My Creative Workbook

Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman

Marcescent

A leaf...

... withering

but

not

falling

off

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Tutorials
Autumn Screen
29 November 2017
Autumn Screen

Craft a hanging twig and autumn leaf design
Drinking straw "test tubes"
4 January 2011
Drinking straw "test tubes"

When you need to keep a tiny stem hydrated this is just what you need.
Bite and snap a sturdy twig
22 May 2012
Bite and snap a sturdy twig

Break the sturdy twig on the scribe line.
Drying Hydrangeas: Fast, Flat or Natural
30 May 2012
Drying Hydrangeas: Fast, Flat or Natural

Use all three methods to dry hydrangeas to get three very different textures to use in design work.
Weave a willow twig blind
26 April 2011
Weave a willow twig blind

Weave twigs in parallel to create a twig blind with strong but natural horizontal lines.
Chain-link string and twig armature
18 January 2017
Chain-link string and twig armature

By removing every other twig you open up space for larger flowers to nestle in
Bamboo panel
28 May 2014
Bamboo panel

Create a panel for the flowers to hang on
Twig collar
6 September 2011
Twig collar

Create a light and transparent collar-base for the large composite flower to nestle into.
Popsicle Stick Square Armature
8 June 2016
Popsicle Stick Square Armature

Glue Popsicle sticks to create a double layered, upright armature
Scalable twig and Phalaenopsis orchid winterscape panel
9 December 2015
Scalable twig and Phalaenopsis orchid winterscape panel

This design can easily scale up or down by using larger or smaller pieces of wood to create a larger wall panel or make a few of these panels to stack as tiles to create a more easily manageable composite
Blow away hot glue strands
24 July 2012
Blow away hot glue strands

When you glue a structure with hot glue there are always a few stray strands of glue stuck all over the design. Blow it away with a hairdryer.
Using a pin to place tiny dew drop crystals
8 July 2015
Using a pin to place tiny dew drop crystals

It's sometimes difficult to place a tiny crystal or bead exactly where you want it.
Layered sisal and twig armature
9 September 2015
Layered sisal and twig armature

small sisal fibers create a mat like armature
Jiyek Braiding a Pussy Willow Twig Blind
25 March 2015
Jiyek Braiding a Pussy Willow Twig Blind

A design inspired by traditional Jiyek braiding techniques
Twig Chain Garlands
23 July 2014
Twig Chain Garlands

Knot stems into decorative swinging chains
Haphazard twig Rectangle
14 August 2013
Haphazard twig Rectangle

Glue a few twigs into a rectangular shape to hang as a space or room devider
Stringing wool and Spanish moss
8 August 2012
Stringing wool and Spanish moss

Create veil of wool and Spanish moss
U shape stems to anchor Fuchsia drops and Maple leaf Falls in a bud vase
18 October 2023
U shape stems to anchor Fuchsia drops and Maple leaf Falls in a bud vase

Bend pliable stems to kick against the side to anchor design details exactly in place in a small vase.
Counterbalance elegantly leaning Calla lilies with dressed up Dried Autumn Details
21 September 2022
Counterbalance elegantly leaning Calla lilies with dressed up Dried Autumn Details

Using those much treasured dried autumn details to bridge the gap between the bright green of summer and the brightness that is yet to come.
Glue soaked stems cheeky angled grid for those first autumn leaves (with a dye soak up tip)
8 September 2021
Glue soaked stems cheeky angled grid for those first autumn leaves (with a dye soak up tip)

A barely there delicate grid to keep your flowers in place.
Dried twig collar in a double vase display for gravity sensitive flowers
11 August 2021
Dried twig collar in a double vase display for gravity sensitive flowers

Putting the focus on the flowers with an ever changing design.
All dried Autumn hemisphere design that will outlast even the falling leaves outside
23 September 2020
All dried Autumn hemisphere design that will outlast even the falling leaves outside

Preserve some floral material to design with when it is but not quite Autumn outside.
Finally! I found a perfect way to perfectly preserve a perfect passion fruit flower.
25 March 2020
Finally! I found a perfect way to perfectly preserve a perfect passion fruit flower.

