My Creative Workbook

Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman

The Space Between

1 April 2015
click to send Christine a smile
and more

Ma is a Japanese word which can be roughly translated as "gap", "space", "pause" or "the space between two structural parts"

Thirty spokes meet in the hub,

though…

the space between them is the essence of the wheel.

Pots are formed from clay,

though…

the space inside them is the essence of the pot.

Walls with windows and doors form the house,

though…

the space within them is the essence of the house.

Traditional Japanese poem

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Tutorials

1 April 2015

Hana-kubari Bamboo

Hana-Kubari is an Ikebana flower mechanic. Only natural materials such as pebbles, sticks and branches can be seen to support the flowers. Traditionally no twine or wire, nails, or screws or any other man made materials are used

1 April 2015

Keeping pollen tidy

Most of the time I would gently tug the pollen covered stamens away the moment it becomes yellow and messy. But the Gloriosa looks rather pretty with the stamens on, so I fix it in place

2 January 2011

Lilies

How to keep Lilies in bud for longer. Removing the pollen. Stringing a Lily Garland.

2 April 2025

A Muscari cluster frog to display a precious Scilla Siberica on its own dogwood twig

Crafting a display cluster of plant material is the best way to turn the most delicate of stems into a focal point.

5 July 2023

Latch an imperfect stem support for thin stemmed and heavy design details

Bundle and tie a few stems to create a support for even heavy design details.

7 June 2023

Peg the heavy details in place with a wedged stem support

Create a support for your floral details by wedging the cut flower stem across the opening of the vase.

1 April 2020

Using your seriously cool hot glue skills to glue a wire support for a tulip stem

A clever almost concealed wire support to keep a single tulip flower upright in a minimal bud design.

24 April 2019

Balance a cake stand lid on it’s side to create a leaning design

Suspend a flower for an unusual but minimalist design over a leaning container lid.

16 January 2019

Delicate Twig Hammock Armature to keep tulips upright in a shallow container

Craft a suspended armature to create a clear winter design.

10 October 2018

Single blade wrap armature

Fold a single blade of grass or slender leaf around a small container to stand your flower in position

9 May 2018

Incise waxy Gardenia foliage to decorate the edge of a container

Cut a small wedge out of a stack of waxy leaves to keep the flower and twig in place.

28 March 2018

Stacked eggshell containers that won't topple over.

Balance a stack of eggshells with a magnet for a tiny Easter design

3 January 2018

Using a fork in a twig to “peg” a stem in place

A easy to use Hana Kubari technique

5 July 2017

Bits of snipped grass glued to create a net

Glue a fragile sheltering net to soften the look of a summer design

26 April 2017

Hana-Kubari twig

Slip a twig over the side of a container to keep an elegant flower stem upright

18 January 2017

T-connect twigs to shadow a design

Split a twig to create a t connection to hover a twig over the design

10 August 2016

Bamboo frog for a shallow container design

Cut short bamboo lengths to keep your flower material upright in a shallow and narrow container

20 April 2016

Free standing Willow twig armature with a hidden water source

Cut a few willow twigs to split to create legs for the armature

Related Designs

2 April 2025

Love that a whole bunch!

Loved this delicate Scilla Siberica so much I got it its own bunch of Grape Hyacinths.

5 July 2023

The Wiggle Is Part Of The Plan

A easy going summer design that makes full use of the imperfections you harvest from your cut garden.

7 June 2023

Be excited

Oh my! Picked from my balcony garden... after I thought I completely missed it blooming.

1 April 2020

Hang in there!

Keeping this tulip upright requires less magic and more hot glue skills... but it looks magical never the less.

24 April 2019

Put aside

Urgh… my glass cake stand broke leaving me with a still beautiful, but now mismatched and extremely inspirational lid...

16 January 2019

Every. Single. Week.

Stand tulips upright in a shallow container with a suspended twig armature.

10 October 2018

From A... for Acer to Z… for Zantedeschia

This week we look at the design featured in the Flower Guide Chapter at the very end of my book

9 May 2018

What is the meaning of this?

Create a minimal design with a few leaves to keep is all upright.

28 March 2018

Walking on eggshells

Fill eggshells with moss to create an upright container... with a surprising balancing trick.

3 January 2018

Happy Coincidence!

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 twig with a fork in it. Add a ranunculus with a ridiculously gorgeous curve in it's stem... done.