All dried Autumn hemisphere design that will outlast even the falling leaves outside

Cover a bowl with cling wrap...

This step makes it possible to remove the reads and makes clean up so easy. Keep the wrap once done. You can use it many, many times.

You will need a generous handful.

Build up the shape by gluing in new reeds to loosely follow the shape.

Turn the bowl shape and cover the edge all the way around.

Slip your hand between the film and the reeds to make sure it is not stuck anywhere.

Set the armature at an angle on a display container. Arrange a few pumpkins around the armature... and you are ready to design.

Design note: I always divide the flowers and foliage I dry into batches so that I dry them using different methods.

Each method gives a slightly different result. For instance pressing flowers are flat and great for covering surfaces bit not so great for a light and airy design like this. For this design I needed a long stem on each floret so that it hovers over the reeds rather than be compact. So letting them dry naturally is a better option... but naturally drying shrivels the flowers a bit. So my solution in drying the flowers in a microwave. See below for a step by step picture Tutorial on how to do that.

Book readers: turn to page 110 for how to select flowers suitable for drying, listening to hear when it's dry... and a whole lot more.

Reshape and glue in a few autumn leaves

In my newsletter this week I tell you my secrets for how I reshape semi or dried and brittle plant material. Make sure you are signed up to receive my one email a week, always on a Wednesday morning, always close to eight notification newsletter. I always include an exclusive tip for you so that, if it's something you are particularly interested in and you want to learn more (or share a tip with me) you can just press "reply" and we can chat about it.