My Creative Workbook

Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman

Nots and sparkling water Glosses

8 July 2026
and more

Cross them,

tuck them,

pull them tight.

Make a loop,

hold it right.

Wrap around

…and pull it through,

… now you’ve tied your... ooooooh!

… prettiest gladiolus (Gladiolus murielae) stem I have ever seen.

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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

8 July 2026

Cross and knot forked stems to support them in a minimal summer display

Abyssinian Gladiolus do not need much help to be pretty perfect for a summer display... water and a few twigs and a pretty bow.

4 April 2018

Tap in a Twig Support

Wedge snipped twigs into a glass vase to act as a support for your flowers

11 February 2015

Stripping foliage from weaving stems

Remove foliage from stems to weave with

22 May 2012

Bite and snap a sturdy twig

Break the sturdy twig on the scribe line.

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.

11 April 2018

Pick up any bits of plant material floating in the water

Use a wet brush to lift any tiny bits of plant material floating on and in the water to keep your container clear.

28 February 2018

Marching winter frosted twig and freesia stack

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

28 April 2021

A contained design for watching those pretty twigs get their leaves

Careful manipulation of twigs in a shallow container. With a special note on how to use new growth.

13 February 2019

Willow and Rose heart armature

Weave willow stems into a heart shaped armature.

5 August 2020

Twig float for a single lemon blossom

This design is all about that line there where the water meets the lemon blossom stem...

1 June 2022

A wild "found it this way" thorn and overgrown tulip design with a ribbon tangle instead of a bow.

Glue an overgrown thorn armature to a container to display fully opened tulips

24 March 2021

A Spring Sprout Wreath Flower Frog

Craft an everything is still growing spring design to celebrate... what we love!

9 August 2023

Tap in support for horizontal placement of your top heavy flowers

Placing gladiolus stems horizontally so that the stems... disappear.

17 July 2024

Use Firethorn spears for a Vine and Orchid twist support

Sharp thorns can be used to keep your floral details in place

2 July 2025

Tap in a thorn support for a delicate flower stem and twirling tendrils

Peg a dainty flower stem into a water filled summer display to remove all visual clutter.

25 September 2024

Slip-slit tapped in stems to keep vines upright in a muted autumn display

A tiny adjustment in a stem wedged into a vase mechanic to give you even more control over the placement of design details.

15 April 2026

Hop over, skip one and a long jump to the other side twig suspension (with a craftsmanship magic trick in between, of course)

Use a few spongy stems and a bougainvillea branch with sharp thorns to create an impossibly delicate Spring display that is minimal and luxurious.

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.

22 January 2025

Bring out the pretty spots on the lip of this tiny orchid with a dotted twig stump armature

Create a delicate floating and natural display without using floral foam with a twig frog armature.

27 January 2016

Sprouting willow armature

Carefully manipulate and bend green willow stems to place in water to sprout as an armature for tulips to mature and open

28 January 2015

Well Rooted Sprouting Willow Weave

Weave a sprouting armature

12 August 2026

Café au Lait Summer Swirl-Twirl

Use that good old double vase trick to create a (dry) fairy light swirl for your design base.

Related Designs

4 April 2018

Grow on it

Wedge twigs into a vase to create a grid.

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.