My Creative Workbook

Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman

A Very Merry Christmas Star

20 December 2017
click to send Christine a smile
and more

The sounds of Christmas 2017:

The sound of deep, exuberant Christmas laughter:

Ho...

Ho!

Wishing you days filled with Very Merry Christmas Ho Ho Ho!

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Every week I add a new design with related tutorials. Be sure to subscribe to receive an email notification with design inspiration.

Tutorials

20 December 2017

Twinkle and Pine Christmas Star

Use a cardboard shape to craft a simple wire Christmas star

20 December 2017

Secret Battery holder

Sometimes the best way to hide something in your design is right in the open

4 January 2011

Drinking straw "test tubes"

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

28 December 2016

Adding snow to twigs

Glue artificial snow to twigs

7 December 2011

Hang a wreath on a door without knocking nails into the door face

I use two methods (or a combination of both) to attach a wreath to a door.

25 August 2011

Placing orchids in test tubes

Cut the Phalaenopsis orchid with a bit of green stem attached. This will make them last longer.

24 April 2013

Macramé hanging vases

Knot wool to create a catch to hang tiny bud vases from

28 December 2011

Macramé inspired hanging test tubes

When I hang these delicate glass bubbles I want to make sure they are really secure. By slipping them into Macramé inspired knots they are not only hanging securely but the fishing line knots at the sides also protect them against bumps

12 June 2012

Sticky Shooting Star

Glue gypsophila sticks, flowers and dandelion seeds into a star shape

20 November 2012

Green Trick Floral Wings

Glue gypsophila sticks, green trick carnations, Star of Bethlehem, passion fruit tendrils, jasmine foliage and string of pearls succulents to create floral wings

12 December 2012

Piled Pine Needle Tabletop Wreath

Use wood glue to make a light as air table top wreath from pine needles

10 December 2014

Prickly Pine-needle Square

Create a floral foam cube for a Christmas "gift" table design

10 December 2014

Pine Bauble

Pine needles create tiny balls

17 December 2014

Daisy shaped Pine Star

Use the sheath as a casing to create a decorative pine star

26 August 2015

Sun baked Sweetpea vine wreath

A perfect way to use a Lathyrus vine after all it flowered

16 December 2015

Ivy vine Christmas tree mobile

Twist ivy vines around a cardboard shape to create a lace fine Christmas tree mobile.

6 December 2017

Barely there twig tabletop Christmas tree

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

29 November 2011

Messy wire lace

I call this “lace” because I use pins to guide the wire sections together- almost like you do when making lace.

30 October 2013

Straightening wire

Wire is always sold in a roll and it can be very frustrating to try to remove bends, kinks and curls.

1 January 2025

Twirling New Year’s wish upon a sparkle star

Craft a birch bark star mobile to celebrate the sparkling New Year

27 November 2024

Edge of a platter Christmas quarter wreath garland

How to make a floral display design that will leave space for even more decorations.

13 November 2024

Double down on the Fall magic with the earliest hint of bare (but sparkly) Twig Season

A double vase to keep the bit of sparkle you add to transition a Fall design into Christmas nice and dry... while the fresh plant material remain hydrated.

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.

13 December 2023

Rudolph the red nosed reindeer... the seed cone and twig version

Seed cone and Twig Reindeer

13 December 2023

Snowy Bead Garland Planter Bowl

Glue a beaded garland into a coiled bowl

13 December 2023

Stack and Glue Needle Trees

I am showing you a few versions of the tree. One with lights, with and without a stand, a pyramid stacked one and one on a wire.

13 December 2023

Quick and Easy way to dress up poinsettia plants for Christmas

Colour coordinate your tiny plant pots and add a bauble... or three

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...

8 November 2023

First Frost Sparkle Wire and Twinkle Vine Wreath

An impossibly delicate wreath shape that will last... and last... all Festive Season long.

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.

7 September 2022

Willow disk frog

Dried willow shaped to create a disk to keep your floral details in place in a vase with water.

8 December 2021

Twig Christmas Star

Make your own twig Christmas stars- the easy way.

8 December 2021

Green Patina Copper Bells

Easiest bell DIY. Add a bit more character by chemically treating the bell to have a lovely green patina.

25 December 2019

Spin a tinsel and eucalyptus Christmas star gift basket

Spin and weave and curl and knot delicate strands throughout the gift box for a sustainable gift box that is as pretty as it is meaningful.

11 December 2019

Twig and twinkle Christmas Tree

A light as snow twig and Christmas light armature

11 December 2019

Swirly Twirly Silver Dollar Eucalyptus baubles

Inspired by seedpods... Glue Silver Dollar Eucalyptus leaves into 3 dimensional Christmas decorations.

27 November 2019

How to make a just-picked-it-a-moment-ago snow covered icicle and mistletoe hanging branch bunch

Gather a few branches to hang as a magical winter wonderland Christmas decoration.

