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Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman

Prickly

  • 2 October 2013
  • and more

How, oh how…

do

you

hug

a

porcupine?

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Tutorials
Spiny Twig Porcupine Armature
2 October 2013
Spiny Twig Porcupine Armature

Glue a few twigs to display Autumn flowers and foliage on
Helping Strelitzia flowers to fan open
2 October 2013
Helping Strelitzia flowers to fan open

If you want completely unblemished petals, purchase the Bird of Paradise flowers when the petals are still hidden in the spathe, and carefully coax it open. The flowers will not open by themselves once cut.
Covering test tubes with potting soil
2 October 2013
Covering test tubes with potting soil

Disguise the test tubes with a sandy veneer
Twig garland
2 October 2013
Twig garland

Add a dangling garland of twigs to the design
Bite and snap a sturdy twig
22 May 2012
Bite and snap a sturdy twig

Break the sturdy twig on the scribe line.
Booo-tunias
30 October 2024
Booo-tunias

A fun design trick for a Halloween display treat.
Booo-tunias levitating in a scary twig armature
30 October 2024
Booo-tunias levitating in a scary twig armature

Craft a stable dried autumn armature to keep petunia stems suspended in water at the top of a container.
Christmas twig wreath, cinnamon bundles, clove garlands and roses of orange peel candle holder
27 December 2023
Christmas twig wreath, cinnamon bundles, clove garlands and roses of orange peel candle holder

Take the whole waste free design concept a whole lot further by displaying all your Christmas simmer pot ingredients... ready to be harvested as needed.
Add light filled snowy fluff inside a display container
27 December 2023
Add light filled snowy fluff inside a display container

A fun way to make a winter design glow.
Cinnamon Bundles
27 December 2023
Cinnamon Bundles

Pretty wire bundles to add fragrance to any design
Clove Copper Garland
27 December 2023
Clove Copper Garland

Twist and wire a gorgeously sparkly clove copper wire string.
Orange peel spiral roses
27 December 2023
Orange peel spiral roses

A fragrant way to add an uplifting dried detail to your winter design.
Canary vine tangle in a double vase
1 November 2023
Canary vine tangle in a double vase

Great craft for when you are tidying up the garden before the first frost but would still like to enjoy the vines for a bit longer.
Bored looking Sisal ghost with dangling bell feet
1 November 2023
Bored looking Sisal ghost with dangling bell feet

Quick and so easy... I added the bells so that the ghost looks kinda bored now that Halloween is all over.
Radiating bunny tails
30 August 2023
Radiating bunny tails

Spear bunny tail grasses into a Kenzan to create a cozy space to display apricot lemonade cosmos flowers.
Take your time to craft a Bulrush Dial Armature
29 June 2022
Take your time to craft a Bulrush Dial Armature

Slowly build up a dial armature from dried bulrush
Upright standing besom for the modern witch on the go
20 October 2021
Upright standing besom for the modern witch on the go

Craft a wire tripod to fit into the bristles of a handcrafted broom so that it can stand freely in your display.
Racked up dried Twig Snippets to display a few flower buds
18 August 2021
Racked up dried Twig Snippets to display a few flower buds

Combining dried and fresh floral details for a easy breezy summer design.
Vase topped with a Hollow Wreath for Halloween
28 October 2020
Vase topped with a Hollow Wreath for Halloween

Create a dimensional wreath by assembling wreath vine to hug around an oblong container.
Arachnis Gerbera-petal-legicus
28 October 2020
Arachnis Gerbera-petal-legicus

The easiest Gerbara disk floret spider... ever!
Pour glue over a stick Bundle to craft a Poke Out Spring stick Armature
5 February 2020
Pour glue over a stick Bundle to craft a Poke Out Spring stick Armature

Fake an early Spring by crafting a long lasting stick bundle that has a blossoming branch of succulent flowers.
Dancing fall leaves... on a stick
6 November 2019
Dancing fall leaves... on a stick

Spike fall leaves and water tubes to create a minimal radiating autumn display
Drying leaves to have the exact same curve
6 November 2019
Drying leaves to have the exact same curve

Threat a stack of leaves to dry so that they shrivel and dry up in a similar way.
Cross hatch Twig Armature
2 October 2019
Cross hatch Twig Armature

Add a bit of shadow and dimension to a flat armature by using the sketch technique of cross hatching.
Where to cut Gladiolus spikes shorter
7 August 2019
Where to cut Gladiolus spikes shorter

