My Creative Workbook

Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman

Happy Dance

It starts with a little wiggle… and then a Wiggle!!! Wiggle!!!

soon there’s a whirl and a twirl and a bop of the head

a skip and a spin and before you know it arms are flailing wildly

a leap, a sway and a hop and both feet stomping

… and if you really are doing a happy dance surely there's “woooohoooo!” in there just for fun

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Tutorials
Hana-Kubari Bamboo Stilts with a Hidden Water Source
2 September 2015
Hana-Kubari Bamboo Stilts with a Hidden Water Source

Split bamboo stems to create a water source for dancing orchids
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.
Hana-Kubari chopsticks
19 October 2011
Hana-Kubari chopsticks

Splitting the chopsticks or a wooden branch, such as a willow twig creates a natural (and glue-less!) clamp.
Hana-kubari Bamboo
1 April 2015
Hana-kubari Bamboo

Hana-Kubari is an Ikebana flower mechanic. Only natural materials such as pebbles, sticks and branches can be seen to support the flowers. Traditionally no twine or wire, nails, or screws or any other man made materials are used
Bamboo panel
28 May 2014
Bamboo panel

Create a panel for the flowers to hang on
Fast way to fill a lot of test tubes in awkward places
16 August 2011
Fast way to fill a lot of test tubes in awkward places

I do not believe in arranging flowers without a water source of some kind. I want my flowers to remain as beautiful for as long as possible and I often get quite creative to ensure a water source for even finer stems and blossoms.
Driftwood on Stilts
5 September 2012
Driftwood on Stilts

Give a piece of driftwood legs to stand on
Stabilizing sticks for dried or fresh flowers
10 July 2012
Stabilizing sticks for dried or fresh flowers

Create a full design without the weight by stabilizing the flowers with glued sticks. This is a great alternative to floral foam.
Syringe with tube
3 January 2011
Syringe with tube

Easy way to fill test tubes and easiest way to remove water from a vase
Foxtail wreath frog with a leg in water
24 May 2023
Foxtail wreath frog with a leg in water

Twirl the fern into a wreath so that it can remain hydrated.
Floral wreath ring stem armature for a cute pumpkin patch in a stem vase design
7 October 2020
Floral wreath ring stem armature for a cute pumpkin patch in a stem vase design

Use a wreath to keep flower and a heavy little ghost pumpkin in place in a small vase.
Create a break in a willow twig to support a flower stem
14 November 2018
Create a break in a willow twig to support a flower stem

Break a willow twig at and angle to support your flowers
Incise waxy Gardenia foliage to decorate the edge of a container
9 May 2018
Incise waxy Gardenia foliage to decorate the edge of a container

Cut a small wedge out of a stack of waxy leaves to keep the flower and twig in place.
Using a fork in a twig to “peg” a stem in place
3 January 2018
Using a fork in a twig to “peg” a stem in place

A easy to use Hana Kubari technique
Bits of snipped grass glued to create a net
5 July 2017
Bits of snipped grass glued to create a net

Glue a fragile sheltering net to soften the look of a summer design
T-connect twigs to shadow a design
18 January 2017
T-connect twigs to shadow a design

Split a twig to create a t connection to hover a twig over the design
Bamboo frog for a shallow container design
10 August 2016
Bamboo frog for a shallow container design

Cut short bamboo lengths to keep your flower material upright in a shallow and narrow container
Related Designs
The Space Between
1 April 2015
The Space Between

Traditional Hana-Kubari flower mechanic
All that glitters is gold
25 September 2013
All that glitters is gold

Phalaenopsis Orchid made from Autumn leaves
On The Street Where You Live
1 November 2011
On The Street Where You Live

A floral design snapshot of what it looks like when walking down the streets of Vancouver this week.
The last Vine Wreath
20 January 2011
The last Vine Wreath

Every designer knows how to stretch their supplies. We use and re-use our dried plant material until our fellow designers feel like hiding it from us. I formed such an attachment to my vine wreaths. This post features four designs using the same wreaths.
This is the Fragrance of November
6 November 2013
This is the Fragrance of November

Weave a wreath to thread a dome for an Autumn leaf design
Let’s circle around to this one
7 October 2020
Let’s circle around to this one

Create a floral circlet to rest the little pumpkin on... but above the water line.
For just this moment… let’s take a break
14 November 2018
For just this moment… let’s take a break

Simplicity to showcase the perfection of the Lisianthus buds
What is the meaning of this?
9 May 2018
What is the meaning of this?

Create a minimal design with a few leaves to keep is all upright.
Happy Coincidence!
3 January 2018
Happy Coincidence!

Some designs really do just make themselves. I received this tiny vase for Christmas from Marius (thank you, Marius!) and while cleaning out my design room I found this little twig with a fork in it. Add a ranunculus with a ridiculously gorgeous curve in it's stem... done.
Just A Bit
5 July 2017
Just A Bit

Glue a bit of grass snippets to suspend over the design
Look at you!
18 January 2017
Look at you!

Tie twigs to shape a hanging armature
Saved up
10 August 2016
Saved up

Cut lengths of bamboo to place in a shallow container as a flower frog