Glass bottles come in interesting shapes and colours, and reduce arranging to its basics.

Choose flowers with large heads like gerbera, lilies, orchids or sunflowers – add one stem per bottle and line them up on your mantelpiece for instant glamour.

Most household containers, such as jugs and jam jars can be used for displaying flowers. With smaller containers the flowers look better with the stems cut short, so that the flower heads just reach the rim of the container. Choose flowers with full heads like dahlias, carnations, chrysanthemums and daffodils.

Try using flowers of the same colour some instant impact or use lots of interesting foliage for a rustic feel. If you have an attractive container but it isn’t waterproof, place a jar or glass inside to hold the flowers. To quickly change the look of a vase or container try wrapping a headscarf or gift wrap around it.

Use flowers which co-ordinate with the colours in the fabric or paper. Alternatively cover the outside of the vase in double-sided tape and stick leaves, raffia or ribbons all around.

A really interesting and very easy feature to produce is to cut off individual flower heads and float them in a shallow dish of water. Add small floating candles for a dramatic dinner party feature.

What you’ll need

• various fruits
• a sharp kitchen knife
• a suitable container such as a basket or bowl
• florists’ foam
• clear plastic wrap
• tissue paper
• toothpicks or skewers to hold the fruit in place
• additional decorations if wanted

Here’s what you do

• first of all choose what type of display you want and which fruits you prefer
• the best fruits are strawberries, grapes, pineapples, melons, mandarin pieces because they are small and strong enough to withstand carving
• don’t use bananas or apples as they discolour after a while
• don’t use “mushy” fruits such as raspberries as they will break up easily
• think about colour, try using all one colour for a dramatic affect or yellow and orange coloured fruits for a bright theme or even strawberries with black grapes
• prepare your fruit; small fruit such as strawberries and grapes can remain whole but large fruit such as pineapples and melons are best cut into cubes, circles, hearts etc.
• wrap the florists’ foam in plastic wrap to keep it away from the fruit or use an iceberg lettuce instead
• place the florists’ foam or lettuce in the base of your chosen container
• place tissue paper over the foam leaving some hanging over the sides of your container
• using the toothpicks and skewers spear your fruit and push into the foam
• try adding a number of fruits onto one spear for a better effect
• play around with the spears until the “bouquet” affect is achieved, you are aiming for a high centre with the fruits layers gradually getting lower to the edges
• finish it off with garnish such as herbs, leaves, ribbons, toys, chocolate, etc.
• once you are happy with it, it is ready