My Creative Workbook

Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman

All things Autumn (by which I mean all things chocolate): Snipped into Sections

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

Chocolate as currency:

In Mayan times cocoa beans were used as currency

and was more

valuable than gold dust.

Cultivation of the beans

were restricted so that the value

of cocoa beans as currency would not decline.

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Tutorials
Cut a vine wreath into sections to create a cup shaped armature
16 November 2016
Cut a vine wreath into sections to create a cup shaped armature

Cut a coiled vine wreath into sections to create an delicate armature to frame a few perfect chocolate cosmos flowers
Weaving grass to create a delicate mesh cup armature
16 November 2016
Weaving grass to create a delicate mesh cup armature

I wanted a really delicate, see-through armature to frame my tiny flowers so I wove grass in panels around the vine shape
Paper covered Wire
1 March 2011
Paper covered Wire

Cover the wire with the raffia
Manipulating stems: Snapping at an angle, Bending, Spiraling, Curling and Straightening
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.
"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
Wire Tendrils
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
Weaving a twig wreath
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
Midelino Cane Coil Globe Cup
14 January 2013
Midelino Cane Coil Globe Cup

Weave a loose, round floral art armature
Lily grass and cane bubble for a Pitcher plant
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.
Wrap lily grass around bits of vine
8 March 2017
Wrap lily grass around bits of vine

Create visual interest by loosely wrapping lily grass around an armature
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
Ground Breaking
29 January 2011
Ground Breaking

Water stream breaking through ground in an autumn forest.
Large Open Weave Twig Basket
8 April 2011
Large Open Weave Twig Basket

Easter Basket used in the Durbanville Flower Club Easter Parade Demonstration
The last Vine Wreath
20 January 2011
The last Vine Wreath

Every designer knows how to stretch their supplies. We use and re-use our dried plant material until our fellow designers feel like hiding it from us. I formed such an attachment to my vine wreaths. This post features four designs using the same wreaths.
Feeling Funky
10 April 2011
Feeling Funky

I wove vine wreaths to form a pyramid, one just slightly larger than the next. In the natural cavities between the wreaths I placed the roses and lisianthus in plastic covered Oasis
Veiled Sunshine:50th Anniversary of the South African Orchid Society at the Cape Town Convention Centre.
11 April 2011
Veiled Sunshine:50th Anniversary of the South African Orchid Society at the Cape Town Convention Centre.

Bright and sunny cymbidium orchids and roses, lilies, lisianthus and pincushions
It's High Time for Tea: from craft to art, taking a delicious floral journey with weaving techniques
14 January 2013
It's High Time for Tea: from craft to art, taking a delicious floral journey with weaving techniques

This was the first two designs for my Floral Art and craft demonstration at The Capilano Flower Arranging club
Beginning
2 March 2016
Beginning

Glue a Midelino Cane Coil Globe Cup to display beautiful Gloriosa lilies
Unthinkably good things
10 April 2013
Unthinkably good things

Oncidium orchids hiding in a woven grass cup. This Design Tutorial is featured on The Conna Flower and Garden Club (Ireland) website. It is part of their Floral Art Lessons program that demonstrates new techniques, ideas and principles of Flower Arranging by International Designers.
Eat up!
13 June 2018
Eat up!

A woven bubble for a carnivorous plant.
Piece of the forest
8 March 2017
Piece of the forest

Standing roses upright in a shallow container
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