My Creative Workbook

Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman

I found it this way: Bird nest design

This is the fourth design I did for my "I found it this way" Floral art demonstration at the Capilano Flower Arranging Club .

As the temperature starts to cool down here in Vancouver and we are heading into early autumn, we are all starting to spend more time indoors, we looked at nests crafted outdoors.

I used a pendant nest as my inspiration for my bird's nest design

The male birds build the nest...

... in an elongated sac shape...

... from grass and other pliable material

The nest is suspended from a branch.

it takes up to 500 trips for a bird to build a nest

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Tutorials
Weave a bird nest
12 October 2016
Weave a bird nest

use bark wire and grass to weave a floral armature.
"I found it this way" demonstration Floral art Structures: Twig Tangles
21 September 2016
"I found it this way" demonstration Floral art Structures: Twig Tangles

For my "I found it this way" Floral Art demonstration at The Capilano Flower Arranging club, I began all four of my designs with basic armatures made of Twig Tangles and we discussed the importance of a stable structure as a foundation to a structural design. The twig tangles create a basic armature for the designs to be suspended from. Each design is crafted that it almost looks like a foraged or ‘found” natural object
Weaving a bird
21 July 2011
Weaving a bird

I wove my bird from shaved wood but you can also use flax, coconut palm (more traditional) or paper or ribbon
Twig cocoon
16 August 2011
Twig cocoon

Cherry twig frame for my cocoon design
Mikado Reed drop shaped nest
16 May 2012
Mikado Reed drop shaped nest

A sturdy shape made by binding Mikado reeds keeps the thin strands of flax in place.
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
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.
Messy summer floral nest
3 July 2013
Messy summer floral nest

Wrap and weave and twirl and dangle foliage to create a spiral nest
Spiral Wire Cages
13 October 2011
Spiral Wire Cages

The cage spirals to form a basket that wrap around the plump ripe berries (or you can slip in a flower) to hang as connections between the twigs.
A little nest for Easter chocolates that naturally hooks over the edge of a container
11 April 2017
A little nest for Easter chocolates that naturally hooks over the edge of a container

Weave a tiny nest with a twig hook so that you can hang it in a design
Related Designs
Ground Breaking
29 January 2011
Ground Breaking

Water stream breaking through ground in an autumn forest.
Floral Art Demonstrations
7 April 2011
Floral Art Demonstrations

When I demonstrate I focus on sharing the art of contemporary floral design, as I see it.
Veiled Sunshine:50th Anniversary of the South African Orchid Society at the Cape Town Convention Centre.
11 April 2011
Veiled Sunshine:50th Anniversary of the South African Orchid Society at the Cape Town Convention Centre.

Bright and sunny cymbidium orchids and roses, lilies, lisianthus and pincushions
Tradition and Technique, Technique and Tradition
21 July 2011
Tradition and Technique, Technique and Tradition

When you need inspiration for a design problem study a Traditional Craft- you will be amazed!
Cherry twig cocoon
16 August 2011
Cherry twig cocoon

Japanese aesthetic, wabi-sabi, acknowledges three simple truths:nothing lasts, nothing is done, and nothing is perfect.
On the first warm day in May
16 May 2012
On the first warm day in May

A ripped flax, Ranunculus and Mikado Reed drop shaped nest
How to catch a dew drop:
1 October 2012
How to catch a dew drop:

Weave a sphere from grass to catch a precious and exquisite and perfect glistening early autumn dew drop
Of trust… and belief… and stars…
3 July 2013
Of trust… and belief… and stars…

Weave and wrap and twirl and knot a summer floral nest
Well… we did it again!
11 April 2017
Well… we did it again!

Blossoms and chocolates for Easter
Favourite Flowers
Cymbidium
Cymbidium

Cymbidium orchids for my Designing your way to profits article that was featured in the Canadian Florist Magazine