Hobbies

 by: Peta DSilva

Fruit Bouquets are quite interesting to make, and look delicious. They can be made out of real fruit or fake fruit- in this article I am using real fruit. If you decide to use real fruit then be aware that the bouquet will have to be eaten in a few days... otherwise the fruit will rot.

You can use all sorts of different fruits, from apples to apricots, to peaches. There are certain fruits that make it easier to learn how to make a fruit bouquet, and I will use them in this article. Once you know what you are doing, you might want to try different fruits.

You will need:

- 7 Large Plums

- 11 Strawberries

- 15 Large Leaves

- 5 Small Rosebud Heads

- Cellophane

- 4 Feet of Ribbon

- Thick, semi-thick, and thin gauge wire

- Stem tape

Step 1- Prepare the fruit.

Remove any stems or stickers from the fruit, and clean if needed.

Step 2- Prepare the cellophane

Cut squares out of the cellophane to wrap the plums in. The squares don't have to be too big, just big enough to encase the plum entirely. Twist the cellophane around the plum.

Step 3- Wire the plums

Wire the plums, using thick gauge wire.

Step 4- Tape the wire

Tape the wire. The plums should now look a little like a toffee apple on a white stick.

Step 5- Prepare the strawberries

Remove the leaves from the top of the strawberries, and then prepare them the same as the plums. Use the same size squares of cellophane as before.

Once the cellophane is twisted around the strawberries, cut the cellophane so only an inch or so is left.

Step 6- Wire the strawberries.

Wire the strawberries, using semi-thick gauge wire. The wire needs to be near the larger end of the strawberry, so the pointy end of the strawberry will be seen in the bouquet.

Make sure you are gentle with the strawberries, as they are quite squishy!

Step 7- Prepare the leaves.

Wire and tape the leaves using thin gauge wire.

Step 8- Shape the fruit bouquet.

Assemble everything into a posy shape. Do this by...

- Holding the plums in a bunch, using 2 hands.

- Fan everything out slightly.

- Insert leaves between the plums.

- Add the strawberries and the roses.

If you have any unfilled gaps, then fill them in then fill them in with two figure-of-eight bows. Cut off the excess ribbon, so that you only have loops.

That's it! A quick warning though... if you used real fruit, make sure you put the fruit bouquet in the fridge, otherwise it will start to go off (and smell a bit funny), in a few days.