My Creative Workbook

Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman

At Play

18 August 2021
and more

It feels to me that

Creativity

… is remembering

to play.

Designing

… is remembering

to call the results

your work.

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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.

Gather what you'll need

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Dew-Drop Crystals

I created the Tutorial for how I add these crystals to my floral designs 11 years ago! Since then I have tried, tested and searched for the perfect crystals that would go from studio‑table picture perfect to show‑day‑dependable and I always come back to these. They remain the absolute best. They’re inexpensive yet have a refined, high‑quality crystal brilliance; they don’t tarnish and their adhesive backing stays reliably tacky even after they were exposed to water.

Tutorials

18 August 2021

Racked up dried Twig Snippets to display a few flower buds

Combining dried and fresh floral details for a easy breezy summer design.

22 May 2012

Bite and snap a sturdy twig

Break the sturdy twig on the scribe line.

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.

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.

3 July 2012

Twig mushroom

Stack and wire a twig mushroom armature

24 December 2012

Tiny Twig Christmas Treasure Trunk

Wire a small twig gift-box for Christmas presents

2 October 2013

Spiny Twig Porcupine Armature

Glue a few twigs to display Autumn flowers and foliage on

18 June 2014

Sticking a stick curve to create a hollowed out crescent armature

An easy way to create a neat curve in a very short time

21 February 2018

Stem line-up

Line up stems to create a base for the heavy Hanging Heliconia stems

10 September 2014

Twig Bridal Basket

A slim basket design made from twigs

17 February 2016

Stack a Twig Enclosure

Loop and tie a few stacked twigs to create an enclosed floral armature

17 April 2024

Tendril support to anchor a floating vase (and its ginormous bubble) in place

Trap a bubble between two shallow containers to float clematis flowers for Spring.

13 March 2024

Spaced birch bark strip basket

Sturdy and easy to make... a small harvest basket ready for all the Spring flowers still to come.

12 July 2023

Frond Support for short stemmed flowers

Create an all natural fern grid to arrange your flowers for a summer display.

3 May 2023

Standing flower stems upright In Perlite

I use perlite to root my cuttings... and to support flower stems in an upright position in designs without using floral foam.

Related Designs

19 February 2011

Crossing Boundaries

Twig waterfall creates the boundary between the "under" and the "over" of the design. Tutorial: How to cover test tubes with Rainbow Oasis

3 July 2012

Twig-a-tude

Stack and wire twigs to create a twig mushroom with attitude for summer

30 January 2013

It's High Time for Tea: from craft to art, taking a delicious floral journey with wire techniques

This was my last two designs for my It's High Time for Tea Floral Craft and Art Demonstration at The Capilano Flower Arranging Club meeting

24 December 2012

Please have snow… and presents under the tree

Wire a Tiny Twig Treasure Trunk for small Christmas gifts

20 February 2013

Designing with Mother Nature

Retail florists and wholesalers are already designing, ordering and preparing their product range for Mother's Day. This is my article that I wrote for the Mother's Day Design Issue of Canadian Florist Magazine

2 October 2013

Prickly

Build a twig porcupine armature for fall flowers

18 June 2014

Stuck stick

Glue a few sticks to create a hollowed out crescent armature

21 February 2018

Impossible things

A cut stem flower frog for the heavy Hanging Heliconia flowers

10 September 2014

Creativity will come

My Twig Bridal Basket design and Tutorial featured in the Extraordinary Wedding Flowers issue of the New Zealand Floral Design Magazine

17 February 2016

Where would you put it!?!

Tie a twig armature enclosure for fresh flowers

18 January 2017

Look at you!

Tie twigs to shape a hanging armature

19 February 2020

The Upside of being Inside

A creative design that has some height to it without blocking the view. This can easily be scaled up or down to match the environment you want to display it in.