On my online workbook this week: Yes, yes I can be an Incy Wincy bit bothered to design and design until it sparkles

Dear

This week’s inspiration is the start of “adding a something extra to a something already a bit extra” Season. There’s something special about the spicy fragrance you get when designing with chrysanthemums. For me it is the perfect start to the more nostalgic end of the year designing. I can so clearly remember being absolutely enchanted by the crisp snip feeling of the spongy stems and that distinctive fragrance of lots of chrysanthemums when I attended my very first flower arranging class. I was maybe 4 or 5 years old. Because of the generosity of a floral design teacher who did not treat a little girl attending her class any differently than her “grown-up” students I got my first real glimpse of the real magic of floristry. I still think of that lesson every time I design with chrysanthemums.

My design note for you is to create a support for the heavy sparkle spider. Firstly, I believe all your floral details should always look cozy and comfortable in your design. So, I did not want the spider to simply sit on the edge of the wreath (like it is making up its mind to stay… or go) but the large crystal is too heavy (it is a paperweight) to climb into the vase, so you will need to give her something to crawl on over.

Again, this is the whole benefit of making your ingredients yourself. It not only looks “custom made” and valuable beyond but you know how it was made! You can easily unravel a bit of wreath to glue it back in below the spider for extra support.

Glue the wreath twigs on both sides to the glass with hot glue and again from container edge to container edge to give it the heavy crystal the support it needs. Make sure each support twig is glued at at least 3 places, to the other twig and to the glass. Then position the spider to look like it is in motion to add “life” with the heaviest part of the crystal supported on the strongest part of the wreath. It is actually supported by the glass as much as the wreath (that acts as a bit of a hammock) and not just the wreath.

Enjoy!

Every good wish,

Christine