Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman
Rock, don't Roll
- 31 January 2018
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Stay put
Stick like
Hold fast
Cling to
Hang on
Settle in
… but don’t roll
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Tutorials
Create a contrasting base to lift the heavy flower-head to design in
Use all three methods to dry hydrangeas to get three very different textures to use in design work.
Give dried hydrangeas (or other dried flowers) a longer stem to make it easier to work with.
I wanted my willow armature to hint of a web-like dreamcatcher that grows in the wild rather than being a precise replica of the traditional craft technique. But I did weave it...
Hold a dried hydrangea flower in the palm of your hand to smooth out the folds
Wrap and weave and twirl and dangle foliage to create a spiral nest
The finish of every design should be flawless. Make sure there are no bits of glue visible in your design by carefully removing all traces of spills.
Create a full design without the weight by stabilizing the flowers with glued sticks. This is a great alternative to floral foam.
Spiral stems around a Ceropegia woodii or Rosary vine.
Wire and glue a few acorns into the fork of a twig to create an Autumn armature
Create a minimal design by placing a single flower on a platform
Drill holes in a piece of lumber and insert dowel sticks to create an armature
Wire and glue the driftwood at an angle to balance on a pebble
Favourite Flowers
Protea (but each variety also has a common name)
Rosary vine, Chain of Hearts, Collar of hearts and String of hearts
Hydrangea, when cultivated as a cut flower rather as a plant it is often revered to as Hortensia
Related Designs
Filling a trumpet flower cup... with more flowers!
All natural design using the design elements as mechanics.
Use the heart of a sunflower as a platform to place your autumn floral details on.
Creating a bit of space in a summer design to allow for the plant material to naturally fall as it wants.
Design drops of grass to dangle down a hydrangea flower for an effortless summer floral display.
Adding more to an autumn design... but leaving everything out that you don't need.
Vanilla Design for the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens, Cape Town, South Africa
Take inspiration from a traditional Dream-catcher design to create a floral armature
A veil of green wool, Spanish moss and dried hydrangeas hang over white lilies
My second design in my demonstration at the BC Floral Art Society meeting
Some designs really do just make themselves. I received this tiny vase for Christmas from Marius (thank you, Marius!) and while cleaning out my design room I found this little...
Hoard a few acorns in the fork of a twig to show off a single oncidium orchid.
Place a water tube at an angle in lumber so that the Zantedeschia float just above the base to show off the delicate grass snippets scattered up the stem
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...