27 November 2019

Fake real stems-ends for real fake branches

Add a real stem to shorter artificial branches to incorporate them into a design.

27 November 2019

Perk up faux plant material and flowers that are not wired

A sprig of wired faux plant material is easy to bend back into a more natural position. Plastic plant material without a wire in their stems need a bit of help to get back into shape.

5 December 2018

Long Lichen branches to dress up a curvy vase

Secure two lichen covered branched to rest around the neck of a curvy vase.

27 December 2017

Pine NeedleTube

Glue pine needles to a up-cycled disk to create a winter scene

Related Designs

7 December 2011

Forest Filigree Christmas Wreath

I wanted my Hazel twig wreath to look like forest filigree: mysteriously overgrown, tangled with age and dappled with moss and lichen. The wreath is also dressed with fresh and dried flower bud clusters and operculum of Eucalyptus.

15 December 2011

Rocking around Three Candle Trees

Wire spirals twisted around candles to make small Christmas trees for the Christmas Eve dinner table

11 June 2012

Wish Upon a Dandelion Star

A sticky shooting star made with gypsophila stems and fluffy dandelion seeds

20 November 2012

there’s a feeling

Glue snippets of dried green stems and Green Trick Carnation to make tiny floral wings for Christmas

12 December 2012

It's a swell time…

An exceptional moment frozen in time… 12:12:12 12/12/12

18 December 2012

So this is Christmas, I hope you had fun…

Capilano Flower Arranging Club Designing for Christmas Workshop: Yule log

26 June 2013

All it needed

Clean, simple and restrained elegance: a single jasmine stem in a wine glass. All it needed was just a few extra blades of grass to tie it all together. And wings, of course!

11 December 2013

Glistening and glowing out in the snow

Glue twigs to create a snow scattered dome

18 December 2013

Jingle Belling

Glue a stacked twig round-about to use as a Christmas table top wreath

25 December 2013

A gift for gifting

Christmas gift design

10 December 2014

Let It Snow

Use floral foam to create a pine needle cube

17 December 2014

Star of Wonder

Glue pine needles into star shapes

26 August 2015

Bent

Weave a wreath from sweetpea stems and tendrils

16 December 2015

Christmas Waves

Twist a Kalanchoe and Ivy vine Christmas tree mobile

13 December 2017

Just hear those sleigh bells jingling

Craft a bark sleigh that will last for weeks.

6 December 2017

While I sing of beauty's treasure

Glue the most delicate twig table top Christmas tree

29 November 2011

Jack Frost’s Christmas stocking

I used wire, fishing line (mono-filament) and Phalaenopsis orchid roots to make a messy lace Christmas stocking and dressed the stocking with frost green Cymbidium orchids

1 January 2025

The year is so new it… sparkles!

A sparkling star design to celebrate the New Year

27 November 2024

A Very Merry… all elf pass into Santa’s workshop, special department of tinkering together those Soooo Good, for Goodness Sake moments

Long lasting and easy to pick up and place garland to decorate a Festive Platter of… anything, really!

13 November 2024

Fall-a-la-lah!

Transitioning into the Christmas season... gently

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

13 December 2023

A Very Merry Naked Tree and Woodland Woodsy and Oversized Flowers 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 am continuing with a garland bowl and a cone and twig reindeer.

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.

8 November 2023

A warm up

An almost Christmas... Christmas wreath featured in the winter edition of Flora Magazine.

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.

7 September 2022

Of the shades to come

This design requires a bit of prep-time so it is perfect to make while waiting for the first autumn leaf to appear…

8 December 2021

It’s the most… it’s the most... Jingle Patina Christmas of all!

This is the third of my Christmas 2021 series of designs. This year in the form of a mini workshop… my Christmas present to you. Craft the easiest copper bells to hang in a Christmas star wreath.

8 December 2021

It’s the most… it’s the most... Jingle Patina Christmas of all!

This is the third of my Christmas 2021 series of designs. This year in the form of a mini workshop… my Christmas present to you. Craft the easiest copper bells to hang in a Christmas star wreath.

25 December 2019

Wishing you a Light Touched Christmas

A naturally fragrant, star shaped gift box basket. Merry Christmas to you.

11 December 2019

A Very Merry eucalyptus bauble Christmas!

For this year's Christmas tree I wired and glued a wild and wintry twig armature... but... these little eucalyptus baubles are just the cutest!

27 November 2019

The struggle is real!

Design 3 looking at How to style with artificial plants and branches using quality faux plants and stems. This week: mistletoe! And also .. give your faux a reason for being there.

5 December 2018

Personal Preference

The third design I did for my book launch demonstration looking at aspects that influences my effortless style of designing.

27 December 2017

Can it be?

Craft a pine tube to display a soft and snow filled winter scene

Favourite Flowers

Phalaenopsis

Phalaenopsis orchid detail from my Harnessing the Wind design