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Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman

Spring Tray-ning

  • 3 March 2021
  • and more

It’s so almost Spring that the sky blushed before I had my second cup of coffee this morning just as

the sun peeked out over the almost all gone now snow

convincing a brave bird to chirp just loud enough to

make a blossom bud blink so hard its petals dropped, startling

a sprout into nodding its head

… and now I am daydreaming of my Spring balcony garden most of the time.

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Dew-Drop Crystals
Dew-Drop Crystals

I created the Tutorial for how I add these crystals to my floral designs 11 years ago! Since then I have tried, tested and searched for the perfect crystals that would go from studio‑table picture perfect to show‑day‑dependable and I always come back to these. They remain the absolute best. They’re inexpensive yet have a refined, high‑quality crystal brilliance; they don’t tarnish and their adhesive backing stays reliably tacky even after they were exposed to water.
Tutorials
Catch Blossom Petals in a Pussy Willow tray basket
2 March 2021
Catch Blossom Petals in a Pussy Willow tray basket

An easy to assemble yourself harvest basket to carry home and display Spring blossoms.
Weaving a twig wreath
1 November 2011
Weaving a twig wreath

For my design I wanted the wreath to look wind blown so I added a few loosely woven twigs into the weave. I also wanted to emphasize the autumn colours so I added a twirling copper wire into the weave
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.
Bite and snap a sturdy twig
22 May 2012
Bite and snap a sturdy twig

Break the sturdy twig on the scribe line.
Weave a willow twig blind
26 April 2011
Weave a willow twig blind

Weave twigs in parallel to create a twig blind with strong but natural horizontal lines.
Stack a Twig Enclosure
17 February 2016
Stack a Twig Enclosure

Loop and tie a few stacked twigs to create an enclosed floral armature
Chain-link string and twig armature
18 January 2017
Chain-link string and twig armature

By removing every other twig you open up space for larger flowers to nestle in
Winter white Tulle bridal basket
9 January 2019
Winter white Tulle bridal basket

Craft a delicate bridal basket from twigs and tulle.
Clematis Vine Swing
18 April 2018
Clematis Vine Swing

Weave a delicate nest for a small spring design.
Craft a Spring basket from a wreath
21 March 2018
Craft a Spring basket from a wreath

A wide gap nearly basket for nearly spring
Midelino Harvest Moon Basket
30 October 2012
Midelino Harvest Moon Basket

This is a great flat and open basket to take outside when “harvesting” your fall leaves, pods and flowers. Who knows, you might even find a ghost pumpkin or three…
A little nest for Easter chocolates that naturally hooks over the edge of a container
11 April 2017
A little nest for Easter chocolates that naturally hooks over the edge of a container

Weave a tiny nest with a twig hook so that you can hang it in a design
Hanging Willow Nest
3 August 2016
Hanging Willow Nest

Bend and weave a nest shape from fresh willow stems
Jiyek Braiding a Pussy Willow Twig Blind
25 March 2015
Jiyek Braiding a Pussy Willow Twig Blind

A design inspired by traditional Jiyek braiding techniques
Twig snippet pillar armature
19 February 2020
Twig snippet pillar armature

A great do-in-advance and reusable design solution for a winter, early spring floral display.
Ladder-frog
31 July 2013
Ladder-frog

Lash the orchid stems together to create a ladder for the flower to rest on.
Willow twig Corsage Platform
30 April 2015
Willow twig Corsage Platform

To create a layered look for a corsage tie a foundation of twigs with fresh willow stems
Construction Lumber and Dowel Spike Armature
30 March 2016
Construction Lumber and Dowel Spike Armature

Drill holes in a piece of lumber and insert dowel sticks to create an armature
Willow and Vine tiny stem Gathering Basket
19 April 2023
Willow and Vine tiny stem Gathering Basket

Tiny stems are often also delicate stems... place your cut flowers directly in a small glass of water. A perfect fit for this basket.
Blossom craving solutions: Forcing and Coaxing and crafting flowering branches
8 March 2023
Blossom craving solutions: Forcing and Coaxing and crafting flowering branches

Early spring floral styling with some magic
Glue an early Spring basket from leftover cherry blossom twigs
1 March 2023
Glue an early Spring basket from leftover cherry blossom twigs

After the last petal drops cut the blossom twigs into snippets to craft a basket with.
Off-cut stem snippet and grass curl basket
26 January 2022
Off-cut stem snippet and grass curl basket

Piece together a floral basket that looks delicate AND overgrown.
Related Designs
Been there, Seen that
4 September 2013
Been there, Seen that

My article and woven heart basket design featured in the third anniversary issue of DIY Weddings Magazine
Where would you put it!?!
17 February 2016
Where would you put it!?!

Tie a twig armature enclosure for fresh flowers
Look at you!
18 January 2017
Look at you!

Tie twigs to shape a hanging armature
Magical Craftsmanship
9 January 2019
Magical Craftsmanship

My article and winter white Tulle bridal basket design featured in DIY Weddings Magazine.
Swing Vine
18 April 2018
Swing Vine

Weave a delicate vine swing to nestle a small vase with spring flowers in
Bring some Spring
21 March 2018
Bring some Spring

Just like the weather is only hinting at spring, so is this design only hinting at being a basket
Frightis Botrytis!
30 October 2012
Frightis Botrytis!

Weave a Midelino cane coil harvest basket to display ghost pumpkins and frightful woolly "botrytis" in. Have a fun Halloween everyone!
Well… we did it again!
11 April 2017
Well… we did it again!

Blossoms and chocolates for Easter
Large Open Weave Twig Basket
8 April 2011
Large Open Weave Twig Basket

Easter Basket used in the Durbanville Flower Club Easter Parade Demonstration
Practice
3 August 2016
Practice

Weave a willow bird nest
Pulling some Strings
25 March 2015
Pulling some Strings

Braid a twig blind armature
The Upside of being Inside
19 February 2020
The Upside of being Inside

A creative design that has some height to it without blocking the view. This can easily be scaled up or down to match the environment you want to display it in.
Roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer
31 July 2013
Roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer

A tiny orchid stem ladder keeps the orchid suspended just above the water line
Everlasting
23 October 2012
Everlasting

Design Inspiration Video: Take a few twigs, snippets of air plants and succulents and combine both traditional wire and tape techniques with more contemporary methods to embed a Boutstix Magnet Stix right into the foundation of the design for a strong and secure way to attach corsages and boutonnieres.
Step Along
15 February 2017
Step Along

Create twig steps to display the orchids
Short Cut
19 April 2023
Short Cut

A tiny carry basket to gather the shortest stems from your cutting garden... with a place for water and your cutters.
And now we wait
8 March 2023
And now we wait

A bit of flower magic to get a few early blossoms to enjoy inside.
… ish
1 March 2023
… ish

An early... ish Spring basket glued from blossom twigs
Carry On
26 January 2022
Carry On

As sturdy as it is delicate basket made from off-cut stems and grass.