My Creative Workbook

Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman

Bring in some of the magic of summer rain

7 August 2024
and more

I always think

summer

is my least favourite

of all the seasons…

…until those huge rain drops fall on a hot and sticky August day.

There is something so unbelievably hopeful about watching the quaking grass bow and dance...

after a splash of summer rain.

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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

7 August 2024

Dangling Quaking Grass drops threaded through a hydrangea flower head for support

A quick craft with quaking grass to turn it into dangling droplets.

30 May 2012

Drying Hydrangeas: Fast, Flat or Natural

Use all three methods to dry hydrangeas to get three very different textures to use in design work.

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.

15 June 2022

Swing ripped foliage over a mop-head of hydrangeas to follow the natural curve

Gently curve ripped foliage over flowers to add a cooling movement to a minimal summer design.

27 September 2023

Turn some gladiolus leaves into a pumpkin vase collar

A collar for a vase that you can use throughout the season... simply replace the water and the flowers inside the vase.

9 November 2011

Gypsophila snowball posy

A Posy made of Gypsophila flowers can look flat. I use a dried Hydrangea or Agapanthus flower head as a flower frog to puff it out

11 July 2018

Glued Hydrangea Float

Glue a delicate hydrangea wreath to float on water

31 January 2018

Rock Rest for a heavy Protea Flower Head

Create a contrasting base to lift the heavy flower-head to design in

8 May 2013

Glue a Sisal Fiber Bubble

Mix Sisal fibers and glue to make a bubble

22 July 2026

A wand-erful Amaranthus stem drape swizzle-stick

Tall water filled vases that are cooling for warm weather designing.

27 May 2026

Bundled together to create a naturalistic looseness that appears to be light as air

Level up your budvase designs by adding something that makes the onlooker lean in closer to try to figure out you exactly you did this.

15 October 2025

Hydrangea pomander with just a hint of pumpkin in its ribbon layered to hide a secret (refillable) water source

A floral sphere, or kissing ball, a pomander is designed to be hung or carried as decorations for weddings and holidays... especially festive if you can skip the floral foam, right?