Sacramento Weekend Farmer's Market

It's been a really long time since I had the chance outside of class to do some arranging on my own, and I've got to say that I really needed it.  My confidence has been low and it really helped to sit down in the comfort of my own home and just enjoy the process.  I traveled up to Sacramento to the X Street farmer's market and grabbed some purple amaranthus, green and purple-tinged hydrangea, white dahlias, and calendula flowers (which looked like a flat marigold to me, and the Internet tells me that it is indeed a type of marigold!).  I got a badly-needed visit with my God-sister, made her a quick arrangement, had lunch, shivered on the way back with the AC on full blast for the flowers, and commenced the arranging.
In my last (and final!?) flower class, I really grappled with enjoying anything that I made.  I also realized that I really shy away from arrangements with any type of, well, height.  Whenever I tried making taller or wider arrangements, the end result looked unfinished and like it was full of holes.  To say the least, I felt like crap every time I left class.  I decided to try to start fresh on my own, get some flowers that jumped out at me (and oh, the hydrangeas always do), and have a day of enjoyable arranging.  I decided to work on small, grouped pieces.  I'm comfortable with smaller arrangements, and heck, I can get really confident at these and work up from there.
I borrowed mason jars from my Mom and used a cube vase I had from past weekend arranging.  I'm happy to say that I enjoyed myself.  I'm working back up my confidence, and hopefully my skills.

And here are some single views.

I'm in love with the dahlia in this one.

The amaranthus to the right is bugging me, but for the sake of progress, here we go!

The following is my favorite.  I really like the combination of dahlias with the amaranthus and hydrangea.  It's a combination that I'll have to remember.

 

I'm sorry, I can't help it.

All in all, it was a lovely day.  $21 dollars spent for flowers--I got 5 small arrangments, plus the 1 that I made Micaela out of it.  I'd say that's pretty good.  It was all worth it to have a good flower experience that was calming and enjoyable.  Here's to enjoyable practice, practice, practice.