My Creative Workbook

Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman

Plenty Glow to Harvest

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
Wood chip and sparkle mushroom cornucopia
11 October 2023
Wood chip and sparkle mushroom cornucopia

A horn of plenty... seasonal sparkle.
Blow away hot glue strands
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.
Spinning a Hot Glue Spider Web or silk for a Floral Cocoon
28 March 2011
Spinning a Hot Glue Spider Web or silk for a Floral Cocoon

How to spin (and remove) hot glue spider web or floral cocoon
Using a pin to place tiny dew drop crystals
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.
Drying Mushrooms for Floral Art
13 April 2012
Drying Mushrooms for Floral Art

I use edible mushrooms in my designs. To preserve them I press a tiny stake into the base and let them air-dry.
Pine scale wreath
14 August 2012
Pine scale wreath

Break pine scales from the cone and glue on a wreath frame to create a continuous pine scale wreath
Bark Christmas Stocking
21 December 2016
Bark Christmas Stocking

Cover a wire frame to create a Christmas stocking armature
Bark Veneer Cardboard Floral Cake
22 January 2013
Bark Veneer Cardboard Floral Cake

Glue a stack of cardboard circles to create a log-like floral cake
Bark Veneer Cardboard Cake stands
22 January 2013
Bark Veneer Cardboard Cake stands

A quick and easy way to make a cardboard cake stand
Drinking straw "test tubes"
4 January 2011
Drinking straw "test tubes"

When you need to keep a tiny stem hydrated this is just what you need.
Wire baubles
5 May 2011
Wire baubles

Make baubles from wire
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
Bark Bowl
17 September 2014
Bark Bowl

Glue bark onto a bowl to create a dome shape
Foxtail in a bud vase forest floor
29 July 2020
Foxtail in a bud vase forest floor

Create a sturdy platform from bark to design an entire forest floor on a single foxtail fern frond
Dowel ring flower holder for the most delicate of stems
22 April 2015
Dowel ring flower holder for the most delicate of stems

The most delicate of stems often disappear in a design. this is an easy way to display really delicate flowering stems without overwhelming them
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
Bark covered heart
10 July 2012
Bark covered heart

Cover cardboard with bark to create a heart shaped log
Butterfly hairclip claws to hold twigs in place while glue dries
18 January 2012
Butterfly hairclip claws to hold twigs in place while glue dries

Butterfly hair clips are the perfect little claws to help you hold tiny items in place while you wait for glue to dry
A bark design surface that suspends the first Spring flowers to rest just below the surface.
19 February 2025
A bark design surface that suspends the first Spring flowers to rest just below the surface.

Glue two large bark chips to craft a large design platform to suspend the most delicate of floral details in a "I wish it was Spring already" arrangement.
A growing Paperwhite paperweight to secure twirling passion fruit vines under water
8 January 2025
A growing Paperwhite paperweight to secure twirling passion fruit vines under water

This design takes a few weeks to make... but lasts a few weeks longer growing and evolving all on its own.
Stand bark on pointe to display the sweetest sweet peas
19 June 2024
Stand bark on pointe to display the sweetest sweet peas

Create a natural armature for a summer display
Spaced birch bark strip basket
13 March 2024
Spaced birch bark strip basket

Sturdy and easy to make... a small harvest basket ready for all the Spring flowers still to come.
A birch bark spiral wrap to cradle floral details in a wine glass
17 January 2024
A birch bark spiral wrap to cradle floral details in a wine glass

Spiral birch bark strips into two mirror images to create a wintery wrap for a bud vase.
Mossy “Moss” Pebble… in the snow
10 January 2024
Mossy “Moss” Pebble… in the snow

Hollow out a faux moss pebble to add... a pebble of moss covered in snowflakes.
Related Designs
A Twist on Tradition
12 August 2012
A Twist on Tradition

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 that I wrote for the August 2012 Christmas design Issue of Canadian Florist Magazine
A Gleaming Cotton Christmas
21 December 2016
A Gleaming Cotton Christmas

Glue bark to a wire frame to create a Christmas stocking armature
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.
Wedding Welcome
15 March 2017
Wedding Welcome

My article and wedding direction board design featured in DIY Weddings Magazine
Vanilla
9 April 2011
Vanilla

Vanilla Design for the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens, Cape Town, South Africa
Growth Medium
19 August 2015
Growth Medium

Design a bark and moss pod for a mushroom mini farm
On the inside
18 October 2017
On the inside

For a softer autumn leaf pod turn the leaves so that the bright side faces in when making the pod.
Still
17 September 2014
Still

My bark bowl design and tutorial featured in the Centrepiece Wedding Magazine
Tail end of the story
29 July 2020
Tail end of the story

Craft a bark platform to design on in a foxtail fern frond.
Spring Has Sprung!
13 April 2012
Spring Has Sprung!

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
Toiling
22 April 2015
Toiling

Convert a dowel stick into a container for delicate flower stems
Pick your poison
2 November 2016
Pick your poison

A Fun Halloween design with "poisonous mushrooms" tucked between the moss and petals
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
Sticktoitness
10 July 2012
Sticktoitness

Glue a heart shaped design made from bark and wood.
… any day now
10 November 2021
… any day now

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.
When the Pretty much Pretty flows, it lingers in our hearts
19 February 2025
When the Pretty much Pretty flows, it lingers in our hearts

A bark support to display the most delicate Spring floral treasures.
this IS new
8 January 2025
this IS new

Growing a design... all new... and fresh and blooming well into New Year.
Do you know what the point is?
19 June 2024
Do you know what the point is?

A bark armature standing on pointe for some gorgeous blue King Tut sweet peas
In All Ways
13 March 2024
In All Ways

A birch bark basket... perfect for some new Spring floral details.
Wave Wrap
17 January 2024
Wave Wrap

Roll birch bark into a double spiral to cradle some perfect flowers to admire all winter.
Snow Glitters and Mossy Glimmers
10 January 2024
Snow Glitters and Mossy Glimmers

A glimmer is the opposite of a trigger... a little uplift. For this design I am lifting up my happiness by starting a tiny mossarium... but enjoying it as a design while it is in quarantine.
Favourite Flowers
Passiflora
Passiflora

Passion fruit leaves with tendrils for my Floral Trends Design Group Glass design
Lentinula edodes
Lentinula edodes

Shiitake Mushroom detail of my Floral Trends Design Group- opening demonstration 2010.