Favourite flowers: miniature peonies

I have always been a fan of peonies, but there was a market in town the other day and now I think miniature peonies are even more beautiful!

They've really opened up since I bought them, but unfortunately the buds have not opened up.

Sympathy: Week 5

Here are the results from week 5 of my sympathy, and the most funeral-like design so far. It has also been pointed out to me that it looks like Jesus on the cross!

I didn't think I would enjoy this design much but I actually really did. We had free reign over how we wanted to add the leaves to the cross so it was nice to have control over the final result. I also got to have a go at plaiting a fern type leaf in front of the whole class. I'm really pleased with how it came out, and my course leader was very complimentary on my design.

Sympathy: Week 4

This is the result of week 4 of my sympathy course, and I think my favourite design so far. This one was really simple to make, but it was quite tricky to get decent bark with everyone else on my course fighting for it! It looks more natural though when they don't all match perfectly.

I need to work on my pin work though - if you turn this upside down there are pins sticking out everywhere! Not ideal when a customer could pick it up and stab themselves! We'll be using pins again next week so I can keep it in mind and try and prevent them sticking out.

Sympathy: Week 3

This is the result of week 3 of the sympathy unit of my floristry course, and I think my favourite design so far! The weaving was a little tricky to get the hang of at first but it looks so effective. The red fabric underneath is for when the china grass dries out and shrinks, so you can see the red through the gaps. Another reason why this design can also be used for Valentine's Day.

I also remembered to take step by step photos this week, which is good to see all the separate stages.