My Creative Workbook

Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman

All your Christmases…

16 November 2022
and more

With kind thoughts and all good wishes for a Merry Berry Kalanchoe Christmas...

May all

your days

berry and kalanchoe

bright.

Inspired by the lyrics of "White Christmas" by Irving Berlin.

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

Tutorials

16 November 2022

Magnolia Rose Bowl with the brightest Holly berries and Kalanchoe flowers

Long lasting berries, magnolia leaves and succulent (kalanchoe) flowers that can remain without any water or maintenance for... well... all the way to Christmas!

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.

30 December 2015

Eucalyptus rose

Release the soothing effect of the aroma and vapors from the Eucalyptus leaves my slightly crushing it while making roses

11 September 2013

Longer lasting Gladiolus Composite Flower

Split (but don't cut) a few gladiolus flowers to spiral in a vase

22 October 2014

Roll a folded leaf coil

Fold and then stitch a long fall leaf garland to roll into a coil

9 March 2016

Spiral Washi Rose armature

Fold and paste a paper flower as an armature

2 August 2017

Two vase, two level Phormium snippets

Design in two levels by using two vases, the smaller slipped into a bigger one.

4 December 2019

Eucalyptus collar for a snow-covered Christmas candle

Not only will your home smell wonderful while crafting this design you will also have a ethereal and long lasting design to enjoy.

30 January 2019

A round, around a round foliage… spiral in a vase

Stack foliage to create a rose spiral in a container.

22 May 2012

Spiral twig frog

Multiple tiny twigs create a flower frog to keep the delicate buds and leaves in the exact spot you want.

20 June 2018

Bundled Phormium with a secret water source

Rip Phormium to create a freestanding bundle armature design.

22 June 2016

Lily grass spiral in a vase

Twist lily grass slightly to create a spiral for the orchids to nestle in

27 December 2017

Pine NeedleTube

Glue pine needles to a up-cycled disk to create a winter scene

16 July 2025

A summery way for tiny flowers to glow inside a hydrangea composite fan

Fan out a rose shaped hydrangea leaf composite to create a waste free floral frog.

5 March 2025

Flatten a Spring for a disk grid

Aluminum wire grid to support the stems and flowers above the water.

20 November 2024

Long lasting floral finial decoration for Christmas

Make ahead (oversized) bark and kalanchoe Christmas decoration... and best of all it last for weeks!

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™

4 September 2024

Ivy and tendril blooms

Wrap ivy leaves around a passionflower vine tendril to craft a flower

4 September 2024

Dried Bougainvillaea and pink Pepper berry Disk

Pink just before autumn, autumn design to celebrate the richness in colour.

28 August 2024

A summer treat inspired tweak to a leaf-roll technique to display the last cut flowers (or left-overs) picked from your warm weather garden

Give a summer look to a leaf roll by lifting the middle slightly out like an ice cream.

26 April 2023

New growth Spring frog

Willow cutting left in water will root and sprout... perfect for a all natural flower frog to admire as is or to keep long stem flowers upright.

14 December 2022

Sparkle Spool and Velvet Magnolia Table Top Christmas Tree

A pretty way to warm up your living space with the luxurious velvet texture you find on the underside of Magnolia leaves.

Related Designs

11 September 2013

Making it last

Split and spiral a few gladiolus flowers in a way that the stems remain intact, to spiral in a water filled filled vase for a long lasting composite flower

22 October 2014

Stand Around

Fold and roll leaves to create an Autumn swirl

9 March 2016

Take your time

My article and Japanese paper flower armature design featured in the March issue of The Academy Leader- Academy of Floral Design, published by the The Floral Art Society of New Zealand

2 August 2017

Grace

Use snips and snippets and leftovers to create a design of it's own

22 May 2012

Lean

Place short twigs, leaning to one side to create a flower frog

1 February 2017

Not yet Spring, Spring but a spring

Coil wire and grass to create a spring

20 June 2018

A Bundle of Pretty

A dried bundle of ripped flax hides a secret water source for the orchids

22 June 2016

Perfection

Spiral grass to create a nest for the lady slipper orchids

30 December 2015

Achoo! Season

Fold and roll a rose from Eucalyptus leaves

4 December 2019

A Very Merry eucalyptus-collar-candle Christmas!

An easy and naturally fragrant winter white candle decoration to bring nature into your house this Christmas.

17 June 2020

Lei-way

Allow for a bit of variation by crafting a sturdy armature.

27 December 2017

Can it be?

Craft a pine tube to display a soft and snow filled winter scene

16 July 2025

The way I see it

A hydrangea foliage composite fan for displaying tiny summer flowers

5 March 2025

Around about Springtime

Spiral cyclamen foliage around to create a composite flower to showcase the petal-like anthurium flowers.

20 November 2024

A Very Merry… all elf pass into Santa’s workshop!

A light... and slight start to designing for Christmas... an oversized Finial

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!