My Creative Workbook

Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman

Piece of the forest

8 March 2017
and more

Always watch where you are going.

Otherwise,

you may step

on a piece of the forest that was

left out by mistake

Quote by AA Milne -Winnie the Pooh

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

Tutorials

8 March 2017

Wrap lily grass around bits of vine

Create visual interest by loosely wrapping lily grass around an armature

16 November 2016

Cut a vine wreath into sections to create a cup shaped armature

Cut a coiled vine wreath into sections to create an delicate armature to frame a few perfect chocolate cosmos flowers

1 November 2011

Weaving a twig wreath

For my design I wanted the wreath to look wind blown so I added a few loosely woven twigs into the weave. I also wanted to emphasize the autumn colours so I added a twirling copper wire into the weave

14 January 2013

Midelino Cane Coil Globe Cup

Weave a loose, round floral art armature

19 February 2013

Manipulating stems: Snapping at an angle, Bending, Spiraling, Curling and Straightening

Most stems, twigs and even sturdier branches can be bend into shapes. It takes practice and more than a bit of patience. The main idea is to slowly manipulate the branch without breaking it.

7 September 2016

Willow flower crown

Loosely weave willow tips to create an ethereal crown

14 May 2014

Perking up roses (Please... don't ever do this, anywhere but at home, and only for yourself!)

This trick works really well, but it is a temporary fix to extend the life of drooping roses and is not a substitute for good quality fresh flowers. It is great to know this trick so that you can inspect the roses you want to buy, for the tell tale sign that they have already been "perked up" and might look fresh but would really not last well.

6 October 2021

A quick and easy way to Craft a Twig Basket Using Wire Tendrils

The hardest part of this is actually making the tendrils. From there it's a few twists... and we are done!

19 August 2020

Tangle a perfect vine around two wreaths for a split armature

Passion fruit flowers never lasts long. Not even growing outside on a vine. But the buds continue to open once cut making a wreath display ideal for an even changing passion fruit flower display.

13 June 2018

Lily grass and cane bubble for a Pitcher plant

Craft a dried cane globe for the armature of the design and then add lily grass to dry in place.

Related Designs

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.

8 April 2011

Large Open Weave Twig Basket

Easter Basket used in the Durbanville Flower Club Easter Parade Demonstration

11 April 2011

Veiled Sunshine:50th Anniversary of the South African Orchid Society at the Cape Town Convention Centre.

Bright and sunny cymbidium orchids and roses, lilies, lisianthus and pincushions

2 March 2016

Beginning

Glue a Midelino Cane Coil Globe Cup to display beautiful Gloriosa lilies

10 April 2013

Unthinkably good things

Oncidium orchids hiding in a woven grass cup. This Design Tutorial is featured on The Conna Flower and Garden Club (Ireland) website. It is part of their Floral Art Lessons program that demonstrates new techniques, ideas and principles of Flower Arranging by International Designers.

16 November 2016

All things Autumn (by which I mean all things chocolate): Snipped into Sections

This was the second design I did in my "All things Autumn (by which I mean all things chocolate)" floral art demonstration

24 April 2012

Words Matter.

Braiding and plaiting and knotting hair is a huge trend in hairdressing at the moment. Intricate little plaits are draped over long flowing hair to add complexity and quirk. It’s a lovely design trend to add to floral art.