business has imposed a limit on the time I spend clipping, pressing and gluing with my own hands. But when I do, I find those tasks to be therapeutic and somewhat grounding, and a good time to get some thinking done.

What kinds of things do I ponder? Eco-friendly ideas like, how I could use Zebra Grass for gift wrapping, or ways to re-purpose a ceramic snail tape dispenser that no longer serves a need. I must confess, I simply adore the outcome of that one!

It just goes to show you, one never knows what life has in store. This seemingly meaningless tape dispenser produces such beauty in the world.  That is my hope for what my business brings to people everyday, through the process of designing or giving a botanical work of art, or being the happy recipient.

Thoughtfully,

Paula Estes
Botanical Artist and
Creative Thinker

Celebrating American Chocolate Week

We have already received many wonderful stories about Chocolate from our readers.  Thanks for responding to our request!  Here is one of our favorite submissions:

"When I'm really seeking Chocolate I take my time and choose my poisons wisely; because calories are at stake and I aint waisting my time on just any kind of chocolate. I can usually satisfy my sweet tooth with a simple butter cream from Sees. When I go hard; I usually end up at the Grand Lux with a slice of the Chocolate Molten Lava Cake.. This is best when shared with someone who is equally fond of chocolate and is equally fond of you. Sooo tasty.  I use a spoon because you're given a tiny scoop of vanilla ice cream, personally I don't indulge ice cream often (lactose intolerant) but it kicks it up a notch, especially when the ice cream melts perfectly around the plate, which is drizzled with a combination of white and dark chocolate sauce. It's something about using a spoon that makes you feel like a kid again. It's like when your grandma or Nano would bake a cake and give you permission to lick the bowl or spoon Hmmm Hmmm good.  I like to follow my Molten Cake experience with a dry red; A Merlot or Cabby is the perfect ending."

Thank you for sharing those delicious details, Crystal!

So now you might be wondering... "Where is the Grand Lux Cafe?"  Read on! "The idea for Grand Lux Cafe came to life when The Venetian Resort, Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas asked David Overton, Founder of The Cheesecake Factory Restaurants, to create an upscale casual restaurant concept for their property.  Blending the grandeur and luxury of European cafes with the sensibilities and spirit of an all-American restaurant, 'Grand Lux Cafe' was born. Today, with locations in Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas and Houston, Grand Lux Cafe is proud to offer our guests unique, casual global cuisine in an elegant yet relaxed atmosphere."

If you would like to make your own molten chocolate cake at home, try:
Martha Stewart's Molten Chocolate Cupcakes
(Makes 16 cupcakes)
Ingredients
12 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup (4 ounces) heavy cream
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
4 large eggs
4 large egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions
1. Make ganache: Place 4 ounces chocolate in a small heatproof bowl. In a small pan over medium-high heat, warm cream until it begins to boil. Pour cream over chocolate. Let stand a few minutes, then mix until smooth. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until set, about 1 hour. Use 1-inch ice cream scoop to make balls; place on parchment-lined tray, close but not touching. Freeze 1 hour, or airtight up to 3 days.

2. Make batter: Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line a muffin tin with paper liners. In a medium bowl set over a pan of simmering water, heat remaining 8 ounces chocolate with butter until melted. Meanwhile, with a mixer, whisk together eggs, yolks, and sugar until pale and thick, about 5 minutes. Quickly fold egg mixture into chocolate until almost completely incorporated. Sift flour and salt over mixture, and fold in.

3. Divide batter among liners, filling halfway. Add ganache ball to each. Cover with batter, almost to top.

4. Bake until just set, 8 minutes. Transfer tin to rack to cool for 10 minutes (cakes will fall). With a small offset spatula, gently remove from tin. Serve warm.

Weaving a Floral Theme Into Your Wedding

Your wedding theme does not have to be limited to just a color... How about incorporating flowers or other botanicals throughout your wedding? Every part of your wedding, from the invitations to the programs to the cake, can be inspired by a floral choice. For example, if you love red roses, an arrangement of real dried roses on a handmade invitation can be something that your guests have never seen. Not only is this a beautiful invitation, but it conveys that you are elegant as well as unique, and your event will be nothing less. Your rose theme begins in the invitation and is carried to your ceremony in your wedding flowers. You can also present red roses to your and your fiancé’s mothers during the ceremony. At the reception, you can echo your theme in menus on the tables and your wedding cake. The invitations are just the beginning!

Petalos di Pauli Signature Invitation

 Tiffany and Chocolate Brown Cake

 Petalos di Pauli Signature Invitation

 Black, White and Red Cake

How to Make Grass Place Card Holders

Fountain Grass was a wonderful, sustainable, not to mention creative, choice for place card holders. We trimmed bundled blades to size then secured the ends with pairs of gold plated rhinestone beads, which were easily removed for reuse after the event.


These place card holders were part of the Elegant Tropical Rainforest tablescape featured in Special Events Magazine.

Other dried grasses or natural elements can be used to create a similar design. You'll need at least 2 stems or blades to form a slot for holding the place card, and the right sized bead to fit over the ends. Or jute or wire could be used to secure the ends; the possibilities are endless.

How to Gift Wrap Japanese Style

Custom wrapping is a great way to tie in beautiful papers used in your invitation with other areas of your special event. Present a fabulously wrapped present as a gesture of gratitude to your bridal party or add elegance and intrigue to your table top with wrapped favors your guests get to take home.

Using handmade papers and Mizuhiki paper cord, we show you a quick and easy technique inspired by the Japanese sense of style. We snapped pix while attending a hands-on workshop at the National Stationery Show. We had limited workspace so we had to execute this project on top of papers that went with the next project. Keep that in mind as you discern the images that illustrate each step.

Materials: Handmade papers such as Unryu (sheer mulberry paper with strands), Double-sided tape, Mizuhiki paper cords, a box.

Create a strip of paper from accent paper: Fold edge over 1
1/2" to 2", Moisten fold with wet cotton ball, Gently pull apart

Begin wrapping box with main paper

Position accent paper strip on top of on main
paper

Continue wrapping box, using a tiny bit of tape. Fold
in the ends as you would a typical gift wrap.

Tie 3 strands of Mizuhiki cord in square knot, then tuck the
ends inside the knot.


(Side View)

(Top View)

Our instructor was gift-wrap and Japanese papercraft expert Vicky Mihara Avery, producer and instructor on the Origami Workshop DVD lesson "The Japanese Art of Gift Wrapping." Using handmade papers from Mountain Valley Paper Company and Mizuhiki paper cords, Vicky shows how to layer, pleat, and tear papers for fast, easy and elegant results.