Flower arranging..beginner

Hi friends.

Tis the season around my house.   County fair season that is.

I love everything about our county fair.  I grew up on a farm with 6 brothers and one sister.  We spent our summers working on projects and getting them ready for the fair.

Now a days, I don't have any 4-H projects but I still like to be involved.

I love taking a few projects of my own every year and this year it was flower arranging.

My carnation tea-pot above is filled with mini carnations and baby's breath.

I found this cute tea-pot discounted down to only $2.  

Tea-pots are such a great vessel for arranging in.

Plus our fair has a couple of categories for them.

Polly put the kettle on, I believe it's called.

I used this farmhouse looking tea-pot for my late summer/autumn arrangement.

I will use this for a centerpiece on dining table when early Autumn rolls around.

I love doing wildflowers although I find them a bit of a challenge.

First of course you need to get out and pick them.  That's not hard for me although I have been known to keep peaking over my shoulder when I venture a little farther into the woods.

And here's why!

I took this picture of him late last June.  He had just passed in front of me about a mile from our home.   Needless to say, I am a bit watchful when I head around the wooded areas.

My final arrangement is one I created for Autumn.

The category at the fair is called bird watch, and you need to incorporate a bird of some kind into your arrangement.

I chose a pheasant that I had in my fall stash.

I bought this inexpensive wire container for a couple of bucks.

I then lined it with burlap and added a ribbon of sunflowers tied to one side of the handle.

Now for a few tips I've learned from the judges over the years.

 1.  When you are arranging your flowers, make sure the tallest point of your arrangement is one and half times the height of your container.

2.  Make sure you remove all the leaves that would be inside your water line.

Leaving them will contaminate your water and also drain moisture from your blooms.

3.  Use warm water not cold inside your vessel.  Make sure to make a new cut after bringing your flowers home and then fill your container with warm not cool water.

4.  I use a foam soaked in water for fresh flowers.  I like how it holds moisture and

creates a nice firm base to work with.

With silk or dried flowers I use the Styrofoam rounds or half moons.

5.  Try to think outside the box when creating an arrangement and don't be afraid to pull it apart and start over.  I tend to do that many times.

I am happy to report I received two blue's, two red's and one outstanding ribbon this year.

Have a great week friends,

Cindy

I am joining:

Coastal Charm for Nifty Thrifty Tuesday

Between Naps on the Porch for Met. Monday

The Scoop @ Confessions of a Plate Addict

Inspire me Tuesday @ A Stroll thru Life

Tips and Tutorials @ Stone Gable

Summer's Song

We finally got some much needed rain this morning.

After all the rain we had in early June, I was pretty sure we wouldn't need anymore this summer.

Well ha, I was wrong!

Things were starting to get pretty dry and with the heat wave last week things were starting to look pretty dry as well.

I watered last week and with the heat and humidity, my little annual garden grew in leaps and bounds.

Here's how it looked on June 11th of this year.

And here is how it looks a little over a month later on

July 19.

Quite a difference isn't it?

My Cleome on June 11th.

I only paid a buck for six of these little plants at a local nursery.

I really had no idea how they would look, as I had never planted them before.

I just knew they would be tall and I wanted something tall in the back here.

Looking quite different on July 19th.

I am sure glad I grabbed them when I did.

And this is one of my happy mistakes!

I literally grabbed this plant by mistake and I am sure glad I did.

It's a foxglove and it is just starting to open.

The color is called Camelot Creme, how perfect with the royal baby on the way.

It will come back next year and be much taller.

My endless summer hydrangea have never looked better!

I cut some blooms for the table yesterday.

They seem so purple in this light.

They are kind of a mix, some blue, some slightly pinkish purple.

I found a trick too that works great for keeping them fresh.

When I first brought one in it wilted within a few hours.

I thought oh man this stinks.

However I learned that by cutting off the stems again while they are under running water and then placing them in boiling water for about 30 seconds, I would have hydrangeas that lasted and lasted.

The boiling water opens up the stem and the sap which tends to get thick and allows the hydrangeas to draw up water.

Working on sprucing up the front porch a little bit. 

I painted our old wicker chairs a color called summer squash.

I will get some more pics this week to share later.

Oh the joys of summer.

It seems to go by in a flash.

Bringing back memories of our childhood.

I thought I would leave you with one of my all time

favorite oldies, A Summer Song by

Chad and Jeremy.

The year was 1965.  I was still a little girl but I 

dreamed of being a teenager.

Just click arrow below to hear them on the Dick Clark show.

Enjoy!

I am joining:

Met. Monday @ Between Naps on the Porch

The Scoop @ Confessions of a Plate Addict

Tips and Tutorials @ Stone Gable