My Creative Workbook

Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman

On a Grand Scale

My article and floral panel design featured in
DIY Weddings Magazine


This Winter season we celebrate the 5th anniversary and 22nd issue of DIY Weddings Magazine. We will do so in grand style, adding tradition with a modern touch. The traditional gift for a 5th anniversary is wood which we will incorporate into a contemporary flower-wall, this year’s grandest floral design trend for weddings.

On a Grand Scale floral art design

Covering a wall with fresh flowers can strain the DIY bride’s budget to the limit (and beyond,) and tax other resources like time and labour. Especially considering the intense nature of these designs.

Fortunately, an affordable and practical flower-wall is possible with careful design and planning. A winter wedding is ideal for the DIY bride with her heart set on a creating a flower-wall.

A winterscape flower-wall is luxurious and best of all, can be prepared weeks ahead of time. Make a twig armature panel whenever you have time. The more panels, the larger the flower-wall, but even just a few panels will be striking. The tiny vials can be filled with water and flowers added the day before the wedding, ready for easy transport.

Phalaenopsis orchid wall panel

As with any floral design your main concern should be ensuring your flowers remain beautifully fresh for as long as possible. This too is easy by following these guidelines:

Twig and orchid wall panel

* Purchase good quality flowers from the best supplier. The local florist can be a valuable resource for a DIY bride. Florists knows what to look for when purchasing flowers and will expertly condition the flowers for you or show you how to do it yourself, even when they are not doing the actual arranging.

* Take care during transport. Keep flowers well hydrated by transporting them in buckets with water. Avoid exposure to the exhaust fumes of your vehicle and try not to transport the flowers in an overly heated car. Give the flowers space to prevent damaged before you even start designing.

* Once home, use a sharp knife or scissors to cut each stem at an angle to expose more of the stem to water so that they can properly hydrate. Add a bit of flower food to the water.

Phalaenopsis orchid

* Place the flowers in a cool position out of direct sunlight. Do a little research on how to keep the flowers of your choice looking as fresh as possible for your big day. Remember that regular fridges and floral fridges are not the same, so never place your flowers in your home fridge.

* Always include a water source in your designs. Your extra effort will be rewarded with longer lasting and better looking flowers. Floral foam or tiny containers / vials will keep your flowers from looking sad half way through your wedding day.

Winterscape wall panel

* As far as possible, place your designs shielded from direct sunlight, a draft or heat source, place it securely, especially when hanging a flower-wall.

Flower wall

With just a little bit of preparation and planning, you can create a flower wall as minimal or as elaborate as your resources allow.

DIY Wedding Magazine article On a Grand Scale

Thank you DIY Weddings Magazine for inviting me to contribute.

DIY Wedding Magazine 5th anniversary issue

DIY Wedding Magazine 5th anniversary issue

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

Tutorials

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...

4 January 2011 Drinking straw "test tubes"

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

18 January 2012 Butterfly feeler hooks for swinging test tubes

I don't always want to wire my test tubes into the design. I like to create a bit of movement by simply hooking the tubes to gently swing.

22 May 2012 Bite and snap a sturdy twig

Break the sturdy twig on the scribe line.

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.

7 December 2011 Encouraging Moss and Lichen to grow on a design

This time of year is best for starting a moss garden. It needs to be cool and wet. Lichen and moss becomes dormant when it is too hot and dry.

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.

27 November 2012 Fluff cotton wool for snow

Cotton balls can be unrolled and fluffed to create long garlands of "snow"

Favourite Flowers

Phalaenopsis

Phalaenopsis, Moth orchid

Related Designs

30 March 2016 A Point of Support

My contemporary floral art design demonstrated at the Canada Blooms flower show in Toronto.

11 May 2016 Pour

Glue a twig vase and melt some plastic to create a tumbling design

8 June 2016 When the wind whisper

Glue a fantasy forest from Popsicle sticks, grape vine tendrils and willow tips

15 February 2017 Step Along

Create twig steps to display the orchids

1 March 2017 Gumusservi

To celebrate the 6th year anniversary of My Creative Workbook I am looking at the most popular Tutorial I have done to date:

6 September 2017 One of those difficult questions

Glue a bunch of twigs inside a container to create a round stack

2 May 2018 Over the rainbow

Craft a radiating design that suspends from the orchid stems

30 May 2018 You see... here is the Thing:

Glue a grass snippet grid for shallow container design

6 February 2019 Tread softly on winter

A delicate winter twig armature to show off the delicate beauty of these early spring coloured tulips.

15 May 2019 Heard it through the grapevine?

Have you heard? I have wonderful news this week. Oh! and I also have this pretty grapevine armature shaped like the petals of an open rose to show you. But... Have you heard...

12 February 2020 Parallel Hang Ups

While waiting for the blossoms to open... why not weave in a touch of Valentine's Day love?

19 February 2020 The Upside of being Inside

A creative design that has some height to it without blocking the view. This can easily be scaled up or down to match the environment you want to display it in.

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.

28 April 2021 Here comes the sun...

A minimal design celebrating the new growth on twigs

17 November 2021 Ringing in A Very Merry Traditional Christmas… Tradition

A more than just a hint of Christmas tradition design... in a pre-Christmas design.

29 December 2021 It’s the most… it’s the most... Toast-iest Patina Christmas of all!

This is the sixth of my Christmas 2021 series of designs. This year in the form of a mini workshop… my Christmas present to you. This week I will show you how to go overboard on...

5 January 2022 Slow Glow

A slow but glowing start to the New Year and the new design season

30 November 2022 Take a bough… it’s Christmas time!

A wool and twig snowflake design (made from candy canes!) that will last the entire Festive Season.

28 December 2022 Giving a nod

A scattering of winter decorating for wherever you might need it.

8 February 2023 Snow… drops

A late winter design for minimal floral styling.

12 April 2023 The word we are looking for is… fun

A leaning twig armature with both the first signs of Spring and the last signs of winter.

10 April 2024 (if only) I can see you

Tangle jasmine vines outside a vase for a transparent screen to display floral details on and around a sea horse vase to display floral details in.

9 September 2015 Fall Treasures

A sisal mat armature for fall twigs flowers and leaves

25 November 2015 So white

A dried Baby's breath and fresh orchid wreath

29 July 2015 Beautiful Things

Glue a few twigs into a disk armature

24 June 2015 Staying connected

My article and a floral cell phone re-charge station design featured in DIY Weddings Magazine

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...

25 March 2015 Pulling some Strings

Braid a twig blind armature

23 July 2014 Chain of Thought

Knot small stems into decorative chain garlands

11 June 2014 To

Make a quick and easy twig disk armature

29 January 2014 Glued to stay just so

Wire and glue a twig armature

14 August 2013 Something Like This

Stack and glue a large twig rectangle to hang as room divider

8 August 2012 Stringing in the rain

A veil of green wool, Spanish moss and dried hydrangeas hang over white lilies

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.

6 September 2011 When Autumn Fall

Autumn leaf composite flower