As promised, here is a design using the tree technique (click here to see it). I have made this as a table centre, however you could use this for a feature table or even on a reception desk for an office. The overall size should be in proportion to the trees you make.
My ever popular banksia trunk slices make another appearance, this time using two place slightly angled on top of one another.
A few baubles have been glued onto place, some with the hanging clasps in place, others have this removed and the neck cut off so I can put water into them to support any fresh plant material I might use.
A small piece of Xanthorrhoea flower spike (actually a broken piece from a larger one) has some wooden skewers glued into the centre so I can place it into a split in the wood slice – no need to drill any holes.
The pine cone is prepped the same way (glued skewers). It along with the trees are placed in the gap between the bark and the wood of the slice, again so I don’t need to drill holes. These placements also give the design depth as they at the edges of the overall space.
A grouping of baubles, some with water others untouched, at the frontof the lower slice is mirrored by another group towards the back of the design and underneath the top slice. This accentuates the space created by having the slices slightly offset to one another.
As a small feature, one of those design intrigues that make you look a second time to get inside the design, I have glued some gumnuts to a piece of cardboard covered with Xanthorrhoea seeds.
Placement of the fresh kangaroo paw and woolly bush complete the design. In fact, both these fresh plant materials will dry and not lose their colour so this design is perfect regardless of when it goes on display, how long it will be on display or how hot the weather might be (for us, in Australia, this has to be considered around Christmas time!)
Definitely a design that could be adapted for a variety of competition class titles – some not even associated with Christmas.