Portland is known as the Rose City. We are inspired every spring and early summer by the soft texture, lovely colors and subtle scent of roses. Given our love of simple crafts to create beauty and our desire to bring joy to others, crafting with early summer roses was a natural choice.
DIY Rose Garland: To complete this all we needed were fresh roses, large needles and embroidery floss. We cut the heads from the roses and left about 1" of the stems to sew through.
After determining how long we wanted the garland, we cut a few inches' extra length and spaced the roses out to where we wished them to hang. Sewing several backstitched on the stem ensured the rose heads would not slide down the string. Once completed, the garlands can be hung vertically or draped across a mantle. As the roses lose their freshness, the garland will be transformed into a dried flower arrangement that may be left hung year round.
Inspired by the lovely pink color of our garlands, we decided to make a cake to match the mood and help a friend celebrate their birthday. We discovered a recipe for a Blood Orange Bundt Cake that is both simple to prepare and delicious.
Whole segments of blood orange are first pureed and then mixed into the batter. The cake is lightly sweetened by the fruit and has a bright citrus taste. The glaze is made with confectioners' sugar and blood orange juice, which gives it a delightful pink color.
For added flair, we dressed the cake with grated citrus rind and set the cake atop a bed of the rose leaves left over from our garland project. So lovely!
