My Creative Workbook

Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman

A Candy(cane) Cotton Christmas

14 December 2016
and more

Frosted window panes

Candles gleaming inside

Painted candy canes on the tree

Santa's on his way

He's filled his sleigh with things

Things for you and for me...

"The Christmas Waltz" is a Christmas song that was written by Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne for Frank Sinatra, who recorded it in 1954

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Tutorials

14 December 2016

Bark and Cotton Candy Cane

Cover a cardboard shape in cotton and bark to create a floral armature

4 January 2011

Drinking straw "test tubes"

When you need to keep a tiny stem hydrated this is just what you need.

9 July 2014

Designing with Tillandsia

Air plants need special design consederations

1 February 2011

Felt

How to tangle wool into felt and make pebbles, felt strips and test tube covers

18 December 2012

Wire hooks for baubles

Bend thin decorative wire to create hooks to hang baubles or design details

10 July 2012

Bark covered heart

Cover cardboard with bark to create a heart shaped log

22 January 2013

Bark Veneer Cardboard Floral Cake

Glue a stack of cardboard circles to create a log-like floral cake

19 August 2015

Bark pod for growing a Pearl Oyster mushroom mini farm

Glue bark to a Papier Maché and wire frame to create a pod shaped armature

2 June 2011

Papier Mache

I save all the thin tissue paper or un-printed newsprint papers that are wrapped around the flowers that are delivered to me to make batches of Papier Mache with. These sheets make fantastic Papier Mache because it is designed to be super absorbent and colour fast.

9 July 2014

Taking care of Tillandsia

Conditioning and growing air plants

25 December 2024

Candle in a window pane Christmas glow

Stack glass containers as your mechanic and frame for a Christmas glow design.

18 December 2024

Birch bark ice skates on a glistening kalanchoe and cypress snow pond ice skating rink

A winter wonderland ice pond table top design... with sparkling bark ice skates

18 December 2024

Glistening kalanchoe and cypress snow pond ice skating rink

Fill an upturned container with a string of fairy lights to look like a glistening snow rink for ice skating.

4 December 2024

A slow reveal Birch Bark Scroll Nice List

Soak and roll a sheet of birch bark into a scroll for a woodland inspired Santa's Nice list

20 November 2024

Long lasting floral finial decoration for Christmas

Make ahead (oversized) bark and kalanchoe Christmas decoration... and best of all it last for weeks!

10 July 2024

Sweet pea and Felting Wool Swirl Around a Log

Arrange beautiful King Tut sweet pea vines to swirl around a piece of fire wood... with a bit of help from a felting technique

20 December 2023

Velvet Magnolia Leaf Christmas Tree

Cozy textured tall and luxurious table top tree design.

20 December 2023

Starlight Garland

Fold a continues strand of stars on a wire fairy light strand.

6 December 2023

Twig and Tinsel Candy Canes

Easy... but it takes a bit of resting time. Perfect for having your hot chocolate while waiting...

21 December 2022

Winter Solstice Kalanchoe and Berry twig Lantern

Soft and minimal glow lantern that you can make ahead of time to last all Festive Season.

30 November 2022

The coziest Wool, Holly and Kalanchoe Table Top Candy Cane Snowflake

A fuzzy wool and twig snowflake that starts out as a handful of candy canes.

30 December 2020

Suspend design elements around a poinsettia forest floor display

A low design that is still light and airy using a lot of convenient prepare ahead of time design elements.

23 December 2020

Wired snowball pom pom

Craft an ornamental ball or tuft with wool and cardboard.

23 December 2020

Weave a grass Christmas tree

Easy armature design that is actually quite relaxing to do... plant meditation!

25 November 2020

Contactless gift exchange wreath perfect to double as Santa’s Gift Bag for your front door

Craft a small pouch into a half-and-half wreath so that you can leave... and receive tiny gifts and cards in true Christmas 2020 style .

25 November 2020

Wire Stars

Wrap wire around a cardboard star for a quick three dimensional decoration.

18 November 2020

Foam free and flameless cardboard and bark yule log

Using all those cardboard boxes to craft a bark covered "log" design for getting a head start on Christmas decorating.

18 November 2020

Craft a single legged wire nest to place a flameless candle into your design

Super easy to add into your design and even easier to switch the candle on... and off, without disturbing the design details.

13 November 2019

How to dress a shop bought artificial wreath to go from meh to: it looks so real!

Just a few adjustments can transform a boring artificial wreath into a high end looking designer decoration.

13 November 2019

How to fake a blizzard in floral designs

Part of the charm of contemporary designing is adding elements to your work that create a story.

13 November 2019

Turn shop bought baubles into designer frosted snowballs

Brushing a shiny bauble with an almost dry brush with just a bit of paint on turns it into a beautiful almost antique snowball.

13 November 2019

A tangle of ribbon instead of a bow for an unusual winter design

I wanted my design to look more "found this way" than "designed this way" so I strategically tangled the ribbon to dangle down the design rather than tie it in a neat bow.

