My Creative Workbook

Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman

So white

25 November 2015
click to send Christine a smile
and more

There’s the glisten and gleam reflected in Snow white

and the subtleness of a Winter white

the slightness of Floral white

twig-cream Antique white

the lightest possibilities of a dash Pure white

just a smidge of green to be found in White honeydew

oh! but best of all… sheer perfection of a White Christmas!

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Tutorials

25 November 2015

Winter White Gyp Wreath

A dried wreath in winter white

18 December 2012

Wire hooks for baubles

Bend thin decorative wire to create hooks to hang baubles or design details

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

7 December 2011

Encouraging Moss and Lichen to grow on a design

This time of year is best for starting a moss garden. It needs to be cool and wet. Lichen and moss becomes dormant when it is too hot and dry.

4 January 2011

Drinking straw "test tubes"

When you need to keep a tiny stem hydrated this is just what you need.

4 November 2015

Bleached Gypsophila

Gypsophila dries really well and can be bleached to a stunning winter white

4 November 2015

Bleached Baby’s Breath Wreath

Glue a radiating wreath from bleached Gyp

12 December 2012

Piled Pine Needle Tabletop Wreath

Use wood glue to make a light as air table top wreath from pine needles

12 June 2012

Sticky Shooting Star

Glue gypsophila sticks, flowers and dandelion seeds into a star shape

27 November 2024

Edge of a platter Christmas quarter wreath garland

How to make a floral display design that will leave space for even more decorations.

13 December 2023

Rudolph the red nosed reindeer... the seed cone and twig version

Seed cone and Twig Reindeer

13 December 2023

Snowy Bead Garland Planter Bowl

Glue a beaded garland into a coiled bowl

13 December 2023

Stack and Glue Needle Trees

I am showing you a few versions of the tree. One with lights, with and without a stand, a pyramid stacked one and one on a wire.

13 December 2023

Quick and Easy way to dress up poinsettia plants for Christmas

Colour coordinate your tiny plant pots and add a bauble... or three

8 November 2023

First Frost Sparkle Wire and Twinkle Vine Wreath

An impossibly delicate wreath shape that will last... and last... all Festive Season long.

28 December 2022

Bundled up Rosehip Scatter twigs… for anywhere you need a small frosted winter decorating touch

A delicate winter decoration to add sparkle to those in between Christmas and New Years Eve days.

7 December 2022

A berry and kalanchoe sleigh… to carry your twig tree home, of course

A snowy Christmas scene crafted from a handful of twigs... and a few kalanchoe flowers.

7 December 2022

Fork In the Twig Tree

Minimal and so easy to do... craft an upside down twig tree.

9 December 2020

A Twig and personal inner Gyp flurry melted snowman

Remember how Olaf from Frozen remained cool? With a personal flurry, of course! Two fishbowls, stacked and you are very nearly done.

25 November 2020

Contactless gift exchange wreath perfect to double as Santa’s Gift Bag for your front door

Craft a small pouch into a half-and-half wreath so that you can leave... and receive tiny gifts and cards in true Christmas 2020 style .

25 November 2020

Wire Stars

Wrap wire around a cardboard star for a quick three dimensional decoration.

3 June 2020

Craft a sturdy “that should be impossible” grid to support even heavier flowers

Using the same flower stems, only dry, to craft a grid for the same flowers stems, only fresh

18 December 2019

Here it is: the quickest, easiest Christmas wreath… ever!

My work is usually so labour intensive... this one came as a wonderful surprise... it really is both quick and easy to craft this wreath!

27 November 2019

How to make a just-picked-it-a-moment-ago snow covered icicle and mistletoe hanging branch bunch

Gather a few branches to hang as a magical winter wonderland Christmas decoration.

27 November 2019

Fake real stems-ends for real fake branches

Add a real stem to shorter artificial branches to incorporate them into a design.

27 November 2019

Perk up faux plant material and flowers that are not wired

A sprig of wired faux plant material is easy to bend back into a more natural position. Plastic plant material without a wire in their stems need a bit of help to get back into shape.

25 December 2018

Twig Snowflake

Glue twigs into a snowflake twig armature for Christmas trimmings.

