My Creative Workbook

Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman

Just So

25 February 2015
and more

a nudge this way and a touch that way

some pointing up and others pointing down

heavy right there and light over here

precariously stable

delicately tough

balancing it all just, just so...

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Tutorials

25 February 2015

Balancing a Twirled Willow Armature

Twirl twigs to create a balanced nest to display the beautiful orchids on

7 September 2012

The Three legged trick for Upright Constructions

When in doubt, always give your armature three legs. Two legs are simply not enough and four legs will wobble if it is even slightly off balance.

18 January 2012

Butterfly feeler hooks for swinging test tubes

I don't always want to wire my test tubes into the design. I like to create a bit of movement by simply hooking the tubes to gently swing.

26 April 2011

Natural stem hook to hang plant material from

Side stems of branches can be used as hooks to hang floral material in a design.

4 January 2011

Drinking straw "test tubes"

When you need to keep a tiny stem hydrated this is just what you need.

16 March 2022

Sturdy, blossoming armature in a shallow puddle

If you know just a bit more about the "why" we do the things we do it is easy to discover new "how's". This week I show you why it is possible to design with blossoming twigs in a shallow puddle.

19 August 2020

Tangle a perfect vine around two wreaths for a split armature

Passion fruit flowers never lasts long. Not even growing outside on a vine. But the buds continue to open once cut making a wreath display ideal for an even changing passion fruit flower display.

11 September 2019

Weave a small wreath in the side twig of a willow branch to keep a flower in place in your design

This is both a decorative and functional design solution. But most importantly, I think, there is absolutely zero waste.

1 August 2018

Balancing Sweet pea stems with an Ivy Leaf Stack

This design is all about balance.

28 February 2018

Marching winter frosted twig and freesia stack

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

24 January 2018

Stack two glass vases to keep a leaf upright in water

Slip a leaf into the gap between two glass containers to keep it upright... and add a plastic lining to support the flowers nestled into it.

22 November 2017

Acorn fork

Wire and glue a few acorns into the fork of a twig to create an Autumn armature

8 November 2017

Three tier dried autumn leaf armature

Dry autumn leaves on cardboard disks to create an upright fall armature

3 August 2016

Hanging Willow Nest

Bend and weave a nest shape from fresh willow stems

27 July 2016

Leaning Sunflowers to stay just so

The trick to any freestanding design is to get your first three stems standing stable and secure in the water. Once you have that you can build the design around it.

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