On my online workbook this week: Alrighty then

Dear

This week's inspiration is perfectly imperfect.

My tip for you this week is about maintaining your design to look as beautiful as possible for as long as possible. The first step is (of course!) keeping the container sparkling clean. Any debris that falls into the container will show. It not only looks rather messy but it also contaminates the water causing bacterial growth. The decomposing plant material plugs the vascular bundles of the vine stems so that they are unable to continue to absorb water and will wilt rather than blossom and grow in the design.

Prevent this by not damaging the stems (by scraping or hammering it while conditioning leaving bits of damaged plant material to float about in the water) and designing in sparkling clean containers. Give the clean container a quick rinse to make sure it is dust free before designing.

Then take care when designing not to drop anything in the water.

Use a paintbrush to pick up any bits of debris that floats in the water. Simply sweep the debris up with the dry bristles of the brush. Wipe it dry on a cloth or paper towel and continue sweeping until you have caught all the floating bits. It works surprisingly well. And if bits of debris float down below into the second vase where it is difficult to get to simply stir up (or whip up) the water below with the brush. This agitates the debris to float to the top can then be scooped up.

And lastly, design the huckleberry twigs in a way that it becomes an armature secured into the shallow glass container. Let the twigs wedge into place where it curves, glue a few of the twigs to the shallow container with hot glue in strategic places and allow the vines to tangle into, wedge into gaps (see the picture above) and be supported by these secured twigs. This way the entire shallow container is a unit that can be lifted out of the water so that you can easily pour out the water and replace it with fresh clean water as needed.

Enjoy!

Every good wish,

Christine

ps: Here is the basic Tutorial for using a brush to pick up any bits of plant material floating in the water