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

17 May 2017

A Dandelion Seed Puff that stays just so

Use a thin wire to puff out dandelion seeds to look like it spilled from a basket

4 January 2017

Glue floral details into an artificial wreath frame

Quick and easy way to securely decorate an artificial wreath with natural elements

30 November 2016

Barely there Wreath armature

Glue snippets of Baby's breath and grass into a lace fine wreath shape to showcase the tiny chocolate cosmos buds

26 October 2016

Folded Bleached Baby’s Breath Wreath Armature

Glued Baby's Breath Wreath, folded in half to create a moon shaped armature

11 May 2016

Twig snippet vase armature

Glue twig snippets to closely follow the shape of a glass vase

Related Designs

12 April 2011

Intimate Dinner For Two- Table Setting Competition Class

Floral Sushi Dinner, for two

18 December 2012

So this is Christmas, I hope you had fun…

Capilano Flower Arranging Club Designing for Christmas Workshop: Yule log

11 June 2012

Wish Upon a Dandelion Star

A sticky shooting star made with gypsophila stems and fluffy dandelion seeds

10 September 2012

Tying the knot

Gypsophilla design with Celtic love knots featured in the DIY Wedding Magazine

9 November 2011

A snowball’s chance

I designed my posy to be light and feathery but also earthly, like a fresh snowball gathered from a forest floor.

4 June 2014

All white, just not quite

My article and woven ring basket design featured in the summer issue of DIY Weddings Magazine

30 April 2015

Layer

Design One from my Inspiration Video: Use the same floral ingredients, willow twigs, Lichen, Spanish Moss, Kalanchoe and Gypsophila to make three distinctly different contemporary corsages

6 May 2015

Tape and Wrap

Design Two from my Inspiration Video: Use the same floral ingredients, willow twigs, Lichen, Spanish Moss, Kalanchoe and Gypsophila to make three distinctly different contemporary corsages

13 May 2015

Encased

Design Three from my Inspiration Video: Use the same floral ingredients, willow twigs, Lichen, Spanish Moss, Kalanchoe and Gypsophila to make three distinctly different contemporary corsages

4 November 2015

Delicate

Bleached Gypsophila wreath with delicate autumn touches

27 November 2024

A Very Merry… all elf pass into Santa’s workshop, special department of tinkering together those Soooo Good, for Goodness Sake moments

Long lasting and easy to pick up and place garland to decorate a Festive Platter of… anything, really!

13 December 2023

A Very Merry Naked Tree and Woodland Woodsy and Oversized Flowers Trendy Christmas Cheer

From now to a bit after New Year's Eve I will show you my take on the trends for Christmas 2023. This week I am continuing with a garland bowl and a cone and twig reindeer.

8 November 2023

A warm up

An almost Christmas... Christmas wreath featured in the winter edition of Flora Magazine.

28 December 2022

Giving a nod

A scattering of winter decorating for wherever you might need it.

7 December 2022

Making spirits bright

A twig sleigh... to collect your twig Christmas tree, of course!

9 December 2020

Have yourself a Merry Cellulose Fibre Christmas: Gyp flurry Snowman

...ok not really that fancy- it’s paper pulp. Cardboard boxes, really. In the spirit of 2020- I am inspired by the endless stream of cardboard boxes being delivered. My list of inspiration would not be complete without showing a but-we-have-been-doing-this-forever “just wrap an empty box and place it in a design”, design.

25 November 2020

Have yourself a Merry Cellulose Fibre Christmas: Santa’s gift bag wreath

...ok not really that fancy- it’s made from paper pulp. A cardboard box gift bag wreath… really. In the spirit of 2020- I am inspired by the endless stream of cardboard boxes being delivered.

3 June 2020

As if by magic

An impossibly delicate looking way to securely keep flowers in place over a clear container.

18 December 2019

A Happy, Merry, Jolly (easy as that!) Eucalyptus Christmas wreath

Now this is quite a discovery! And it honestly is the easiest and quickest way to go from "I still want to decorate for Christmas" to "... aaand I am done, I made our wreath"

27 November 2019

The struggle is real!

Design 3 looking at How to style with artificial plants and branches using quality faux plants and stems. This week: mistletoe! And also .. give your faux a reason for being there.

13 November 2019

It’s unreal!

Design 1 of my three week pre-Christmas designing series looking at How to style with artificial plants and branches using quality faux plants and stems. This week: a wreath