Frugal Still Life Photography #3: Vase Variations

This week's lesson in Frugal Still Life Photography featured a guest photographer (Barb from Keeping with the Times) creating beautiful work with a simple set up a vase and a few things from nature. You can see her photo and check out her blog here. I bought this little milk bottle last week when Alison visited, and it seemed a perfect starting point.  Adding some alstromeria pods and chicken feathers to complete the tableau resulted in a photograph which I love because it is very me. I wonder if it might seem a discordant combination to others, but I feel like I own this photograph; that it is a part of who I am. I only wish I remembered how to add textures in PSE. . . . I think it would improve the overall photograph.
I tried a few other set-ups, as well.

I think this would make a really cool photo card for Valentine's Day. Don't you?

And then there's this one which really built on last week's lesson about white space and the first week's lesson about sometimes cutting items off:

It took a fair amount of cropping for me to get a composition which worked. Ultimately, I think I achieved a nice balance, although perhaps I should have brought the right side in just a tad more. What do you think?

My final shot doesn't really respond to the prompt very well. But I don't care . . .

Because I love it! The angle, the focus, the composition. Everything. 

I'm really learning a lot in this course, including a few things about set-up.  Here's my pull back shot.

I've seen several participants drape backgrounds over a chair, so I decided to try that today. I actually put a pillow case over the back of the chair and laid a dishcloth along the seat!

I played with some other still lifes (inspired by the artwork of Matisse) which I will share this weekend.  In the meantime, I love your feedback and comments. Always like to know which ones people like best.