My Creative Workbook

Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman

Hat tip

Hat tip floral art design

doff a mortarboard

woven lily grass tops

tip a cap,

Dancing lady orchids

lift a lid,

Oncidium orchids

raise a beret,

Oncidium orchids on lily grass

uplift a toque

Dancing lady orchids and lily grass.

... to tip your hat

Every week I add a new design with related tutorials. Be sure to subscribe to receive an email notification with design inspiration.

Tutorials

9 August 2017 Weave a flat top to tip at an angle with flower stems

Craft a platform to highlight small flowers

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...

15 April 2015 Stretching leaves and foliage into a ringlet curl

Most leaves and foliage can be slightly manipulated to curve or curl.

25 August 2011 Placing orchids in test tubes

Cut the Phalaenopsis orchid with a bit of green stem attached. This will make them last longer.

16 August 2011 Cut spiked flower stems and foliage into short sections

Orchids grow in long flower spikes. It is great to use the entire stem but sometimes you need shorter section. There is a trick to cutting the stems without leaving a visible...

13 April 2012 Drying Mushrooms for Floral Art

I use edible mushrooms in my designs. To preserve them I press a tiny stake into the base and let them air-dry.

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.

25 January 2017 Detailing a messy edged grass basket

Weave a basket from lily grass and then cut and curl the edges

20 July 2016 Twisted Lily Grass sun hat

Twist and weave a sun hat from blades of lily grass

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.

14 January 2015 Weaving Slippers from Foliage

Weave slip on shoes from palm leaves

3 April 2013 Twin Leaf Weave

Weave two palm leaves together to create a floral grid

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.

Favourite Flowers

Oncidium

Dancing lady

Related Designs

25 July 2018 Lemon Aid

Use a lemon as a stopper to keep floral material in place

15 August 2018 Bursting with excitement

Loosely weave grass to create a decorative grid keeping flowers in place over a square container.

3 April 2019 Blossoming like a Caterpillar

Crafting caterpillars from blossoms

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.

2 March 2022 The thing!?! Do you remember the thing?!?

A design that visually plays with good proportions to allow the sheltered flower to be the focal point.

17 May 2017 Nobody move!

Weave a small basket with a lid to keep fluffy treasures in

25 January 2017 What is in a basket of spectacular?

Weave a basket with dangling edges for a single orchid display

20 July 2016 A Shade of Summer

Twist and weave a lily grass summer hat

13 July 2016 Woven

Weave a canopy or parachute shaped armature for orchids to perch on

14 January 2015 Take a load off

Weave slippers from foliage

3 April 2013 April showers bring May flowers

After a long winter it is always fun to use the first spring bulb flowers!

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.

22 April 2015 Toiling

Convert a dowel stick into a container for delicate flower stems

13 April 2012 Spring Has Sprung!

The sprouts are sprouting and the bees are being and the birds are birding. Tempting as it is new growth is hard to condition. Hard, but not impossible