My Creative Workbook

Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman

collywobbles!

That feeling

of fluttering Butterflies

in your stomach

is called

Collywobbles

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Tutorials
Fold over a tropical leaf cocoon
4 February 2015
Fold over a tropical leaf cocoon

Fold and glue a Monstera deliciosa (delicious monster) leaf
Removing Oasis Floral Adhesive glue spills
30 August 2011
Removing Oasis Floral Adhesive glue spills

The finish of every design should be flawless. Make sure there are no bits of glue visible in your design by carefully removing all traces of spills.
Palm leaf Hopper-flies (grasshoppers and butterflies)
5 January 2011
Palm leaf Hopper-flies (grasshoppers and butterflies)

Weave grasshoppers or butterflies (or fireflies) from palm leaves
Skeleton Leaves
22 September 2012
Skeleton Leaves

Remove the pulp from leaves so that only the vain framework remain
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
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.
Creating a perfectly flat leafy surface... with a few gaps to fit some flowers
3 July 2024
Creating a perfectly flat leafy surface... with a few gaps to fit some flowers

Shady leaf fenestration raft for easy summer designing
Use a glue stick to position a Kenzan… just so… so that you can place the blackest of flowers to be framed by gaps of light
8 May 2024
Use a glue stick to position a Kenzan… just so… so that you can place the blackest of flowers to be framed by gaps of light

Play up contrasts to allow near black flowers to shine.
Slot together Monstera Twin Leaves to create a design gap
24 April 2024
Slot together Monstera Twin Leaves to create a design gap

A small bundle of Spring floral treasures framed with lush monstera foliage.
Grasshopper Blossom branches
15 March 2023
Grasshopper Blossom branches

Just for fun add a few pollinators to your Spring blossom design
How to position the tiniest Spring stems using the hole in the side of a beaker wall vase
20 April 2022
How to position the tiniest Spring stems using the hole in the side of a beaker wall vase

The tiny stems tend to flop about making it difficult to place your design... just so. This is such a great solution!
Two leaf lining your container to shelter your orchids
2 June 2021
Two leaf lining your container to shelter your orchids

Create a shallow puddle in a larger container to keep your flowers in place.
Stacking stems to show off flowers from all angles
26 May 2021
Stacking stems to show off flowers from all angles

Roses so pretty you want to admire them front, side and back.
Rolled leaf shelter for a lean-in-closer tiny bud vase design
6 January 2021
Rolled leaf shelter for a lean-in-closer tiny bud vase design

Create a tiny visual tunnel to focus attention.
Dried Blossom Caterpillar
3 April 2019
Dried Blossom Caterpillar

Craft a pretty little critter by threading dried blossoms onto a wire.
Vein Veil For Freesias
22 August 2018
Vein Veil For Freesias

Cut a slight veil to frame your flowers with
Foliage tube armature for long stemmed freesia buds
27 June 2018
Foliage tube armature for long stemmed freesia buds

Curl and pin a few leaves into a tube to create an armature for those "left over" freesiabuds.
Skeleton eyeball blossoms
25 October 2017
Skeleton eyeball blossoms

Hydrangea skeleton blossoms with Eucalyptus eyeballs
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
Soft Serve Swirl
28 August 2024
Soft Serve Swirl

A nod to a summer filled with flowers... and the quite possibly the last of the season flowers still there to be picked.
Oh! my word
3 July 2024
Oh! my word

A perfectly flat leaf to support tiny floral details in the summer heat.
I mean… did you!?!
8 May 2024
I mean… did you!?!

Playing with shapes to frame the light in a dramatic floral design.
You Just Like You
24 April 2024
You Just Like You

Support a small bundle of spring florals to stand upright in water with two Monstera leaves.
Hop… Lots!
15 March 2023
Hop… Lots!

Beautiful blossoms don’t NEED much to make it into a lovely design. But the start of Spring might just inspire you to add a bit much… just because it makes you happy.
Oh this? Yes! it is new
20 April 2022
Oh this? Yes! it is new

New growth... too cute to resist!
Like an open book
2 June 2021
Like an open book

Position foliage to create a smaller, shallow pond for your floral details to shelter in.
From all sides
26 May 2021
From all sides

An all on one side design to admire roses from all sides.
I tip my (flower) cap!
6 January 2021
I tip my (flower) cap!

An enclosed design that invites the onlooker to lean in closer to explore the pretty orchid.
Blossoming like a Caterpillar
3 April 2019
Blossoming like a Caterpillar

Crafting caterpillars from blossoms
FreestyleFreesia
22 August 2018
FreestyleFreesia

Dutch floral designer Pim van den Akker, from Flower Factor invited me to participate in a FloraHolland initiative promoting the versatility of Freesias entitled #FreestyleFreesia Here is the extended version of my video.
Look deep
27 June 2018
Look deep

Curl foliage to use as a natural armature for delicate buds.
How do squirrels Cache a tree?
22 November 2017
How do squirrels Cache a tree?

Hoard a few acorns in the fork of a twig to show off a single oncidium orchid.
When the pretty eyeballs you back!
25 October 2017
When the pretty eyeballs you back!

Barely there skeleton blossoms with Eucalyptus eyes for my Halloween design... Oh! and a Willow Paddle, which probably should have been the main Tutorial... but... well...
Making Ends Meet
16 August 2017
Making Ends Meet

Criss-cross corset style connect the gaps in a Monstera deliciosa leaf
A lots of stuff and things
20 January 2016
A lots of stuff and things

Sticks and twigs create a resting spot for palm and rose butterflies