Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman
Flying Lessons
- 20 October 2021
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- and more
“The thing about witchcraft, said Mistress Weatherwax
… is that it’s not like school at all.
First you get the test,
And then afterwards
You spend
Years
Findin’ out how you passed it.
It’s a bit like life in that respect”
from "The Wee Free Men" Book by Terry Pratchett, 2003
From the entryway of our home...
... to yours- Happy decorating for Halloween
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Tutorials
Craft a wire tripod to fit into the bristles of a handcrafted broom so that it can stand freely in your display.
The word ‘Besom’ derives from the old English ‘besma’ meaning ‘bundle of twigs’.
How to spin (and remove) hot glue spider web or floral cocoon
When you glue a structure with hot glue there are always a few stray strands of glue stuck all over the design. Blow it away with a hairdryer.
Use all three methods to dry hydrangeas to get three very different textures to use in design work.
Curl the wire at irregular intervals to create a natural wire tendril similar to that of a passion fruit plant
Snip open a Physalis pod to create a cavity for delicate floral details.
It's sometimes difficult to place a tiny crystal or bead exactly where you want it.
Eerie! Because you use what is there already in the twigs this skeleton looks rather... realistic!
Add a bit of shadow and dimension to a flat armature by using the sketch technique of cross hatching.
Favourite Flowers
Hydrangea, when cultivated as a cut flower rather as a plant it is often revered to as Hortensia
Related Designs
This week we are looking at the contents pages of my book... but more specifically at the sweet little pod design on the content page of my book.
An all plant zero waste, levitating, twig (with just a splatter of autumn leaves, a breath of spiderweb and float of roots) Halloween decoration with an eerie bat skeleton made...
Celebrate the bright colours of autumn with lilies and Chinese lanterns
A twig and stick design with sweet dumpling pumpkins and rosary vine (Ceropegia woodii). I also made a cherry twig and skeleton leaf Stick Insect
A clever trick borrowed from art techniques to add dimension to a bright and colourful Autumn floral design.