THIS BLOG HAS MOVED

Hello dear reader,

This blog has moved to this new address:

anastasiabenko.com

Years ago I started this blog to share inspirational stylings and photography with you. Over the course of time my personal & professional portfolio grew and this is the reason why I decided to make a big portfolio and to move to this site. This is how the new site looks now – it has grown into a portfolio where I share bits and pieces from my work as a stylist, artist and photographer:

anastasiabenko.com

Please pay a visit to the new site as there is so much more to discover.

Thank you so much for reading this blog,

All new posts will be now shown on anastasiabenko.com

A. XO

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WREATH OF THE MONTH – INSTAGRAM CHALLENGE

Hey, this is the second summary of our monthly Instagram challenge #wreathofthemonth

Without having told a lot of people about our new adventure Berit & I started this challenge because we are very passionate about wreaths. You guys make this challenge so beautiful – I wish I could post more of those wreaths { today I am actually cheating – as you will see by the end of this post – because I chose more than the actual winner and the 4 favorites 🙂 } THANK YOU SO SO MUCH FOR PARTICIPATING!

This breathtaking wreath had to be my winner! How many of you though that baby’s breath is a filling flower? I did! But these gorgeous flowers have become the superstars of floral arrangements in the past and they also make quite a statement on their own! Don’t you think? Hop on over to Wenche for the full beauty!

This time I was drawn to all those casually made wreaths, those gorgeous pieces of wreath art were made by Marta, Jess, Madeline and Emma.
You can’t get enough? Then you are a little something like me! I get a lot of messages from people asking how to make a wreath. Even though I have made a few tutorials, I would love to encourage you to start step by step. Like these two fab ladies did:

You can create a stunning image just by placing the flowers next to each other, just like Anja and Gudy did…
Writing this post a few new wreaths were turned in to participate in this challenge and I love looking at them. I hope you feel the same and will continue to wreath yourself away…
Hve a brilliant week,
A. XO

DETAILS FROM PARIS

Hey!

I’ve been to Paris two weeks ago and because it was such great occasion – we went for a hen night I had organized for my best friend – I didn’t take that many photos of Paris. I took more pictures of the girls, as it wasn’t the typical sightseeing tour but more a girl’s weekend out and then again I’ve been there so many times so I didn’t rush to make full frontals of the Moulin Rouge or the Notre Dame. It was more a relaxed stroll through the city, capturing details that have caught my eye.
Today I would love to share some detail shots from the flea market Marché aux Puces de St-Ouen.

I’ve always been a person who focused on details! A lot! Focusing on details makes my mind wander and this is exact the point where my ideas start to develop. Simply by looking at things. To me its just that simple. I keep my eyes open and inspiration comes my way { I learned to channel those thoughts because to me inspiration is everywhere and it can get quite exhausting to think about those ideas 24/7, sometimes I couldn’t even sleep because I was too excited about an idea } but when an idea develops I make sure to make a note so I can work on it later. Then again, every creative I know, has a different way to develop ideas. One has to meditate, the other has to get in contact with the objects he is working on by simply touching it… There are so many ways to bring in the beauty of the world to your projects. Experiencing details is mine.


Going through these images I realized that sometimes it is a very obvious strike of inspiration {like with these african inspired jute floor mats in the picture above} and sometimes an images develops it’s beauty after days or weeks. All of a sudden it all makes sense. All of a sudden you know where this idea for displaying your kitchen goods came from. I didn’t even plan writing about the inspirational process when I started this post. But looking at those images I had the urgent need to explain why those details have caught my eye. It’s the details that make everything come alive. It’s the little things that appeal to me and they make a big difference in the whole picture after all is finished.

I love to take photos of landscapes and people. But I also have thousands of photos where I just capture the details of an interesting texture or the color of a beautiful flower. I often go through my images and by looking at them, my memories come back and I remember what inspired me to take this image. Details plant the seed of inspiration for me and from there everything develops naturally. I would love to know, can you relate to this way to work or do you have a different way to get inspired? Would you love to see a visualized example of how a detail, that inspired me came to life?

WREATH OF THE MONTH {MAY}

Hey,
its the time of the month again, where Berit from Marmelade Kisses and I are showing you our wreaths of the month. It was in March, when we started out our challenge – for all of you to join & enjoy – #wreathofthemonth

Every last day of the month we will show you the wreaths we made and a few days later we will announce 4 favorites and one winner!

But before we will announce the winners, its time to show our wreaths.

I wanted to have a little challenge this May and didn’t buy any flowers or plants to use for the wreath. Everything is so green around me and I decided to challenge myself and go out in the woods to find moss and grass for my wreath. It was quite a task because the grass was not long enough and I pictured myself with a simple moss wreath. This would have been fine, but a moss wreath is an allrounder and you can make it any time of the year. Luckily, at the end of my walk, I found this long grass in the woods! When binding the wreath, it first looked like a huge jungle where you couldn’t tell the beginning from the end, but once it was hung, I really loved the green jungle wreath on my lockers. So, tell me, are you ready to join in the #wreathofthemonth challenge? We would love to see your wreaths! Wreath yourself away and have a great Sunday!