My Creative Workbook

Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman

Linked This Way

“Any

arbitrary turning

along the way

And

I would be elsewhere;

I would be different.”

― Frances Mayes, Under the Tuscan Sun

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Tutorials
Craft a wreath chain to link a few bud vases together
28 July 2021
Craft a wreath chain to link a few bud vases together

All you need is a few twigs to craft this design- it's a perfect floral meditation activity.
Weaving a twig wreath
1 November 2011
Weaving a twig wreath

For my design I wanted the wreath to look wind blown so I added a few loosely woven twigs into the weave. I also wanted to emphasize the autumn colours so I added a twirling copper wire into the weave
Submerged vine wreath armature to beat the summer heat
23 June 2021
Submerged vine wreath armature to beat the summer heat

Water... lots of water- that is the answer to designing flower arrangements that survive the summer heat.
Weave a small wreath in the side twig of a willow branch to keep a flower in place in your design
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.
Stripping foliage from weaving stems
11 February 2015
Stripping foliage from weaving stems

Remove foliage from stems to weave with
Overgrown Willow web inspired by a traditional Dream-catcher
8 July 2015
Overgrown Willow web inspired by a traditional Dream-catcher

I wanted my willow armature to hint of a web-like dreamcatcher that grows in the wild rather than being a precise replica of the traditional craft technique. But I did weave it in a similar way.
Chain link wreath weaving
24 May 2017
Chain link wreath weaving

Weave a few small wreaths to connect
Clematis Vine Swing
18 April 2018
Clematis Vine Swing

Weave a delicate nest for a small spring design.
Impossibly delicate Dancing Lady orchid wreath
11 March 2020
Impossibly delicate Dancing Lady orchid wreath

Weave a wreath around a cardboard circle to create an almost lace effect... perfect to capture those first signs of Spring!
Wisteria Wreath Vine
5 September 2018
Wisteria Wreath Vine

Weave tiny vine wreaths on the leave stems of a stripped Wisteria vine
Loosened Wreath Armature
4 May 2016
Loosened Wreath Armature

Snip a dried twig wreath to undo the spirals to hang around a glass container
Peg a wreath to the edge of a container
16 September 2020
Peg a wreath to the edge of a container

Another version of a design idea I showed you last month... A vine wreath armature to balance a dramatic single stem anthurium. Only this time I take it a bit further.
Building up a wreath panel
24 June 2020
Building up a wreath panel

Connect six wreaths to build up a hanging panel to display your flowers on.
Tendril vine Wreath Pumpkin
27 September 2017
Tendril vine Wreath Pumpkin

Reshape a vine wreath into smaller wreaths to combine as a pumpkin
Thread your wreaths in a row to show off your "it could (almost) be mistaken for Spring sprouts"
26 February 2025
Thread your wreaths in a row to show off your "it could (almost) be mistaken for Spring sprouts"

Late winter flowering irises in a wreath armature
Related Designs
Over Easy
23 June 2021
Over Easy

A cooling design to celebrate the summer solstice.
Transition into Fall
11 September 2019
Transition into Fall

A sustainable, absolutely no waste floral design using willow to suspend your flower head in your arrangement.
How To Catch A Dream
8 July 2015
How To Catch A Dream

Take inspiration from a traditional Dream-catcher design to create a floral armature
Link
24 May 2017
Link

weave a few wreaths to link
Swing Vine
18 April 2018
Swing Vine

Weave a delicate vine swing to nestle a small vase with spring flowers in
On-Spring-dium
11 March 2020
On-Spring-dium

A almost impossibly delicate oncidium (dancing lady) orchid wreath.
Wreath Vine Season!
5 September 2018
Wreath Vine Season!

Weave tiny wreaths on the stems of Wisteria vines
Ring-a-round
4 May 2016
Ring-a-round

Open a vine wreath to create a spiral twig armature around a glass container
The circle of making new things:
16 September 2020
The circle of making new things:

A wreath armature design for early Autumn... this takes the split armature Tutorial I showed you last month a little bit further.
End Up
24 June 2020
End Up

Connect small wreaths to create a pretty summer armature to arrange your flowers on.
Feeling Funky
10 April 2011
Feeling Funky

I wove vine wreaths to form a pyramid, one just slightly larger than the next. In the natural cavities between the wreaths I placed the roses and lisianthus in plastic covered Oasis
The last Vine Wreath
20 January 2011
The last Vine Wreath

Every designer knows how to stretch their supplies. We use and re-use our dried plant material until our fellow designers feel like hiding it from us. I formed such an attachment to my vine wreaths. This post features four designs using the same wreaths.
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
Red, Redder, Reddest!
4 December 2013
Red, Redder, Reddest!

My article and flower girl net basket design featured in the Red! issue of DIY Weddings Magazine
There are Octobers
19 October 2016
There are Octobers

Autumn wreath
As tendrils tend to do
27 September 2017
As tendrils tend to do

Curl a wreath with tendrils to create a twig-pumpkin
“Ha ha ha weeeeee!"
26 February 2025
“Ha ha ha weeeeee!"

Beautiful iris wreath kebab to chase away the winter blues
Favourite Flowers
Chrysanthemum
Chrysanthemum

Chrysanthemum Design: the Floral Hour glass was made as part of my wax series