My Creative Workbook

Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman

a Yay! You

a Yay! You flower arrangement by Christine de Beer

There’s so much going on (and recently a flower shortage sprinkled on top of it all) it can easily feel like making something pretty is swimming against the stream.

Buttercup and pussy willow flower arrangement

How to remain inspired and keep improving your craft?

Fuzzy pussy willow caterpillar

Be kind.

Adding personality to your flower arrangements

My strategy is to give myself a break.

Sustainable Spring floral design using minimal flowers

When things get tough I take a step back and see it as my time to revisit my absolute favourite ideas to find how I can make it just a little bit better.

Contrast in flower arrangements

This way I am halfway there even before I begin to design!

Using a kenzan in contemporary zero waste no floral foam flower arrangements

It is absolutely possible to keep your creative enthusiasm alive because you are inspired by the things you naturally gravitate to and already love to create.

Original flower arranging tutorials

And there it is… before you know it you’ve made something pretty with what you’ve got left… yay YOU!

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

Tutorials

14 April 2021 Fuzzy Willow Caterpillar in a buttercup and jasmine vine swirl

As in… Pussy willow catkins caterpillar… that is super fuzzy.

7 January 2015 Securing a kenzan

Temporarily adhere a traditional Ikebana Kenzan or pincushion to a shallow container.

22 May 2012 Bite and snap a sturdy twig

Break the sturdy twig on the scribe line.

8 July 2015 Using a pin to place tiny dew drop crystals

It's sometimes difficult to place a tiny crystal or bead exactly where you want it.

26 July 2011 Wire Tendrils

Curl the wire at irregular intervals to create a natural wire tendril similar to that of a passion fruit plant

5 January 2011 Palm leaf Hopper-flies (grasshoppers and butterflies)

Weave grasshoppers or butterflies (or fireflies) from palm leaves

3 April 2019 Dried Blossom Caterpillar

Craft a pretty little critter by threading dried blossoms onto a wire.

29 September 2011 Twig and skeleton leaf Stick Insect

Made from dried cherry twigs and a skeleton leaf.

18 February 2015 Grass Spiral Snail

Fold a foliage snail

17 July 2012 Guacamole Green Coiled Grass Chameleon

My Chameleon is mono-botanical. Made from coiled grass

6 February 2013 Fold a Foliage Fish

Fold and weave a fish from two blades of grass

17 June 2015 Zig zag Palm Dragonfly

Fold a dragonfly from a long strand of grass or palm leaf

24 September 2014 Folding a Frog

Fold and weave a frog from grass

15 November 2017 Kenzan leaf rack

Line and position pretty autumn leaves.

22 August 2018 Vein Veil For Freesias

Cut a slight veil to frame your flowers with

7 August 2019 A Three level Kenzan skewer stack to Radiate Gladiolus spikes flat in a shallow container

Build up a design in a shallow container by stacking it by threading the plant material into the teeth of a pin cushion in three levels.

Related Designs

26 October 2022 Arachnis Phobicus

A fun woven spider for Halloween decorating

15 March 2023 Hop… Lots!

Beautiful blossoms don’t NEED much to make it into a lovely design. But the start of Spring might just inspire you to add a bit much… just because it makes you happy.

14 June 2023 Because I am beautiful!

It deserves a bowl all of it's own... right? I am (of course!) talking about these spectacular little sweet peas called King Tut. Not much else is needed. But add a cute little...

20 September 2023 Did you see that!?!

Take a handful of grass... but then add just enough design to make it interesting.

31 January 2024 Surround and Sound

Half moon frosted glass chip edge for a winter themed design.

7 January 2015 Any Which Way

Using a traditional Ikabana Kenzan to place flowers in a shallow container

3 April 2019 Blossoming like a Caterpillar

Crafting caterpillars from blossoms

29 September 2011 Pick-Up Sticks

A twig and stick design with sweet dumpling pumpkins and rosary vine (Ceropegia woodii). I also made a cherry twig and skeleton leaf Stick Insect

18 February 2015 Snail Away

Spiral roll a snail to add to this sunny design

17 July 2012 So far so green

The only thing I needed to make these avocado green arums perfect was a small admirer...

6 February 2013 Swimmingly

Fold a grass fish for an easy going underwater design detail

17 June 2015 This Summer

Weave slip on summer sandals

24 September 2014 Leapfrog

Fold and weave a frog from grass

15 November 2017 Alchemy

Gently stand leaves upright in a Kenzan

12 June 2019 Almost... all over!

Loop a grass veil over a lily stem to create a minimalist summer design.

22 August 2018 FreestyleFreesia

Dutch floral designer Pim van den Akker, from Flower Factor invited me to participate in a FloraHolland initiative promoting the versatility of Freesias entitled ...

22 August 2018 Freestyle Freesia design video for Flower Factor

Freestyle Freesia design video for Flower Factor

7 August 2019 Point Out: this is a single bunch of gladiolus!

Cut stems of Gladiolus to place in a radiating summer design.