Gerbera Daisies for Melanie

This post is dedicated to Melanie of melaniescrafts. As I mentioned in the previous two posts, she inspired me to make daisies. And here are the results. They are still incomplete. They need to dry totally, before I can insert stems. But, otherwise, they are ready. I made the dark pink one first. The center is smaller and is surrounded by smaller petals. In the orange and yellow daisies, the center is much larger and there are no smaller petals. The orange daisy is quite large. Almost 3.5 inches in diameter :). Making the center appears to be the most patience-testing task, until you come to the petals :). Each petal is individually crafted and then texturized, then attached to the center, before it can dry. Hah! It sounds like a lot of work, huh? It actually is.... but it is also a lot of fun. And once complete, these flowers look gorgeous.

 The thing about Gerbera Daisies specifically (and clay flowers in general) is that, they look good individually, but great in a bunch or an arrangement. Once stems are inserted, I could do a couple of things, tie the flowers together with a pretty ribbon - making a hand-tied bouquet. Or, I can leave them as they are and they can be arranged freestyle in a clear or opaque tall vase. If stems are cut short, these daisies can also be used in arrangements, but I think, an arrangement has to be pretty large to accommodate daisies this size :). 

My day today was again really busy. Had to go shopping for veggies, then cook and then rush to send papers for my parents' US visa application, so that they can visit us. This is the first time in two years that my super-busy dad has managed to get leave sanctioned to make this trip! I hope their visas are granted. More than anything, we want them to see our new home in Arizona. Anyway, after finishing the job of sending my parents the visa papers, I went to my Ikebana class (I am no good at it, but my teacher says that I am improving.... today, another student actually took a photo of my Ikebana arrangement! Wow!). And then, I went swimming for an hour. Then I came home, took photos of these daisies, and uploaded them to my computer. And here I am now, writing this post and wrapping up my day...

Let me know what you think of the flowers... Give me ideas about the color combinations and the various ways I can arrange them. As I work with the colors and arrangements, I shall post more photos. But I really do need your feedback. So, please feel free to write in.