My Creative Workbook

Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman

Seriously, though where do they all go?

This is a special Wish You Were Here, The Weather Is Great For Floral Arranging post to all...

the floristry snips that were...

“just right here” and then… poof! … gone.

I like to think

they vanished through some sort of a rose shaped portal of tuberous roots (like this one)

opening from here into over there

to spread the joy of happy floral snipping to a budding flower enthusiast

… maybe?

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Tutorials
Rose shaped tuberous root spiral floral frog
28 May 2025
Rose shaped tuberous root spiral floral frog

While repotting your foxtail fern why not save a few of the roots... for an armature.
Glue a grapevine armature shaped like the petals of an open rose
15 May 2019
Glue a grapevine armature shaped like the petals of an open rose

Cut a wreath into sections to glue back together into a beautiful rose petal shape
Bend Wired Equisetum into a Hollow Wreath
7 February 2018
Bend Wired Equisetum into a Hollow Wreath

Craft a wreath with a hollow cavity inside to use as an armature for your flowers
A contained design for watching those pretty twigs get their leaves
28 April 2021
A contained design for watching those pretty twigs get their leaves

Careful manipulation of twigs in a shallow container. With a special note on how to use new growth.
Autumn Leaf Rosette
11 November 2012
Autumn Leaf Rosette

Great way to use all the autumn leaves you collect on walks during the season. Slowly build up the leaf rosette and let the leaves dry before adding a few more.
Paper flowers
28 February 2011
Paper flowers

You can use any type of paper to make flowers. I use tissue paper, Crêpe paper, cardboard, newsprint and coffee filters (new and used) to make sweet peas, carnations, paper roses, blossoms, lilies, poppies and orchids.
Autumn leaf Composite Flower
6 September 2011
Autumn leaf Composite Flower

Glue a round Autumn leaf Composite Flower.
Eucalyptus rose
30 December 2015
Eucalyptus rose

Release the soothing effect of the aroma and vapors from the Eucalyptus leaves my slightly crushing it while making roses
Autumn leaf Roses
6 September 2011
Autumn leaf Roses

I used to make baskets full of these when I was a little girl. We had a big Acasia thorn tree and I used to spear my “roses” onto the tree pretending I was the fairy responsible for bringing blossoms.
Spiral Washi Rose armature
9 March 2016
Spiral Washi Rose armature

Fold and paste a paper flower as an armature
Longer lasting Gladiolus Composite Flower
11 September 2013
Longer lasting Gladiolus Composite Flower

Split (but don't cut) a few gladiolus flowers to spiral in a vase
Dried Bougainvillaea and pink Pepper berry Disk
4 September 2024
Dried Bougainvillaea and pink Pepper berry Disk

Pink just before autumn, autumn design to celebrate the richness in colour.
A summer treat inspired tweak to a leaf-roll technique to display the last cut flowers (or left-overs) picked from your warm weather garden
28 August 2024
A summer treat inspired tweak to a leaf-roll technique to display the last cut flowers (or left-overs) picked from your warm weather garden

Give a summer look to a leaf roll by lifting the middle slightly out like an ice cream.
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.
Design a buildable corsage that can be taken apart and added back together again to give you more styling options without damaging your design.
6 November 2024
Design a buildable corsage that can be taken apart and added back together again to give you more styling options without damaging your design.

Easy assemble… and disassemble design details using a Wristix™ corsage magnet from BoutStix™
Overgrown Willow web inspired by a traditional Dream-catcher
8 July 2015
Overgrown Willow web inspired by a traditional Dream-catcher

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 in a similar way.
Rose shaped tuberous root spiral floral frog
28 May 2025
Rose shaped tuberous root spiral floral frog

While repotting your foxtail fern why not save a few of the roots... for an armature.
Related Designs
Here comes the sun...
28 April 2021
Here comes the sun...

A minimal design celebrating the new growth on twigs
Up around the bend
7 February 2018
Up around the bend

Bend Equisetum into curves to wire into an open wreath shape
Leaves by Hundreds came
11 November 2012
Leaves by Hundreds came

A rosette of fall leaves to celebrate the beauty of autumn
Achoo! Season
30 December 2015
Achoo! Season

Fold and roll a rose from Eucalyptus leaves
Beautiful Things
29 July 2015
Beautiful Things

Glue a few twigs into a disk armature
Take your time
9 March 2016
Take your time

My article and Japanese paper flower armature design featured in the March issue of The Academy Leader- Academy of Floral Design, published by the The Floral Art Society of New Zealand
Making it last
11 September 2013
Making it last

Split and spiral a few gladiolus flowers in a way that the stems remain intact, to spiral in a water filled filled vase for a long lasting composite flower
A shade around there, probably… maybe
4 September 2024
A shade around there, probably… maybe

A dried flower and foliage... flower... disk to help me pretend it is autumn
Soft Serve Swirl
28 August 2024
Soft Serve Swirl

A nod to a summer filled with flowers... and the quite possibly the last of the season flowers still there to be picked.
Some Handmade Meaning
6 November 2024
Some Handmade Meaning

I am a huge (HUGE!) fan of the original BoutStix magnets and I love the newest wrist corsage magnets as well. And not just for making corsages. I use them for everything. It is a staple in my design bag and it is ideal for putting up Seasonal decorations. They open up so many creative design possibilities and now with the addition of a strap and Velcro… the possibilities are endless!
How To Catch A Dream
8 July 2015
How To Catch A Dream

Take inspiration from a traditional Dream-catcher design to create a floral armature
Heard it through the grapevine?
15 May 2019
Heard it through the grapevine?

Have you heard? I have wonderful news this week. Oh! and I also have this pretty grapevine armature shaped like the petals of an open rose to show you. But... Have you heard my wonderful news???
Favourite Flowers
Ceropegia woodii
Ceropegia woodii

Pompon Chrysanthemum pom-poms and strands of Rosary vine for my floral lariat necklace in the Canadian Florist Magazine