My Creative Workbook

Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman

All Out

10 June 2020
click to send Christine a smile
and more

To live and create all out

… can leave you feeling like you are all out

… especially when you can’t keep it all out.

So you have to make a constant all-in effort to…

... reinvent and reinvigorate and re-imagine your work.

Being consistently creative is all out hard work!

Book readers if you, like me, feel this heavy sense of overload right now making it hard for you to create, turn to page 371 for a compassionate take on designing in difficult times.

Also, I have added my IngramSpark Author Profile interview in my new Shop Page if you want to read more about how my personal experiences shaped my book.

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Tutorials

10 June 2020

Overgrown vine tangle to suspend flowers in a clear vase

A zero waste and sustainable floral design solution to keep your flowers exactly where you want them without using floral foam.

19 February 2013

Manipulating stems: Snapping at an angle, Bending, Spiraling, Curling and Straightening

Most stems, twigs and even sturdier branches can be bend into shapes. It takes practice and more than a bit of patience. The main idea is to slowly manipulate the branch without breaking it.

1 November 2011

Weaving a twig wreath

For my design I wanted the wreath to look wind blown so I added a few loosely woven twigs into the weave. I also wanted to emphasize the autumn colours so I added a twirling copper wire into the weave

24 July 2019

Grass Twirling Up to Dress a Stem of Lilies

A single stem of lilies turned into a celebration just by twirling a handful of lily grass around it.

13 June 2018

Lily grass and cane bubble for a Pitcher plant

Craft a dried cane globe for the armature of the design and then add lily grass to dry in place.

27 February 2019

Weave a floral trap

Keep your flowers in place with an all natural woven trap.

7 February 2018

Bend Wired Equisetum into a Hollow Wreath

Craft a wreath with a hollow cavity inside to use as an armature for your flowers

12 June 2019

Loop-over grass veil for a cool summer design

A cool and minimal floral design for summer.

30 March 2012

Keep pod shaped flowers in bud for longer

Sometimes you want to keep flowers in tight bud for as long as possible to suit your design

2 January 2011

Lilies

How to keep Lilies in bud for longer. Removing the pollen. Stringing a Lily Garland.

28 January 2015

Well Rooted Sprouting Willow Weave

Weave a sprouting armature

11 February 2015

Stripping foliage from weaving stems

Remove foliage from stems to weave with

18 April 2018

Clematis Vine Swing

Weave a delicate nest for a small spring design.

21 March 2018

Craft a Spring basket from a wreath

A wide gap nearly basket for nearly spring

9 January 2019

Winter white Tulle bridal basket

Craft a delicate bridal basket from twigs and tulle.

18 September 2024

Controlled chaos straw and dried foliage armature

Craft a straw covered wire grid to slip over display containers for a foam free floral display that is light and airy... just like it grown in the field.

31 July 2024

A cluster bunch of just enough floral ingredients to spike into a Kenzan for a larger display

A larger summer display in a Kenzan

15 May 2024

Threaded rosette foliage frog… with a kick

Threaded Heuchera (Coral Bells) rosette with curved stems to kick against the sides of your container to keep it suspended above water.

2 August 2023

Tangle a wild wide web of Jasmine vine to suspend your flowers

My summer design strategy: the warmer the weather the deeper the water. A vine frog is just the thing!

13 October 2021

Weave a willow wreath around a minimal pumpkin display

It’s amazing how we sometimes try to complicate a design. I tried adding calla lilies… took them out and loved the willow. Added gerberas. Took them out and loved the willow. Added orchids. Took them out and loved the willow. Added Dahlias… and yes, took them out and loved the willow. So finally I just thought- I really do love the willow.

23 June 2021

Submerged vine wreath armature to beat the summer heat

Water... lots of water- that is the answer to designing flower arrangements that survive the summer heat.

12 May 2021

A radiating, gradient carnation design in a shallow container

A bit of Kenzan support for a floating shallow container design

19 August 2020

Tangle a perfect vine around two wreaths for a split armature

Passion fruit flowers never lasts long. Not even growing outside on a vine. But the buds continue to open once cut making a wreath display ideal for an even changing passion fruit flower display.