I’ve been dealing with gastroenteritis since last weekend (the joy of working in a primary school and catching absolutely everything), and after what felt like many days, I finally had the energy to sit down and build a little more of my Blooming Book.
After finishing all the flowers, it was time for the four eucalyptus pieces, two of each color, the plants that surround the flowers, the bow, and the book base with its ribbon. I kept painting the edges of the eucalyptus, and for the plants I loosely followed the guide, but as always, I adjusted them to my own taste. I also added a few extra plants/flowers I’d finally found that look like tiny sakura flowers! 
I painted the little sign where a dedication would normally go, but since this one is for me, I didn’t dedicate it to myself. I left the bow in its original color because it’s really beautiful, and for the first time ever, I managed to build one without breaking a single piece. A small victory!
I also painted the flowers on the book cover. I absolutely love the butterfly-shaped feet of the book, they’re adorable, and the book design itself has such a lovely vintage feel.
A small tip when assembling the book: be very careful with these pieces of the photo:
They don’t look it, but they’re extremely delicate. Even though there are spare parts, they break very easily. I managed to fix mine with super glue, but I wanted to warn you just in case.
Once that was done, it was time to place all the flowers and plants. This is one of my favorite parts of building a wooden bouquet. As I added the flowers, I kept adjusting the plants until everything felt right. After that, I added the tiny flowers at the base of the book and the little butterflies throughout the bouquet.
And here’s the final result. What do you think? I find it absolutely lovely. I’ve enjoyed all the bouquets released so far (I only have one left to build to complete them all), but this one feels extra special to me.
Flowers blooming from a book just hits differently when you love reading as much as I do. It’s already sitting on my shelf, cherished.
Before I finish, one very important tip for anyone who has never built a bouquet before and doesn’t want to end up with loose pieces.
If you follow the individual flower instructions step by step, at the very end they’ll tell you to add extra pieces to lengthen the stem. Instead of doing that, go straight to the main bouquet instructions, the full-color ones specifically for the bouquet, and check how long each flower stem actually needs to be.
Doing it this way saves you from having leftover pieces from every single flower. I personally like keeping spare parts together with their flower instructions, but since these pieces are so tiny, I don’t even remove them from the wooden sheet. I wrap that piece together with the instructions so I don’t lose anything and always know which flower they belong to. I hope this tip helps!
Now I need to decide what’s next… keep going with Kiki’s Magic Emporium or start something completely new. We’ll see. 
Thanks for reading, and I hope you all finish the week well!
Thanks for the tips!
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also wish you speedy recovery wenbare 
Working in a primary school really is a full-contact job sometimes. And honestly, you’re not alone lately. I managed to hurt my lower back, another colleague broke a rib skiing… we’re all counting down to Spring Festival so we can properly go home, rest, and reset.
And thank you so much for taking the time to share such detailed tips with everyone. Your bouquet advice is gold and will help so many builders avoid frustration.
The added Sakura really elevates the whole thing!