13 November 2019

How to use artificial plants or faux plants to create beautiful and long lasting decorations without it looking tacky or... sad.

What if you absolutely HAVE to decorate with faux plants? Here are my guiding rules when it comes to styling with permanent botanicals

19 December 2018

Sparkling Eucalyptus Tabletop Christmas tree

Craft an ethereal Christmas tree from Eucalyptus leaves, twigs and sparkling snow flake crystals.

13 December 2017

Long lasting bark and Kalanchoe sleigh

Kalanchoe flowers last weeks without a water source and is the perfect way to dress up a bark and silver bell sleigh

6 December 2017

Barely there twig tabletop Christmas tree

Glue curved twig snippets to craft a delicate winter white Christmas tree

6 December 2017

Fluffy pillow filler tree skirt

The fluffy stuffing found in pillows create beautiful, water repellent tree skirts.

28 December 2016

A bark strip and fluffed cotton disk wreath

Cover a wreath frame with bark strips and fluffed out cotton

21 December 2016

Add a Cotton pod Cuff to the Bark Christmas Stocking Armature

A fluffy cuff lines the top edge of the bark Christmas Stocking

Related Designs

10 July 2012

Sticktoitness

Glue a heart shaped design made from bark and wood.

12 August 2012

A Twist on Tradition

August is the month for retail florists and wholesalers to start designing, ordering and preparing their product range for the Christmas and Festive Season. This is my article that I wrote for the August 2012 Christmas design Issue of Canadian Florist Magazine

24 December 2012

Please have snow… and presents under the tree

Wire a Tiny Twig Treasure Trunk for small Christmas gifts

22 January 2013

It's High Time for Tea: from craft to art, taking a delicious floral journey with veneer techniques

This was my second two designs for my It's High Time for Tea Floral Craft and Art Demonstration at The Capilano Flower Arranging Club meeting.

24 July 2013

Getting into the competitive spirit of things

Retail florists and wholesalers are already designing, ordering and preparing their product range for Christmas. This is my article that I wrote for the Christmas Design Issue of Canadian Florist Magazine

19 August 2015

Growth Medium

Design a bark and moss pod for a mushroom mini farm

25 December 2024

A Very Merry… all elf pass into Santa’s workshop… ‘tis Christmas Day!

A sweet through-the-window candle glowing kind of design to celebrate Christmas.

18 December 2024

A Very Merry… All Elf gliding along pass all the way from Santa’s workshop!

Bark ice skates on a snow covered pond... perfect for capturing Christmas memories!

4 December 2024

A Very Merry… all elf pass into Santa’s workshop, department for checking it twice

A frozen in a moment bark scroll with silver leaf letters that was about to reveal Santa's Nice list!

20 November 2024

A Very Merry… all elf pass into Santa’s workshop!

A light... and slight start to designing for Christmas... an oversized Finial

10 July 2024

Still wrapping my head around this one

Craft a haze of green around a log for a sweet pea swirl effect.

20 December 2023

A Very Merry Dark chocolate Velvet Texture of Yore, Tall and Trendy Christmas Cheer

Tall and velvety Christmas tree... with a starlight garland

6 December 2023

A Very Merry Dark and Moody and bring it in from the Woods Trendy Christmas Cheer

From now to a bit after New Year's Eve I will show you my take on the trends for Christmas 2023. This week I start with natural styling with a handcrafted twig candy cane.

21 December 2022

Let it

A happy December Solstice or the Winter Solstice lantern.

30 November 2022

Take a bough… it’s Christmas time!

A wool and twig snowflake design (made from candy canes!) that will last the entire Festive Season.

30 December 2020

All is Calm, All is Bright

An easy to do ahead of time winter wonderland themed design for the calm days just after Christmas but before New Years Eve.

23 December 2020

Have yourself a Merry Cellulose Fibre Christmas: wired snowball pom pom for a woven grass Christmas tree

...ok not really that fancy- it’s made from paper pulp. Some cardboard to wrap the string around… really. In the spirit of 2020- I am inspired by the endless stream of cardboard boxes being delivered. This week I am making loads of snowball pom poms.

25 November 2020

Have yourself a Merry Cellulose Fibre Christmas: Santa’s gift bag wreath

...ok not really that fancy- it’s made from paper pulp. A cardboard box gift bag wreath… really. In the spirit of 2020- I am inspired by the endless stream of cardboard boxes being delivered.

18 November 2020

Have yourself a Merry Cellulose Fibre Christmas: Yule log

...ok not really that fancy- it’s made from paper pulp. A cardboard box Yule log… really. In the spirit of 2020- I am inspired by the endless stream of cardboard boxes being delivered.

13 November 2019

It’s unreal!

Design 1 of my three week pre-Christmas designing series looking at How to style with artificial plants and branches using quality faux plants and stems. This week: a wreath