My Creative Workbook

Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman

FreestyleFreesia

22 August 2018
click to send Christine a smile
and more

I have news... and news. Actually I have news inside my news. 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 the video- you can see the original on the

Flower Factor Facebook page

#FreestyleFreesia design video for Flower Factor

… and then my news in my news: Did you notice my book in the background of the video? I am pretty sure there is an utterly cool way to tell your flower friends the title of your book… but I couldn’t wait one more week!

Yes, my book: The Effortless Floral Craftsman, a floral crafter’s guide to crafting with nature is done. And by done I mean D.O.N.E.

After years of writing and designing, hours of positioning pictures and squinting at computer screens- and even a false start at printing where we quickly realized that the format was all wrong… this is exactly what a book about craftsmanship should look like!

So much love, passion, dedication and an embarrassing amount of happy-frustrated-happy tears went into this to get it just so.

And here we are. Over the next few weeks I will show you more. More to read and more to watch and more to share (and please share the #EffortlessFloralCraftsman with all your flower friends)

If you look in the top right corner of this page you will see my shop is now open. I am taking preorders for signed copies of my special craftsmanship edition hardcover book. The hardcover book will also be on preorder on Amazon from September 2018 and the ebook format will be exclusively available from, and also on preorder on, Amazon . The official release date for both formats is November 2018, with the paperback copy coming out in mid 2019 and those will be widely available at online retailers.

Note: I will be sending out books on a first preorder-first received basis when I receive my advance copies in September. So you might just get a copy before November! I will, however, only have a few copies to mail before the official release date so if you want a book earlier reserve your copy as soon as possible.

... and see below for the bonus Tutorial for this week: Kenzan Foliage Cover-up, as promised.

Did you see???

Caught a glimpse? A gape? A gawk? a peek, a peep, a peer, maybe?

Take a gander? A glare?

Could you spot it? A scan? A sight? A spy or a stare?

Detect? Discern? Discover? Determine?

Could you ferret my news out or did you simply find?

Reconnoiter? Or ponder or probe? I am so excited… did you see!?!

Thank you to Flower Factor for inviting me to contribute my #FreestyleFreesia video. To learn more about Flower Factor

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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.

Tutorials

22 August 2018

Vein Veil For Freesias

Cut a slight veil to frame your flowers with

24 August 2018

Kenzan foliage cover-up

Cover your kenzan by wrapping it in a leaf.

16 August 2017

Criss-cross Monstera lace-up

Glue short sections of rosary vine into the natural gaps in the Monstera deliciosa leaf

16 August 2017

Water tube bridge

Glue two thin sticks across a gap to support a water tube

4 February 2015

Fold over a tropical leaf cocoon

Fold and glue a Monstera deliciosa (delicious monster) leaf

23 March 2013

Rolling leaf tubes

Roll foliage to create tubes

28 February 2018

Marching winter frosted twig and freesia stack

Frost a few twigs to craft a delicate armature for fragrant freesias

4 September 2013

Weave a heart shaped basket

An easy to assemble open weave basket

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

19 June 2024

Stand bark on pointe to display the sweetest sweet peas

Create a natural armature for a summer display

12 June 2024

Narrow twin leaf spacer for keeping a tiny stem bouquet upright

A pretty way of taming wonderfully wild thin stemmed floral details... without loosing the light and airy feel.

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.

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.

6 September 2023

Peg Sunflowers and Quaking Grass in a Kenzan

An old trick... but still a great one to support thin stems in the needles of a Kenzan.

19 July 2023

Knot a dragonfly

The easiest critter ever. All you need to do is make a few knots...

11 January 2023

Unfurl winter’s potential in a snow filled monstera leaf shelter

Capture a bit of winter magic by placing delicate flower buds in the middle of two large leaves.

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!

2 February 2022

Connect bud vases with a fresh foliage open weave

Craft two woven panels to place front and back of a couple of bud vases to create a unit.

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.

26 May 2021

Stacking stems to show off flowers from all angles

Roses so pretty you want to admire them front, side and back.

14 April 2021

Fuzzy Willow Caterpillar in a buttercup and jasmine vine swirl

As in… Pussy willow catkins caterpillar… that is super fuzzy.

3 February 2021

Weave a Ceropegia Woodii Vine grid to catch your flowers

Suspend flowers over a water filled container by weaving a natural grid.

11 November 2020

Kenzan peg bark curls into a hollow and bottomless log vase

Craft a bottomless vase out of bark so that the floral stem is supported but can still stand in water to remain hydrated.

12 August 2020

Upside down and on it’s side glass display that plays with natural balance

Utilizing those not so obvious characteristics of your design details to make a minimal clear glass summer floral design.

8 January 2020

Leaf-puddle for a short stem in a big vase

Add a leaf to a large-ish vase to create a small puddle of water for your short flower stem to rest in.

23 January 2019

Zig-Zag fold plastic for a flower stem support

Zig Zag fold clear plastic for a flower stem support that looks like ice

Related Designs

16 August 2017

Making Ends Meet

Criss-cross corset style connect the gaps in a Monstera deliciosa leaf

4 February 2015

collywobbles!

Fold foliage butterflies

5 October 2016

I found it this way: Leaf nest design

This was the third design I did in my "I found it this way" floral art demonstration

28 February 2018

March Days

Line up a few frosted twigs to march across a shallow container

4 September 2013

Been there, Seen that

My article and woven heart basket design featured in the third anniversary issue of DIY Weddings Magazine

3 July 2024

Oh! my word

A perfectly flat leaf to support tiny floral details in the summer heat.

19 June 2024

Do you know what the point is?

A bark armature standing on pointe for some gorgeous blue King Tut sweet peas

12 June 2024

Just about enough space

Create a little bit of space to keep a few thin stemmed floral treasures upright in your design

8 May 2024

I mean… did you!?!

Playing with shapes to frame the light in a dramatic floral design.

24 April 2024

You Just Like You

Support a small bundle of spring florals to stand upright in water with two Monstera leaves.

6 September 2023

Mother Nature’s little magic to let us know Autumn is near

It's the little sun-washed coloured hints that makes you look again to see if you really saw what you thought you saw... yes! There really are signs of autumn everywhere!