My Creative Workbook

Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman

All Pumpkind Out

All the pumpkins seem to have… -kind

the leaves… left.

Now the trees are starting to show some baubles instead.

The crisp air is positively glistening...

Making something (not so far away) go gling-a-ling, gling-a-ling…

While we are left to puzzle the most urgent puzzler of the season:

Those “all the trimmings” that you have so lovingly gathered.. take them to the compost heap as autumn treasures or inside as Christmas decorations???

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Tutorials
Roof-tile pumpkin from dried physalis pods
9 November 2022
Roof-tile pumpkin from dried physalis pods

Carefully stack dried physalis berry husks to craft a long lasting pumpkin that you can refresh with fresh flowers and vines.
Remove the berry from a Physalis pod without ripping the sepal
8 October 2011
Remove the berry from a Physalis pod without ripping the sepal

Cut the sepal from the fruit
Papier Mache pumpkin half
18 October 2017
Papier Mache pumpkin half

Glue thin tissue paper layers to a pumpkin to create a shape to design with
Just Hatched Papier Mache Easter Eggs
7 April 2012
Just Hatched Papier Mache Easter Eggs

Glue newsprint paper to balloons to make large egg shaped containers to design in
Papier Mache
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.
Muted Side Up Autumn Leaf Pod
18 October 2017
Muted Side Up Autumn Leaf Pod

Turn the leaf so that the muted underside faces outward to create a more understated Autumn colour scheme .
Potted bark pod for a flowering plant
11 January 2017
Potted bark pod for a flowering plant

Cover a Styrofoam shape with bark to create a bowl for a potted design
Bark pod for growing a Pearl Oyster mushroom mini farm
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
Moss Colombina inspired mask
6 January 2016
Moss Colombina inspired mask

Cover a mask shape with moss and succulents for a long wearing mask
Sparkling Eucalyptus Tabletop Christmas tree
19 December 2018
Sparkling Eucalyptus Tabletop Christmas tree

Craft an ethereal Christmas tree from Eucalyptus leaves, twigs and sparkling snow flake crystals.
Leaf snippet gift cube
25 December 2013
Leaf snippet gift cube

Cover Styrofoam with leaf snippets to create a gift box design
Design a buildable corsage that can be taken apart and added back together again to give you more styling options without damaging your design.
6 November 2024
Design a buildable corsage that can be taken apart and added back together again to give you more styling options without damaging your design.

Easy assemble… and disassemble design details using a Wristix™ corsage magnet from BoutStix™
Ivy and tendril blooms
4 September 2024
Ivy and tendril blooms

Wrap ivy leaves around a passionflower vine tendril to craft a flower
Dried Bougainvillaea and pink Pepper berry Disk
4 September 2024
Dried Bougainvillaea and pink Pepper berry Disk

Pink just before autumn, autumn design to celebrate the richness in colour.
Bind Autumn design details and Christmas evergreens around an upturned vase to keep the stem ends hydrated... from Fall to Christmas!
29 November 2023
Bind Autumn design details and Christmas evergreens around an upturned vase to keep the stem ends hydrated... from Fall to Christmas!

A wrap-around-vase to show off new bits of Christmas and the last bits of our autumn treasures.
Snowy Magnolia forest floor armature
25 January 2023
Snowy Magnolia forest floor armature

An armature to display a lovely surprise orchid that developed on the long spike just after the other flowers started to fade.
Related Designs
Thanksgiving Harvest
7 October 2011
Thanksgiving Harvest

Thanksgiving pumpkin with Chinese lanterns and spiral blossoms
Whipped up in the autumn breeze
4 October 2017
Whipped up in the autumn breeze

Give a loosely woven wreath legs to stand on to hover lightly around a pumpkin
On the inside
18 October 2017
On the inside

For a softer autumn leaf pod turn the leaves so that the bright side faces in when making the pod.
As special as an almost never find
11 January 2017
As special as an almost never find

Sometimes you find such a beautiful plant that you just can't bring yourself to cut it. This design explores using the entire plant, pot and all, in a design
Growth Medium
19 August 2015
Growth Medium

Design a bark and moss pod for a mushroom mini farm
Hey there
6 January 2016
Hey there

Moss and succulents cover a mask shape to create a woodland inspired mask
Oh Florist-tree
19 December 2018
Oh Florist-tree

Craft an Eucalyptus Christmas tree
A gift for gifting
25 December 2013
A gift for gifting

Christmas gift design
Mr Twig-or-cheat
31 October 2017
Mr Twig-or-cheat

An extra Almost-a-Design for Halloween this year
It's High Time for Tea: from craft to art, taking a delicious floral journey with veneer techniques
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.
Some Handmade Meaning
6 November 2024
Some Handmade Meaning

I am a huge (HUGE!) fan of the original BoutStix magnets and I love the newest wrist corsage magnets as well. And not just for making corsages. I use them for everything. It is a staple in my design bag and it is ideal for putting up Seasonal decorations. They open up so many creative design possibilities and now with the addition of a strap and Velcro… the possibilities are endless!
A shade around there, probably… maybe
4 September 2024
A shade around there, probably… maybe

A dried flower and foliage... flower... disk to help me pretend it is autumn
Fall into Christmas
29 November 2023
Fall into Christmas

Want to make your Christmas greenery last... this is perfect!
Even More
25 January 2023
Even More

This orchid developed at the very end of a long stem... right as the rest of the flowers started to die back so I made a special armature to display the cut stem.
Favourite Flowers
Phalaenopsis
Phalaenopsis

Phalaenopsis orchid detail from my Harnessing the Wind design
Physalis
Physalis

Spiral flowers from Chinese lantern sepals for my Thanksgiving Harvest design.
Passiflora
Passiflora

Passion fruit leaves with tendrils for my Floral Trends Design Group Glass design