My Creative Workbook

Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman

Pass it on

This week I am adding design 599 to My Creative Workbook! I have been adding a design per week (and sometimes more than one…) for 492 weeks. That is 599 designs in 492 weeks- not one week missed!

We should do something to celebrate week 500, don’t you think?

I give you this smile to give

to give to...

to give to...

to give to...

… or to give to yourself if you need one today

Ps: the pattern to make this orchid is in my free to download Template booklet. If you do not have a copy of it yet (or want another one) you can find the link in my weekly newsletter email. I will also add it next week so there is still time for you to sign up. I send out one email per week, always on a Wednesday just past eight in the morning Vancouver time.

Please pass it on if you know of anyone who would enjoy the free template booklet.

Sign up for my weekly newsletter

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

Sign Up Now
Tutorials
Tea stained Bamboo husk orchids
15 July 2020
Tea stained Bamboo husk orchids

Paint bamboo husks with strong tea to create a pretty orchid.
Phalaenopsis orchid cascade over a log slice display
15 July 2020
Phalaenopsis orchid cascade over a log slice display

Add the design details to the wood... and not to the orchid plant so that it can easily be removed to soak for a long lasting still growing display.
Paper flowers
28 February 2011
Paper flowers

You can use any type of paper to make flowers. I use tissue paper, Crêpe paper, cardboard, newsprint and coffee filters (new and used) to make sweet peas, carnations, paper roses, blossoms, lilies, poppies and orchids.
Make a Phalaenopsis Orchid from autumn leaves
25 September 2013
Make a Phalaenopsis Orchid from autumn leaves

Fall leaf craft
Paper log stack
15 March 2012
Paper log stack

I made this log stack from cardboard covered with bark
Wedding welcome and direction sign
15 March 2017
Wedding welcome and direction sign

Hang a twig and wood mobile at your weeding as a direction board
Bark covered heart
10 July 2012
Bark covered heart

Cover cardboard with bark to create a heart shaped log
Bark pod for growing a Pearl Oyster mushroom mini farm
19 August 2015
Bark pod for growing a Pearl Oyster mushroom mini farm

Glue bark to a Papier Maché and wire frame to create a pod shaped armature
Potted bark pod for a flowering plant
11 January 2017
Potted bark pod for a flowering plant

Cover a Styrofoam shape with bark to create a bowl for a potted design
Related Designs
All that glitters is gold
25 September 2013
All that glitters is gold

Phalaenopsis Orchid made from Autumn leaves
Diamond Jubilee Waterfall
26 June 2012
Diamond Jubilee Waterfall

To commemorate Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee and the 20th Anniversary of Friends of Government House Gardens Society a Horticultural event was hosted in the gardens and Great Hall of Government House in Victoria, Canada entitled British Columbia Blooms.
Harnessing the Wind
13 April 2011
Harnessing the Wind
In the Bag
14 April 2011
In the Bag

My bag was woven from re-purposed wire and recycled fishing line and tiny stems of growing sweet pea plants and orchids
A Floral Fable: Floriograpy Design
29 March 2012
A Floral Fable: Floriograpy Design

This is the fourth and last design I did for my Floral Fable demonstration.
Wedding Welcome
15 March 2017
Wedding Welcome

My article and wedding direction board design featured in DIY Weddings Magazine
A quirky kind of Love
10 January 2013
A quirky kind of Love

Retail florists and wholesalers are already designing, ordering and preparing their product range for Valentine's Day. This is my article that I wrote for the December 2012 Valentine's Day Design Issue of Canadian Florist Magazine
Growth Medium
19 August 2015
Growth Medium

Design a bark and moss pod for a mushroom mini farm
As special as an almost never find
11 January 2017
As special as an almost never find

Sometimes you find such a beautiful plant that you just can't bring yourself to cut it. This design explores using the entire plant, pot and all, in a design
It's High Time for Tea: from craft to art, taking a delicious floral journey with veneer techniques
22 January 2013
It's High Time for Tea: from craft to art, taking a delicious floral journey with veneer techniques

This was my second two designs for my It's High Time for Tea Floral Craft and Art Demonstration at The Capilano Flower Arranging Club meeting.
Favourite Flowers
Phalaenopsis
Phalaenopsis

Phalaenopsis orchid detail from my Harnessing the Wind design