Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman
Plenty Glow to Harvest
- 11 October 2023
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I always feel there is something so, so special
about these last few months of the year.
It all starts one day when you notice glistening dew drops having an extra sparkle,
Soon the leaves get all dressed up, having someplace fun to go
And the branches somehow become more branchy
The forest floor more fungi
… even cobwebs turn tinsel-y
ready for us to harvest...
if only we knew where to look.
Oh yes magic is in season.
Happy Autumn designing flower buddies!
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Tutorials
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.
How to spin (and remove) hot glue spider web or floral cocoon
It's sometimes difficult to place a tiny crystal or bead exactly where you want it.
I use edible mushrooms in my designs. To preserve them I press a tiny stake into the base and let them air-dry.
Break pine scales from the cone and glue on a wreath frame to create a continuous pine scale wreath
Glue a stack of cardboard circles to create a log-like floral cake
A quick and easy way to make a cardboard cake stand
When you need to keep a tiny stem hydrated this is just what you need.
Glue bark to a Papier Maché and wire frame to create a pod shaped armature
Create a sturdy platform from bark to design an entire forest floor on a single foxtail fern frond
The most delicate of stems often disappear in a design. this is an easy way to display really delicate flowering stems without overwhelming them
Cover a Styrofoam shape with bark to create a bowl for a potted design
Butterfly hair clips are the perfect little claws to help you hold tiny items in place while you wait for glue to dry
Favourite Flowers
Granadilla, passionflower, passion vines
Shiitake Mushrooms
Related Designs
August is the month for retail florists and wholesalers to start designing, ordering and preparing their product range for the Christmas and Festive Season. This is my article...
Glue bark to a wire frame to create a Christmas stocking armature
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.
My article and wedding direction board design featured in DIY Weddings Magazine
This is an overview of the Floral Art and Craft Demonstration at The Capilano Flower Arranging Club. I demonstrated three floral craft cake designs and three matching floral art...
Vanilla Design for the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens, Cape Town, South Africa
For a softer autumn leaf pod turn the leaves so that the bright side faces in when making the pod.
My bark bowl design and tutorial featured in the Centrepiece Wedding Magazine
The sprouts are sprouting and the bees are being and the birds are birding. Tempting as it is new growth is hard to condition. Hard, but not impossible
A Fun Halloween design with "poisonous mushrooms" tucked between the moss and petals
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
Using dried floral material is so trendy right now. But the longer lasting the design elements the more effort you have to put in to stop it from looking lifeless.