On my online workbook this week: Look at me… doing math!

Dear

This week's inspiration is the most perfect Earl Grey gladiolus flowers.

My tip for you this week is all about using dried flowers and stems in water. The short answer is probably... don't. But where is the fun in that?

Dried stems rot so quickly and spoil your entire design long before the fresh flowers even show signs of age. Of course rotting stems also make your fresh flowers rot quicker. The solution to that is to separate the stems. The first way is to lift and place the dried stems well above where the water will be by cutting the stems shorter or draping them outside the container like I did this week. It suited my design because I wanted no stems to show in the water.

Another option for when you have to add the longer stems into a water filled container is to give the stems a waterproof "barrier". One way is to dip the stem ends (that will fall below the waterline) in melted wax. This will keep the stems dry and you can do it well in advance if you know you are going to be in a rush when assembling the design. Another is a dab of Petroleum jelly. This is a really great way if you also want to make brittle stems pliable again.

Or another way is to give the dried stems a reusable container of it's own. Something like a plastic bag (Ziplock's work great) or latex balloon or even a tube or drinking straw plugged on one end (see page 133 of my book) this works great if you need to spear the dried material into moisture retaining mediums like (gasp!) floral foam (just because we can use it still doesn't mean we should) or even better options like perlite, moss, wool or sand...

Enjoy!

Every good wish,

Christine