On my online workbook this week: Pro-Tip:

Dear

This week’s inspiration is taking time to stop to notice the tiniest floral details that are still appearing in your waking garden while preparing for the summer rush.

My design note is about getting the fanned out grass bundle to stand upright in your bud vase.

Fanning the grass not only gives you a decorative flat display surface to showcase the most delicate flowers but also fans the grass out inside the bud vase so that it can stand upright.

The first bit of my advice is to design with the grass wet. The easiest way to keep the grass in a bundle is to simply rinse the grass under running water. They will stick together making it easier to tie into the bundle without having to gather them all the time. Then, before inserting the grass into the bud vase, give the stems a slight (I am showing the slanted line of the grasses with my pick in picture above) twist. If you want to see more examples of what I mean with "twist" see the Tutorials below this week's post. This starts a spiral for you to fan out the grass. Simply hold the sheaf loosely in your hands and twist it by turning your one hand up and the other down.

Then when you fan out the grass in the middle of the bundle, pull the grasses in the back to one side so that those stem ends lift to the side on the over end. Do the same with grasses in front, only pull them to the other side so that they lift up under water to the opposite side.

Enjoy!

Every good wish,

Christine