My Creative Workbook

Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman

Just So

Just So floral art design

a nudge this way and a touch that way

Balanced floral art

some pointing up and others pointing down

Boat orchids and willow twigs

heavy right there and light over here

Cymbidium orchids in a willow armature

precariously stable

Cymbidium orchids

delicately tough

Willow armature

balancing it all just, just so...

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

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.

Favourite Flowers

Cymbidium

Cymbidium, Boat Orchid

Salix matsudana "Tortuosa"

Curly Willow, Chinese Willow, Tortured Willow, Globe Willow, Dragon's Claw, Hankow Willow

Related Designs

27 July 2016 Too Hot!

Leaning floral stems to stand on their own in a shallow container

3 August 2016 Practice

Weave a willow bird nest

8 November 2017 Psithurism

Craft a three tiered, dried autumn leaf armature

22 November 2017 How do squirrels Cache a tree?

Hoard a few acorns in the fork of a twig to show off a single oncidium orchid.

24 January 2018 How to make a stack of just enough:

Stack two vases to create a small gap at the side to keep a leaf upright

28 February 2018 March Days

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

1 August 2018 Stay Cool!

Craft a free standing Sweat pea design

11 September 2019 Transition into Fall

A sustainable, absolutely no waste floral design using willow to suspend your flower head in your arrangement.

19 August 2020 All round pretty sweet and short

Frame a passion flower in a vine wreath for a short lived but so pretty arrangement.

16 March 2022 Poised to Spring

An "it's only 10 days to Spring" design to display some blossom buds.