My Creative Workbook

Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman

Lei-way

17 June 2020
and more

What a

huge difference

a tiny

difference

can make!

This week I needed a bit of a break… and thought I would show you exactly how versatile a well made armature can be. Just a quick swap out and you have a whole new design!

Book readers turn to page: 330 for the original version of this design… that time with gorgeous deep blue delphiniums… and page 209 for my twig-trick for threading the leaves.

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Gather what you'll need

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Dew-Drop Crystals

I created the Tutorial for how I add these crystals to my floral designs 11 years ago! Since then I have tried, tested and searched for the perfect crystals that would go from studio‑table picture perfect to show‑day‑dependable and I always come back to these. They remain the absolute best. They’re inexpensive yet have a refined, high‑quality crystal brilliance; they don’t tarnish and their adhesive backing stays reliably tacky even after they were exposed to water.

Tutorials

17 June 2020

Reusable Table Top Lei Armature

An easy to do, budget friendly, craft ahead- use many times floral armature.

4 January 2011

Drinking straw "test tubes"

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

13 September 2017

Tape a grid around the edges of a container for a table top wreath

Suspend flowers with an almost invisible taped grid

4 December 2019

Eucalyptus collar for a snow-covered Christmas candle

Not only will your home smell wonderful while crafting this design you will also have a ethereal and long lasting design to enjoy.

11 July 2018

Glued Hydrangea Float

Glue a delicate hydrangea wreath to float on water

22 September 2012

Stiffen and set skeletonized leaves into a whirl

Skeletonized leaves can be shaped while wet to create shapes

19 December 2018

Sparkling Eucalyptus Tabletop Christmas tree

Craft an ethereal Christmas tree from Eucalyptus leaves, twigs and sparkling snow flake crystals.

17 July 2019

Twig Dome Armature

Crafted from a hand full of twigs to give you a large design... even though you add only two stems of sweet peas.

9 October 2019

Quarter fold and Thread an Autumn leaf tube armature

This armature is actually made of four times as many leaves as what it looks like to create a hinge to fan the entire leaf-tube open yet keep it's shape.

18 December 2019

Here it is: the quickest, easiest Christmas wreath… ever!

My work is usually so labour intensive... this one came as a wonderful surprise... it really is both quick and easy to craft this wreath!

30 October 2013

Spiked Autumn leaf cauldron

Pike a few (hundred!) autumn leaves to build up a hollow leaf armature

24 June 2026

A roll-and-tuck to stay hydrated leaf armature that gives those tendrils time to grow into the design

Roll foliage into tubes to tuck in as a floral mechanic.

12 July 2023

Frond Support for short stemmed flowers

Create an all natural fern grid to arrange your flowers for a summer display.

3 May 2023

Standing flower stems upright In Perlite

I use perlite to root my cuttings... and to support flower stems in an upright position in designs without using floral foam.

16 November 2022

Magnolia Rose Bowl with the brightest Holly berries and Kalanchoe flowers

Long lasting berries, magnolia leaves and succulent (kalanchoe) flowers that can remain without any water or maintenance for... well... all the way to Christmas!

18 May 2022

How to skewer foliage tubes for a lily bud swirl support

Ombre designing with the smallest to the biggest lily buds in a shallow container.

Related Designs

13 September 2017

Around again

Tape a grid at the edge of a container

4 December 2019

A Very Merry eucalyptus-collar-candle Christmas!

An easy and naturally fragrant winter white candle decoration to bring nature into your house this Christmas.

11 July 2018

Stay-a-Float

Snip florets from a hydrangea mop head to float on water

22 September 2012

Turning of the leaves

An Autumn Equinox design that captures the moment before the spectacular colour burst of autumn floats around again

19 December 2018

Oh Florist-tree

Craft an Eucalyptus Christmas tree

17 July 2019

… and... a bit more... effort… to make it special

Instead of just placing a handful of twigs and two stems of sweet peas in a vase... why not...?

9 October 2019

With a thankful twist in the middle

Fold and thread an autumn leaf armature for a thankful Thanksgiving design

18 December 2019

A Happy, Merry, Jolly (easy as that!) Eucalyptus Christmas wreath

Now this is quite a discovery! And it honestly is the easiest and quickest way to go from "I still want to decorate for Christmas" to "... aaand I am done, I made our wreath"