My First Attempt at something Ikebana-esque

A couple of years ago I was given a beautiful Ikebana bowl for my birthday.  It was such a treat because I was not only given the beautiful handcrafted ceramic piece and the "kenzan" (the spiky base the stems are placed into), but she also showed me how to do an arrangement.

Now I'm not the best student and didn't remember the measurements and angles that she told me are often used in ikebana, so please forgive my slap dash attempt at arranging... while I was setting the flowers in the base I told The Man that I was trying to channel my inner Natsuki (the lovely Ikebana arranging friend)...

... that being said I had a lot of fun doing it and really like how it looks sitting under some of my photos from Japan.

You can see Natsuki at work with her arrangement here.  And you know what, the following year she gave me two stunning sado (tea ceremony) bowls and the bamboo whisk and showed me the correct way to make matcha tea!  I have always been so spoilt by her!

And if you're wanting more Ikebana goodness.... 

Here you can see a lovely Ikebana book that Meanie of Momiji to Mitsukoshi showed us...

... and this Ikebana Flickr group has some stunning pieces for me to aspire to!

... and lastly... this video shows the very basics of Ikebana principals... 

...maybe I should have watched that before I attacked the flowers!  Well, that just gives me an excuse to buy some more flowers later and try again!

*** And I should mention... can you see all that lovely clear space on the dining table!!!  I had a huge tidy-up session since yesterday, motivated by family coming around for my dad's birthday dinner... I can't promise it will stay that way for long though...***