My Creative Workbook

Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman

All things Autumn (by which I mean all things chocolate): Another perspective

This is the third design I did for my All things Autumn (by which I mean all things chocolate) floral art demonstration at the BC Floral Art Society .

Even if it did not turn out as planned, you might still have stumbled upon a really good thing:

In 1930, Ruth Wakefield invented the chocolate chip cookie.

She was actually disappointed with the result

because she wanted the chocolate to melt into the dough...

and she ultimately sold the idea

to add chocolate chips to cookie dough

to Nestle Toll House for a lifetime supply of chocolate

Sign up for my weekly newsletter

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

Sign Up Now
Tutorials
Cane, Ti leaves and Sisal Disk Armature
23 November 2016
Cane, Ti leaves and Sisal Disk Armature

create a cookie shaped armature for the chocolate cosmos flowers
Cane Coils
23 November 2016
Cane Coils

Curve cane into a snail shell spiral
Twig support to rest test tubes on a surface
23 November 2016
Twig support to rest test tubes on a surface

Sink the tube in the design to rest on a few twigs
Stain wooden skewers with natural dye
24 August 2011
Stain wooden skewers with natural dye

Using fruit, berries, flowers, leaves and grasses to naturally stain design details for floral art relies on the same techniques as using paint or any other dye.
Staining Midelino cane Coils
13 April 2012
Staining Midelino cane Coils

White Midelino cane is easy to stain in any colour
Sisal Disk
19 June 2013
Sisal Disk

Create a inflexible circle armature to hang flowers from
Sisal Stars
1 January 2011
Sisal Stars

Paper towel cardboard tubes create the basic shape of my stars
Unravel Sisal string to get Sisal Fibers
28 August 2013
Unravel Sisal string to get Sisal Fibers

I purchase a huge roll of sisal string to use... sometimes as string, but mostly I unravel it for the fibers
Layered sisal and twig armature
9 September 2015
Layered sisal and twig armature

small sisal fibers create a mat like armature
Berry dye for sisal fibers
26 June 2012
Berry dye for sisal fibers

Soak sisal fibres in strawberry and black berry juice to stain it purple
The Three legged trick for Upright Constructions
7 September 2012
The Three legged trick for Upright Constructions

When in doubt, always give your armature three legs. Two legs are simply not enough and four legs will wobble if it is even slightly off balance.
"I found it this way" demonstration Floral art Structures: Twig Tangles
21 September 2016
"I found it this way" demonstration Floral art Structures: Twig Tangles

For my "I found it this way" Floral Art demonstration at The Capilano Flower Arranging club, I began all four of my designs with basic armatures made of Twig Tangles and we discussed the importance of a stable structure as a foundation to a structural design. The twig tangles create a basic armature for the designs to be suspended from. Each design is crafted that it almost looks like a foraged or ‘found” natural object
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.
Criss-cross Monstera lace-up
16 August 2017
Criss-cross Monstera lace-up

Glue short sections of rosary vine into the natural gaps in the Monstera deliciosa leaf
Water tube bridge
16 August 2017
Water tube bridge

Glue two thin sticks across a gap to support a water tube
Related Designs
All things Autumn (by which I mean all things chocolate): Loosen Up
9 November 2016
All things Autumn (by which I mean all things chocolate): Loosen Up

This was the first design I did in my "All things Autumn (by which I mean all things chocolate)" floral art demonstration
All things Autumn (by which I mean all things chocolate): Snipped into Sections
16 November 2016
All things Autumn (by which I mean all things chocolate): Snipped into Sections

This was the second design I did in my "All things Autumn (by which I mean all things chocolate)" floral art demonstration
All things Autumn (by which I mean all things chocolate): Another perspective
23 November 2016
All things Autumn (by which I mean all things chocolate): Another perspective

This was the third design I did in my "All things Autumn (by which I mean all things chocolate)" floral art demonstration
Pleated Pleasure
10 August 2011
Pleated Pleasure

Pleats are accordion like folds of equal width in alternating opposite directions in any kind of fabric. I absolutely love the tight buds of Allium and they represent the "pleasure" part of my design
When Autumn Fall
6 September 2011
When Autumn Fall

Autumn leaf composite flower
All things being Equal
21 September 2011
All things being Equal

The fan is made from 18 coffee stir sticks and dressed with a veil of grass, fall leaves and Viburnum berries
Leaves by Hundreds came
11 November 2012
Leaves by Hundreds came

A rosette of fall leaves to celebrate the beauty of autumn
It's a swell time…
12 December 2012
It's a swell time…

An exceptional moment frozen in time… 12:12:12 12/12/12
A Pocket full of Starlight
31 December 2012
A Pocket full of Starlight

Knot a grid to place over a glass bubble vase to keep plant material in place
This Moment
19 June 2013
This Moment

Create an armature design outside the vase
Fall Treasures
9 September 2015
Fall Treasures

A sisal mat armature for fall twigs flowers and leaves
Limelight
27 May 2015
Limelight

My RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2015 Limelight Floral Art Design. My Limelight design was inspired by a slice of lime. But I wanted it to look like it was spun by a butterfly. I used Sisal, silk and loads of Lisianthus flowers and 9 grapevine plants. Each tiny stem was placed in a water filled glass seahorse or test tube to keep it hydrated.
Diamond Jubilee Waterfall
26 June 2012
Diamond Jubilee Waterfall

To commemorate Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee and the 20th Anniversary of Friends of Government House Gardens Society a Horticultural event was hosted in the gardens and Great Hall of Government House in Victoria, Canada entitled British Columbia Blooms.
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.
Making Ends Meet
16 August 2017
Making Ends Meet

Criss-cross corset style connect the gaps in a Monstera deliciosa leaf
All things Autumn (by which I mean all things chocolate): Worth a second look
30 November 2016
All things Autumn (by which I mean all things chocolate): Worth a second look

This was the fourth (and last) design I did in my "All things Autumn (by which I mean all things chocolate)" floral art demonstration
All things Autumn (by which I mean all things chocolate): Another perspective
23 November 2016
All things Autumn (by which I mean all things chocolate): Another perspective

This was the third design I did in my "All things Autumn (by which I mean all things chocolate)" floral art demonstration