Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman
Sticktoitness
- 10 July 2012
- click to send Christine a smile
Floral Trends Design Group Assignment: The workings of Wood and Bark
Stick sticky sticks that stick out
into sticky stick bark that sticks around.
Stick with sticky sticks till they all stick together
stuck in all that sticky stick stickiness,
stick stickier than ever!
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Tutorials
Acetate is the clear plastic mostly used for packaging design. It is thicker than cellophane and holds its shape much better.
Curl the wire at irregular intervals to create a natural wire tendril similar to that of a passion fruit plant
Use all three methods to dry hydrangeas to get three very different textures to use in design work.
Include a single floret (such as an orchid) or bundle a few weaker stems (such as lily of the valley) into an arrangement or hand tie by wiring a test tube to a stick.
Give dried hydrangeas (or other dried flowers) a longer stem to make it easier to work with.
Create a full design without the weight by stabilizing the flowers with glued sticks. This is a great alternative to floral foam.
Butterfly hair clips are the perfect little claws to help you hold tiny items in place while you wait for glue to dry
When you need to keep a tiny stem hydrated this is just what you need. If you can't find a suitable drinking straw... I also have an upgrade: tiny food grade pipe water tubes.
Hold a dried hydrangea flower in the palm of your hand to smooth out the folds
Favourite Flowers
Hydrangea, when cultivated as a cut flower rather as a plant it is often revered to as Hortensia
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Using dried floral material is so trendy right now. But the longer lasting the design elements the more effort you have to put in to stop it from looking lifeless.
Glow and sparkle bark armature to celebrate the first signs of Autumn
Roll birch bark into a double spiral to cradle some perfect flowers to admire all winter.