Flower arrangement!!!

Arent the flowers pretty??? 5 beautiful roses decorated with berries, Kum Quats (the small oranges) and cinnamon sticks!!! ahhh................ i'm so touched! I got it yesterday. Guess who gave it to me????

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It's my secret admirer!!!! And who is my secret admirer you may be wondering........


well.....



it's ME! haha..... =D
(why can't i admire myself secretly????)

Anyway, yesterday, my 2friends and I stayed back in school for a $5 flower arrangement workshop that my school library was offering. =) it was fun and i think it is quite worthwhile. It's beautiful too... Each of our product, arrangement were different and unique though we all had the same materials/flowers... By the way, they are all real... from the roses to the cinnamon sticks!!!!!

Haha... how come we had roses when it's so expensive at this period of time??? Simple! Thanks to students who give teachers headaches and cause them to easily become ill, my teacher went to the flower shop to buy roses for us to work with at this workshop, and wondered why so many people also buying roses... then it hit her that it was the valentine season, so demand for roses goes up, which means prices of roses also hit the roof. Thus, from the $3 workshop, we ended up paying $5. =) but i think it is still worth it.

Anyway, before the workshop, when i signed up for it, i wasnt really even sure of the details nor what we will be doing (besides learning to arrange flowers)... i didnt even thought we were using real flowers. So i wasnt prepared for taking home the flower arrangment pot. I had my file and thick textbooks to drag home... So whilst carrying my backpack, one hand held my books and file, the other hand clinging to the pot. I didnt even had any hands to spare to take out my ez-link card. What's more it was around 5++ pm when i was going home = peak hr = no seats and bus very packed. I have no seats and i have no spare hands to grab something to balance myself!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Praise God! The gentleman sitting in front of me saw that i was having difficulty to balance, and offered me his seat. I was taken aback. I didnt expect such response... becoz firstly, many Singaporeans sad to say are usually inconsiderate and are super kiasu in getting seats for themselves. Secondly, he has the face that u usually link with a bo chap person. Thirdly, he was sitting besides his girlfriend. So his responsee and generousity gave me a surprise, but i took it gratefully. I felt very bad though. Becoz he had to move behind, away from his girlfriend who was still sitting beside me.

Well, i learnt a couple of things. Never judge a person by his look... and i am very touched by the man's generousity and thoughtfulness. this kind of action should be highly encouraged. So when I see someone who needs the seat more than i do, i hope i will remember what the gentleman did for me, and do likewise.

Ok, ok.... the credit shouldnt go to me... actually, what i mainly did was the 5 roses arrangement/combination. Coz we were told to do the roses combination the way we want it to be first, then push it into the spongue, then put in the berries, and a few Kum Quats, then lastly the cinnamon sticks. I learnt a lot of things from this workshop and had definitely benefitted from it.

1. Get a pot and a hard spongue(?) and fill water up to the base of the spongue after soaking the spongue already.
2. pluck off a few of the outside petals (depending on ur flowers, esp roses) if they are not fresh(?)... something like that...
3. When you cut your flowers (roses & berries), cut it beneath the water. [get a pail of water, and cut the stalk below the water level...to prevent air from entering the xylem and blocking water from entering the plant. By cutting under the water, the air will not have a chance to fill up the tube.]
4. It is recommended to dissolve a few panadol tablets into the cold water to prolong the life of the flowers.
5. Firstly, do the combination of your main flowers first... whether you want it in a circle, or 3 at one corner and 2 at another corner (i chose having 4 roses surrounding the middle rose, which i adjust it one 'head' taller than the rest). But dont put them alone... at least in 2s or 3s.
6. Poke it into the spongue.
7. Place berries surrounding it, wherever you like them. [you have to pluck off the bottom leaves first and adjust the height of the stalk... remember do it below the water level]
8. Put in the Kum Quats anywhere you want them, or in empty spaces. [Use a satay stick to prop it higher]
9. Then place the cinnamon sticks all around the pot (like a fence) to add to its beauty and block off the sight of the spongue as well... it also provides a lovely, yummy fragrance. Ahhh.........
10. You can add in some cinnamon sticks in the middle combination (not just using it for the 'fencing'; prop it with satay sticks) or even bare rose stalk(s) (which you cut off earlier to adjust the stalk of your roses).

TADA!!!!!!! You're done!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well some things to take note of:

* Whilst doing your flower arrangement, figure out where you want the attention to be, where is it going to be more struck out than the rest (usually by making the flowers taller at that side, or prop a bare stalk/cinnamon stick to bring in the focus)... if not it can be a little too 'flat' (as my teacher puts it)

* Dont worry too much when halfway through you feel that you arrangement looks ugly... as you continue, and focus on trying to place the rest of the items to fill in the gaps, it'll slowly look better. Look for ways to enhance its beauty.

* Try not to leave any 'holes'/gaps, and cover up any gaps that shows the spongue, becoz it is not nice.

* Cold water are good for flowers such as roses, so you can try putting ice to water it.

* Sugar water speeds up blooming process.

* Panadol water prolongs the life of the flowers.

* Everyone's end-product will never be two-peas-in-the-pot. Dont limit yourself to what you have seen. Be more flexible and use your creativity to arrange your flowers in your way. Try out new arrangements, dont just stick to the old.

* When the flowers die and wither, you can always take it out and change the flowers.

* Cinnamon sticks either dont decay or they have a very very long lifespan (i cant remember which one is it)

* You can try with any types of flowers and fillings... though be wise when you choose to see if they will match (colours).

* Can try strawberries instead of Kum Quats ( small oranges).

Sounds interesting right??? I invite all my other schoolmates, friends of PHS, to feel free to sign up for future workshops... They are so fun and you get to learn something new!!! I heard that our school library is thinking of having more of such workshops in the coming months.