For this large still life I started with the Chinese knot as the centerpiece, a traditional decoration for good luck. Fish are also good luck as they are a homophone for "plenty" in Chinese, so adding the pile of sunflower seeds also seemed appropriate.
As for technique, this time I purposely left the objects in the back and the white silk backdrop looser than I have been doing recently, thinking it would start to look too tight and claustrophobic if I locked it up.