Yay everyone! I found the absolute best way to preserve passion fruit flowers. Here it is: how to dry flowers using Silica Gel.
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!
Floating Filigree Pumpkin Patch
23 October 2019
Floating Filigree Pumpkin Patch

String up pumpkins and glass seahorse vases to craft an autumn mobile design.
Cover a butchers hook with a ribbon
23 October 2019
Cover a butchers hook with a ribbon

A quick and easy way to make a butchers hook look less harsh in a delicate design.
Beaded wire Leaf
25 September 2019
Beaded wire Leaf

This week I show you the Tutorial for the wire leaf shown in my book on page 14 ... this time in copper.
Spin a tiny glue bead around a thin stem to secure it at an angle in a design
25 September 2019
Spin a tiny glue bead around a thin stem to secure it at an angle in a design

This is a trick for attaching fine details at exactly the right angle.
Weave a burst of overgrown wildness wreath
18 September 2019
Weave a burst of overgrown wildness wreath

This wreath is perfectly imperfect. Perfect for using those first few autumn (or preserved from last autumn) leaves.
Twig Dome Armature
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.
Radiating rainbow vine armature
2 May 2018
Radiating rainbow vine armature

Design an armature that is light enough to be carried by two flower stems to create a radiating frame.
Related Designs
Drinking straws become flower test tubes
25 April 2011
Drinking straws become flower test tubes

Design 2: Up-cycle drinking straws to make tiny test tubes to hold the orchids on my willow twig blind.
Look at you!
18 January 2017
Look at you!

Tie twigs to shape a hanging armature
Be Silent And Listen
28 May 2014
Be Silent And Listen

Lash a few bamboo pieces together to create a scaffold armature
When Autumn Fall
6 September 2011
When Autumn Fall

Autumn leaf composite flower
When the wind whisper
8 June 2016
When the wind whisper

Glue a fantasy forest from Popsicle sticks, grape vine tendrils and willow tips
Fall Treasures
9 September 2015
Fall Treasures

A sisal mat armature for fall twigs flowers and leaves
Beautiful Things
29 July 2015
Beautiful Things

Glue a few twigs into a disk armature
Direct Contrasts
13 October 2011
Direct Contrasts

I have always been fascinated, as a designer, by the idea that there is a point when extremes or direct contrasts flip into its opposite.
Layer
30 April 2015
Layer

Design One from my Inspiration Video: Use the same floral ingredients, willow twigs, Lichen, Spanish Moss, Kalanchoe and Gypsophila to make three distinctly different contemporary corsages
Pulling some Strings
25 March 2015
Pulling some Strings

Braid a twig blind armature
Chain of Thought
23 July 2014
Chain of Thought

Knot small stems into decorative chain garlands
Something Like This
14 August 2013
Something Like This

Stack and glue a large twig rectangle to hang as room divider
Stringing in the rain
8 August 2012
Stringing in the rain

A veil of green wool, Spanish moss and dried hydrangeas hang over white lilies
Direct Contrasts
13 October 2011
Direct Contrasts

I have always been fascinated, as a designer, by the idea that there is a point when extremes or direct contrasts flip into its opposite.
A Point of Support
30 March 2016
A Point of Support

My contemporary floral art design demonstrated at the Canada Blooms flower show in Toronto.
Drops do that!
18 October 2023
Drops do that!

Collecting drops of autumn that makes me smile back.
Balanced Attitude
21 September 2022
Balanced Attitude

Getting the balance just so... so that you lean into the first sights of Autumn.
Of the shades to come
7 September 2022
Of the shades to come

This design requires a bit of prep-time so it is perfect to make while waiting for the first autumn leaf to appear…
A good September Soaking
8 September 2021
A good September Soaking

Exploring two soaking techniques for a subtle early autumn design
A bit Special... four dimensional designing
11 August 2021
A bit Special... four dimensional designing

Using that little something that is unusual about your flower to make the design stand out.
Getting a head start on all that Fall-ing
23 September 2020
Getting a head start on all that Fall-ing

Floral styling using mostly dried material that will last the entire Autumn.
How to lay a little bit low
25 March 2020
How to lay a little bit low

A flat-lay to celebrate finally finding the perfect way to dry passion fruit flowers... and my book's first birthday but mostly the drying of passion fruit flowers thing.
On-Spring-dium
11 March 2020
On-Spring-dium

A almost impossibly delicate oncidium (dancing lady) orchid wreath.
As pumpkins do this time of year
23 October 2019
As pumpkins do this time of year

Hanging pumpkins and tiny vases to create a Autumn mobile floral design.
It’s one and a half to two times... but to the side
25 September 2019
It’s one and a half to two times... but to the side

Soft minimal... this is exactly the kind of design I place in our apartment. Use a few fall treasures picked up on a walk and add a copper leaf to up the effort and love you add into your designs.
It’s a sugar rush!
18 September 2019
It’s a sugar rush!

A perfectly imperfect wild willow wreath to display the first Autumn treasures of the year.
… and... a bit more... effort… to make it special
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...?
Over the rainbow
2 May 2018
Over the rainbow

Craft a radiating design that suspends from the orchid stems
Favourite Flowers
Oncidium
Oncidium

Cherry twig cocoon with Oncidium orchids and dandelion seeds