My Creative Workbook

Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman

Oh! my word

You see there is even an ancient Greek word for it

Oh! my word floral design by Christine de Beer

“Kakotherēs”

Monstera leaf to support tiny floral details in a foam free design

it means “bad at summer”

Schizanthus pinnatus or poor man’s orchid in a contemporary summer flower arrangement

… did I mention it is ancient?

Beautiful Schizanthus pinnatus or poor man’s orchid floral design

since days gone by former times good old days long ago old lang syne old times olden days time immemorial times past years ago

Sustainable zero waste foam free floral design with Schizanthus pinnatus or poor man’s orchids

there’s been people just like me… just walking around (from shady spot to shady spot, preferably)

Zero waste Schizanthus pinnatus or poor man’s orchid floral centrepiece

being perfectly happy being bad at summer

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

Tutorials

3 July 2024 Creating a perfectly flat leafy surface... with a few gaps to fit some flowers

Shady leaf fenestration raft for easy summer designing

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.

22 August 2018 Vein Veil For Freesias

Cut a slight veil to frame your flowers with

16 August 2017 Criss-cross Monstera lace-up

Glue short sections of rosary vine into the natural gaps in the Monstera deliciosa leaf

16 August 2017 Water tube bridge

Glue two thin sticks across a gap to support a water tube

11 January 2023 Unfurl winter’s potential in a snow filled monstera leaf shelter

Capture a bit of winter magic by placing delicate flower buds in the middle of two large leaves.

2 June 2021 Two leaf lining your container to shelter your orchids

Create a shallow puddle in a larger container to keep your flowers in place.

24 January 2018 Stack two glass vases to keep a leaf upright in water

Slip a leaf into the gap between two glass containers to keep it upright... and add a plastic lining to support the flowers nestled into it.

4 February 2015 Fold over a tropical leaf cocoon

Fold and glue a Monstera deliciosa (delicious monster) leaf

24 April 2024 Slot together Monstera Twin Leaves to create a design gap

A small bundle of Spring floral treasures framed with lush monstera foliage.

30 January 2019 A round, around a round foliage… spiral in a vase

Stack foliage to create a rose spiral in a container.

2 August 2017 Two vase, two level Phormium snippets

Design in two levels by using two vases, the smaller slipped into a bigger one.

27 June 2018 Foliage tube armature for long stemmed freesia buds

Curl and pin a few leaves into a tube to create an armature for those "left over" freesiabuds.

19 February 2014 Weave a foliage grid for a shallow container

Keep flowers neatly in a shallow container

Favourite Flowers

Ceropegia woodii

Rosary vine, Chain of Hearts, Collar of hearts and String of hearts

Related Designs

22 August 2018 FreestyleFreesia

Dutch floral designer Pim van den Akker, from Flower Factor invited me to participate in a FloraHolland initiative promoting the versatility of Freesias entitled ...

22 August 2018 Freestyle Freesia design video for Flower Factor

Freestyle Freesia design video for Flower Factor

16 August 2017 Making Ends Meet

Criss-cross corset style connect the gaps in a Monstera deliciosa leaf

11 January 2023 Maybe Still Maybe

... a something to look forward to design that makes you lean in closer to see what might still be.

2 June 2021 Like an open book

Position foliage to create a smaller, shallow pond for your floral details to shelter in.

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

4 February 2015 collywobbles!

Fold foliage butterflies

24 April 2024 You Just Like You

Support a small bundle of spring florals to stand upright in water with two Monstera leaves.

30 January 2019 Around Here

Wind lily leaves to spiral around in a water filled container.

2 August 2017 Grace

Use snips and snippets and leftovers to create a design of it's own

27 June 2018 Look deep

Curl foliage to use as a natural armature for delicate buds.

19 February 2014 Come on Over

Weave an open foliage flower frog

8 May 2024 I mean… did you!?!

Playing with shapes to frame the light in a dramatic floral design.