Gladiolus stems can be cut into sections so that it appears natural and well groomed.
Use a drinking straw to push foliage horizontally deep into a Kenzan to leave space for stems to rest on top of them
7 August 2019
Use a drinking straw to push foliage horizontally deep into a Kenzan to leave space for stems to rest on top of them

The teeth of a Kenzan (or pin cushion) is rather sharp. Here is a pain free way of pushing down the plant material into the teeth to keep it securely in place.
A Three level Kenzan skewer stack to Radiate Gladiolus spikes flat in a shallow container
7 August 2019
A Three level Kenzan skewer stack to Radiate Gladiolus spikes flat in a shallow container

Build up a design in a shallow container by stacking it by threading the plant material into the teeth of a pin cushion in three levels.
Peg and glue a floating Halloween design
31 October 2018
Peg and glue a floating Halloween design

A hovering Halloween design that seems to float.
Twig sparkler
12 July 2017
Twig sparkler

Glue twigs to radiate out from a central point
Folded Bleached Baby’s Breath Wreath Armature
26 October 2016
Folded Bleached Baby’s Breath Wreath Armature

Glued Baby's Breath Wreath, folded in half to create a moon shaped armature
Besom Broom
28 October 2015
Besom Broom

The word ‘Besom’ derives from the old English ‘besma’ meaning ‘bundle of twigs’.
Sticks stuck in a ground covered foundation
26 November 2014
Sticks stuck in a ground covered foundation

Glue potting soil to polystyrene to create a natural looking armature
Related Designs
Those B00OOOoootunias though!
30 October 2024
Those B00OOOoootunias though!

Add something dark and suspicious to your petunias for a fun Halloween display
A Very Merry Dried Orange and these from My Greenhouse to yours Trendy Christmas Cheer
27 December 2023
A Very Merry Dried Orange and these from My Greenhouse to yours Trendy Christmas Cheer

And of course I would add the environmentally friendly-estest floral design option to top all the rest. Reusable and upcycled... and smells wonderful.
That day after Halloween feeling
1 November 2023
That day after Halloween feeling

Time to cut down vines... and enjoy them a bit longer in a Halloween display.
Courage, now
30 August 2023
Courage, now

A bit of a rethink as the season is getting ready to change. How can I give my design idea a fresh twist?
But for this… let’s not rush
29 June 2022
But for this… let’s not rush

A take your time and mindfully craft a pretty design to celebrate the summer solstice- it is officially summer here in Canada.
Flying Lessons
20 October 2021
Flying Lessons

An easy get ahead with Halloween decoration that will last.
At Play
18 August 2021
At Play

A quick-to-do-but-looks-impressive way to display a beautiful cut garden vine for an effortless summer design.
Magic Spell Number 614: How to make absolutely any task you need to do fun
28 October 2020
Magic Spell Number 614: How to make absolutely any task you need to do fun

A hint of a wreath table top design for pre-Halloween decorating.
What it’s all about
5 February 2020
What it’s all about

A bundle of twigs armature to create a pretend Spring design for a snowy morning.
Dance lessons from the Autumn leaves
6 November 2019
Dance lessons from the Autumn leaves

A fun and easy contemporary floral design to display foraged autumn leaves and just a touch of flowers that can easily be replaced.
Cross-hatch a Shadow Bright Autumn
2 October 2019
Cross-hatch a Shadow Bright Autumn

A clever trick borrowed from art techniques to add dimension to a bright and colourful Autumn floral design.
Point Out: this is a single bunch of gladiolus!
7 August 2019
Point Out: this is a single bunch of gladiolus!

Cut stems of Gladiolus to place in a radiating summer design.
Scary stuff!
31 October 2018
Scary stuff!

My Halloween design... with some scary stuff hidden if you can read between the leaves!
Cover Story
26 September 2018
Cover Story

The design for the cover of my book, the effortless floral craftsman, crafted from Fiddlehead Fern and Red Lipstick Hanging Heliconia.
Sparkler
12 July 2017
Sparkler

A radiating twig design
Harvest Moon
26 October 2016
Harvest Moon

Fold a fine twig wreath in half to create a moon shaped armature
Beginning
2 March 2016
Beginning

Glue a Midelino Cane Coil Globe Cup to display beautiful Gloriosa lilies
Where would you put it!?!
17 February 2016
Where would you put it!?!

Tie a twig armature enclosure for fresh flowers
On Pumpkin Coloured Days
28 October 2015
On Pumpkin Coloured Days

Create a besom broom to sweep up those Autumn leaves
Favourite Flowers
Strelitzia
Strelitzia

Detail from my Prickly design