5 comments about Bouquets: A Year of Flowers for the Bride.

1. Finally, I have found a wedding flower book that gives you at least some ideas on how to make it yourself. Perhaps, the instructions could show more step by step pictures, but I think I can at least have an idea on how to make some boquets myself. So, I recommend this book. You might also want to find another beginner type arranging flowers book to go with this.



2. This book was not as good as I expected. Some of the bouquets were creative, but worth the price of the book. I got more out of Better Home and Garden's Creative Collection "Simply Creative Wedding Flowers". This magazine was a thousand times better than this book in terms of getting creative and unique ideas for wedding flowers.



3. I love the photo quality of this book. It has some non traditional but still classy bouquets inside. I wish it had more bouquets for each month! If you are a floral designer, it is a nice book to show the stephanotis bouquet. I have a lot of brides asking about that specific bouquet.



4. the book is ok, but the condition of this book was awful book is warped and there is a full page written message to someone on the inside.I purchased it to show to brides for ideas,but I would be embarrased to show this one



5. All this book has is bridal bouquets. Every imaginable idea, one to a page. I highly recommend this as a starter for choosing your wedding flower style. It's remarkable. Worth every penny and more. Since you start with your bouquet to match your style and dress, this book is really a must. The choices photographed here are all over the may style wise, something for everyone.

5 comments about Fast Flower Arranging.

1. Jane Packer could not have made this book any easier nor user friendly!! Our sorority cancelled the florist we hired for rush when we found this book. We did all the flowers ourselves and they were stunning!! Great for a coffee table book as well.



2. I have just discovered this book and I really appreciate its presentation. The arrangements are really fast, simple and beautiful through their simplicity. This books clashes with the traditional books on the subject which aim sophistication or grand effects at a high expense. The introduction about the most used flowers is short but clever. Skimming through the book is very inspiring. I don't think it as a coffee table book, but as a resource for inspiration for daily arrangements. And I like the fact that most arrangements presented here are not made with 6 dozen of flowers. I have just made the first arrangement with daffodils (4 USD worth), a small terracotta pot and moss. The result is gorgeous.



3. I once flipped through Jane Packer's Complete Guide to Flower Arranging while in a bookstore. It was a nice book, but it didn't inspire me enough to purchase it. This book, however, seemed to be getting rave reviews so although I couldn't find it in the store, I took the chance to order it. What a surprise! A beautiful book that exceeded my expectations. Much better than the Complete Guide to Flower Arranging, this has some very modern and all easy-to-create arrangements. As a floral designer, I sometimes pick up books here and there for inspiration to use in my business. However, lately I haven't found much to inspire me. This little book is superb. Some fresh ideas to get me restarted (and to get all those budding and would-be designers started). Kudos to Jane and her photographers.



4. I absolutely love this book! The arrangings are very easy to recreate. They are modern, unfussy and colorful. They show the difference between putting flowers in a vase and decorating with flowers. It just takes a few minutes to go from the former to the latter, as Ms. Packer demonstrates in this book.



5. I purchased this book based on the other reviews and am sorry I did. The seller I bought it from provided excellent service and fast shipping. The book itself is a huge disappointment. Based on the other reviews, I expected the book to contain great ideas and stunning arrangements. It has neither. I do not recommend this book.

3 comments about Painting Garden Decor with Donna Dewberry (Decorative Painting).

1. Just another Donna Dewberry book with the same designs painted on different surfaces. I was very disappointed that there was nothing new offered in this book.



2. This book really showed me how to use decorative painting on tht outside of my home. I loved the the patterns in the book that can be enlargened for those who are afraid to "Free Hand" paint. One of the best parts is showing how to take "essential" items such as trash cans, fences, and clay pots and turn them into works of art. It also contains an excellent step by step of painting a realist bunny. I was amazed on how easily it was accomplished.



3. Most of her books are pretty similar, if you like others you will like this one too. Neat garden bench. Many nice garden painted pieces.

2 comments about Flower Arranging.

1. In this tiny (and relatively inexpensive) book, you will find all the technical information needed to work with fresh and dried flowers. It is jam-packed with illustrations and examples. I find myself returning to this book time and time again. If you are looking for one source with detailed techniques to work with flowers, this is it! This book is perfectly complemented by Judith Blacklocks' Teach Yourself Flower Arranging, which covers the style and design aspects.



2. I hoped to find a step by step guide to flower arranging and instead I found an extensive list of flowers (fresh and dried) without any practical explanation on how to arrange them. The full book is about flower arrangements theory.Flower Arranging

5 comments about Ikebana: Japanese Flower Arrangement.

1. This is a clearly written, well thought out explanation of the basics of Ikebana. The photographs demonstrating the combinations of materials, and their height relative to each other, are great as examples for beginners. Many ikebana teachers don't speak English well, so this book is useful for a cross reference for something you were taught in class. One problem - there are many schools of ikebana so the book has to be quite generic in its explanations, which is not necessarily how your particular school may approach a certain principle. But again, as a study supplement to a class, it works well.



2. I got this book to go with Origami Flowers by Hiromi Hayashi. Reiko Takenaka does a good job explaining how to make an arrangement that looks like the pictures, with step by step instructions and clear diagrams. Some of the containers seem to clash with the flowers, and some of the special occasions arrangements are lost in translation for someone not intimately familiar with Japanese culture like me. My only real criticism, however, is that the book does not really explain any principles about why and how and what looks good - it's more a menu to find an arrangement that looks nice in the picture and repeat it.



