I can spend considerable amounts of time in florists and wholesalers contemplating which flowers I want to use and how they would work in a particular design or other. Or try and think how I would use a certain sometimes unusual flower that I have found in the florists. I do use internet for florist supplies and scrapbooking, papercrafting sites but I do like to browse the physical shops too - at least to get some ideas and then shop around for the bargains online. Although the scrapbooking is firmly on the back burner whilst the floristry course is ongoing. As for shopping in general, in actual fact as of the time writing this I have not been up to MK shopping centre this year!!
But as we were in Suffolk I knew of a large sundries wholesaler who allowed NAFAS members in and who didn't have minimum spends or registration fees. So as part of our break we headed there to allow me an hour or so of indulgence!! I was eager to have a look as I needed to pick up one or two items for my shop window and in-store display assignments at college. And I was happy to go as W and M Smith had been incredibly helpful when I was trying to get hold of some items for an assignment earlier in my course.
The wholesaler I went to was brilliant and I had a great time browsing around their packed wharehouse and didn't even spend that much really as most items were very reasonably priced, even taking account of the VAT to be added! I managed to pick up some rainbow foam in lime green, some wire cushion bases which I need for an assignment I have coming up and college have been unable to source a wire cushion frame for me to do this assessment on. Luckily they had some, slightly rusty but very useable frames and the very helpful lady let me have about 4 or 5 for free as they had been planning to dispose of them - I will come back to this when I talk about my assessment.
Some cute additions for my Easter window display, like the chap above some chicks, the lovely lime green vase below, which is just for me at home!!
The chick below and the galvanised dish, which I may or may not use for my planted bowl. I also got another container which is my alternative for the planted bowl, some candles in the shape of eggs, jute ribbon (lime green) and a few other bits and pieces including some Mitsumata which meant the car was quite full!
I also picked up these yellow eggs too, which will all come into play for the window display and then hopefully I will be able to use in either my design or competition work (eventually!).
On our way back we had just a few minutes for me to pop in for a look at Capture the Magic but I am reluctant to spend too much on the scrap crap at the moment as I have so little time to indulge and I have so much stuff as it is so I made only a couple of purchases.
Some green and cream dotty cardstock which I love and do use quite a lot in layouts, some cream chipboard from Bo Bunny which I can ink up to the colour I want - lots of swirls and frames, which are the things I like to use,
and some alphabet Thickers which I love and use too italic green, a curly black and a useful blue, 
and some more chipboard from Bo Bunny this time circles and arrows, so a modest few purchases after all!
At some point I am hoping to bring these two loves together and produce a scrapbook or portfolio of all my floristry creations - one day this will happen.Ciao
Sue
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Reading challenge 10/16 - currently reading Songbird by Josephine Cox
