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Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman

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  • 17 June 2026
  • and more

So…

anyone else here say:

“Oh… hello there…”

to every new flower bud that

happens to open

in the

five seconds

you were not looking

to see if they opened?

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Tutorials
Create a woven base for a “prettiest flower of the moment” display
17 June 2026
Create a woven base for a “prettiest flower of the moment” display

Invest a bit of effort into crafting a decorative grid so that you can simply drop in any special flowers you cut to refresh it.
Weaving and Interweaving for contrast
29 May 2019
Weaving and Interweaving for contrast

My block design is shaped around a Styrofoam block. It is bulky but lightweight and a great way to reuse packaging.
Foliage Weaving
8 June 2011
Foliage Weaving

For this tutorial I focus on a simple weave pattern that does not require you to soften or prepare the leaves to be more durable or flexible. This is the starting point in weaving techniques. You can build on this technique to make floral handbags, gift boxes, and baskets, sew it into a curve or wrap it around a vase or cover a test tube.
Twin Leaf Weave
3 April 2013
Twin Leaf Weave

Weave two palm leaves together to create a floral grid
Weaving a diagonal green grass basket
1 February 2012
Weaving a diagonal green grass basket

Once you figure out how to do the corners weaving a diagonal shape is actually not that hard to do.
Taking a break when weaving with grass
29 May 2019
Taking a break when weaving with grass

When weaving a more labour intensive design you might want to/have to break for a few hours. This is the best way to keep the project from dying out too quickly.
Weaving a Pillbox hat from grass
5 April 2017
Weaving a Pillbox hat from grass

Use the "over and under" weaving pattern to weave a round, upright hat with a flat top and no brim.
Dendrobium orchid and grass snippet cone around a glass container
27 July 2022
Dendrobium orchid and grass snippet cone around a glass container

Craft a grass armature to suspend the orchids in deep water from around the outside of your container.
An almost not even there grass grid
1 May 2019
An almost not even there grass grid

... with the help of an old staple technique.
Weave a foliage grid for a shallow container
19 February 2014
Weave a foliage grid for a shallow container

Keep flowers neatly in a shallow container
Using a pin to place tiny dew drop crystals
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.
Interweave an enchanted gift basket
13 March 2019
Interweave an enchanted gift basket

A bit of a planned-messy woven basket that is sturdy enough to carry small items.
Stretching leaves and foliage into a ringlet curl
15 April 2015
Stretching leaves and foliage into a ringlet curl

Most leaves and foliage can be slightly manipulated to curve or curl.
Weave a long lasting (without using floral foam) in a vase floral design basket
29 January 2020
Weave a long lasting (without using floral foam) in a vase floral design basket

Give your woven grass a water source by designing the basket in a vase rather than placing the vase in a basket
Woven lily grass parachute armature
13 July 2016
Woven lily grass parachute armature

Weave a canopy or parachute shaped armature in a way that you can place the stems in two vases to keep it hydrated.
Messy edged basket
12 August 2015
Messy edged basket

Weave a loose basket to display flowers
Weave a trendy oversized clutch purse with a hidden magnetic closure
22 April 2020
Weave a trendy oversized clutch purse with a hidden magnetic closure

A three in one Tutorial to show you how to weave a clutch purse, how to add a magnetic closure AND how to incorporate a ribbon into a weaved design.
Weaving a ball shaped Dew-drop Catcher from grass
1 October 2012
Weaving a ball shaped Dew-drop Catcher from grass

Weave a sphere from grass
Weaving Slippers from Foliage
14 January 2015
Weaving Slippers from Foliage

Weave slip on shoes from palm leaves
Weaving a Straight Edged Strip
1 May 2013
Weaving a Straight Edged Strip

A beautiful woven strip that is quite easy to make
Fairy light grid with a hover like glow from below
1 July 2026
Fairy light grid with a hover like glow from below

Give a fairy light grid a slight lift to allow the lights to glow below the design.
Related Designs
Creative Competition
29 May 2019
Creative Competition

This week I am so excited to share my article and design that was published in the recent issue of the Floral Art Society of New Zealand's Academy Magazine for NZ qualified teachers, judges and demonstrators. It's all about good competition.
April showers bring May flowers
3 April 2013
April showers bring May flowers

After a long winter it is always fun to use the first spring bulb flowers!
How to avoid your wedding treasures from becoming “after the event trash”
13 March 2019
How to avoid your wedding treasures from becoming “after the event trash”

My article and grass wedding basket design.
Woven
13 July 2016
Woven

Weave a canopy or parachute shaped armature for orchids to perch on
Steeling yourself against stealing creativity
1 February 2012
Steeling yourself against stealing creativity

I wrote this article for Wedding Business Success (an online meeting place for the wedding industry) exploring a positive way of looking at creativity and... stealing!
Easter Bonnet
5 April 2017
Easter Bonnet

Weave a delicate Pillbox hat
Weaving with Flax
7 April 2011
Weaving with Flax

Here are a few more examples of woven flax. I also use Typha, palm, iris leaves, Kyogi paper, boat orchid leaves and aspidistra to weave with.
Wrong on the right, for a right
27 July 2022
Wrong on the right, for a right

A glued snipped to create a cooling cone for dangling orchids
Can you see the tiny hint of Sunshine on the tips of the grass?
1 May 2019
Can you see the tiny hint of Sunshine on the tips of the grass?

I left the grass to mature so that the tips mirror the sun bleached yellow of the orchids.
Come on Over
19 February 2014
Come on Over

Weave an open foliage flower frog
Peekaboo
29 January 2020
Peekaboo

A light and airy (no floral foam but still long lasting) floral design for those days that you are really, really looking for signs of Spring.
Catch of the Day
12 August 2015
Catch of the Day

Weave a loose basket to display a single flower... or three
Yes… but what would she put in it?
22 April 2020
Yes… but what would she put in it?

Some floral fashion inspiration: weave a pretty clutch purse
A watcha call it
3 June 2015
A watcha call it

Weave a sphere armature
Unraveling fast
16 July 2014
Unraveling fast

Weaving foliage to create a lush water scene
Take a load off
14 January 2015
Take a load off

Weave slippers from foliage
Club together
19 June 2019
Club together

Last Wednesday I had such a flowery fun evening teaching a collaborative floral carpet workshop focusing on braiding and weaving ideas from my book the effortless floral craftsman … this was my carpet block that I designed for the evening
Got it Made
1 July 2026
Got it Made

A summer grid design that adds a glow to your display.