3. The problem with this book is that most of the shown arrangements are plainly not beautiful. They don't look balanced as real ikebana should look, containers don't seem suitable for flowers, color combinations are not always harmonious, and in many cases it is not clear why this is called ikebana at all. There are some pieces of useful information such as diagrams, tools, and tips, but I don't think it reasonable to buy the book for those 10 pages (like I did).
   There is a really great book on ikebana: "The art of arranging flowers; a complete guide to Japanese ikebana" by Shozo Sato, but it is out of print I am afraid. For examples of good ikebana look at these sites: http://www.nihonkoryu.org/, http://homepages.stmartin.edu/fac_staff/elias/index.htm, http://www.ikebanahq.org/



4. I teach classes in regular floral design and needed something to be a little different and this was it.



5. I am a newcomer to flower arranging but I want my arrangements to look professional. This book is perfect for people like me -- the author tells you exactly what you need, what tools, what equipment, what plant and accessory materials, and then shows you step-by-step where to place each piece of the arrangement. I have varied my plant materials and accessories according to what I could find in my area, and the arrangements have been stunning. A book that explains the philosophy behind Ikebana would complement this book.

4 comments about Flowers By Jeff Leatham.

1. I purchased this to give as a gift to someone who loves flower
   arranging. I was shocked at how repetative this book is with
   two very simple design concepts. One; clear vase, fill inside with same flower, cover with water to rim. Two; take all leaves off the same flower, bundle, rest on the edge of a vase. That's it in the nut shell ! Do yourself a favor and skip this one.



2. I visited Paris in spring, and George V, the Four Seasons Hotel is one stop for me. Just to see the flower arrangement. I bought the book in French Version. I am glad to see the english version is coming. So I can share with more friends. Jeff is a amazing florist!!!



3. As a floral desinger for several years, I highly recommend this book to provide inspiration and visual stimulation. The photographs are beautiful and artistic and the quality of the book itself is superb. Let it inspire your home or event decorating needs and you will not be disappointed.



4. The photos are lovely as is the quality of the flowers themselves, but the ultra-minimalist design approach gets very old very quickly.
   
   I visited the George V as well and was disppointed when the compositions changed very infrequntly over the course of two weeks. To top it all off, one night, while dining in the restaurant, a loud crash could be heard when a luggage cart collided with one of the huge glass cylinder displays in the lobby. It was a mess. The funny part was that I had just mentioned to my companion that I thought the location was dangerous and impractical.
   
   Floral design shouldn't be dangerous.
   
   Flip thorugh this book in a library or bookstore, but don't buy it. Choose one by Paula Pryke instead.

No comments about Simple Elegant Flowers: Over 30 Ideas for Stylish Arrangements.

No comments about Colour: An Inspiring Collection of Ideas for Each Season and Mood.

3 comments about Fabulous Fabric Flowers.

1. There are so many wonderful ideas and for someone with a learning dissability, the directions seem clear cut and easy to follow, so I can't wait to get started!



2. This is a beautiful book. The color pictures are very good and the patterns in the back of the book are good also. I've made several different kinds of flowers and they come out really nice. I haven't tried all of them yet but I look forward to trying them all. Very good buy for the money.



3. I can make this review before buying it because of this:
   
   I saw the 'search inside', see the techniques are like those in my japanese fabric flower books. the pattern is similar. like the leaf, the shape of that little flower...really-really similar to those in japanese craft books...and that little flower is very unique that it's japanese style of little flower...i know it...it's shown in more than 1 books...the way she attached the leaf...shape of leaf...really-really similar...
   
   4 stars is for the ENGLISH textbook...finally...the colors chosen (in search inside) are lovely, very-very western style, so homy, so sweet...i like it though...but i think for color, i prefer those in japanese books, very-very refreshing...
   
   i think the search inside has give quite info for amazoners who are interested in this book. Really, i'm very-very familiar with the techniques. with those two pages, i know they are simple techniques like i did with japanese books...i made fabric flowers sometimes from fabric leftover...so, i just knew it...and with shown flowers inside and on table of contents, you will get beautiful flowers...i don't think you'll regret it...
   also, you can make it with your children. it's a good way to introduce sewing and crafting to your children...
   
   can't give 5 stars (even i haven't really seen it) because the idea is not that new for me...i don't know which one comes first, but i quite believe in japanese craft. They always have different syle and bring something new to crafter...Besides those small flowers...ah, that's very-very japanese style...but for YOU who never knew about this before, YOU CAN give it 5 STARS!...I will, too, if this book is the first i know.
   
   anyway, i'm still wondering whether there are patterns available in this book. hopefully, buyers can add this information. Patterns are important because at first making, sometimes, we can't make the right scale...
   
   i also want to buy it for my reference (it's English! mine are japanese)but not now, not my priority...
   after i got those sewing and knitting books...Fabulous Fabric Flowers...here i come!!!!!

1 comments about Easy Ikebana: Floral Accents for the Home.

1. I really enjoyed this book. It gave me many new ideas. The arrangements can be created easily, quickly, and inexpensively. I recommend the book highly for anyone interested in Ikebana--especially for "beginners" or those who might enjoy a slight "twist" on the "traditonal."