My Creative Workbook

Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman

The Upside of being Inside

19 February 2020
and more

Its got a this side and that side

And a upside and a downside

And a front side and a backside

And a side side and an other side

And a pretty side and a view from the opposite side

And an over side and an underside

… but as far as liking it’s snowy side or it’s twig side most?

Nope… not taking any sides.

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Gather what you'll need

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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

19 February 2020

Twig snippet pillar armature

A great do-in-advance and reusable design solution for a winter, early spring floral display.

22 May 2012

Bite and snap a sturdy twig

Break the sturdy twig on the scribe line.

24 July 2012

Blow away hot glue strands

When you glue a structure with hot glue there are always a few stray strands of glue stuck all over the design. Blow it away with a hairdryer.

28 December 2016

Adding snow to twigs

Glue artificial snow to twigs

8 January 2014

Twig Tumbler

Wire and glue a stack of sticks into a cylindrical or tube shape

21 May 2014

Square Twig Cube

Glue twigs together to create a cube armature

25 March 2015

Jiyek Braiding a Pussy Willow Twig Blind

A design inspired by traditional Jiyek braiding techniques

24 June 2015

Twig Cell phone Charging Station Centrepiece

Create an arched design to hide the electrical outlet for a cell phone charging station

29 July 2015

Disk Twig Armature

Glue a few wigs to follow the shape of a glass bowl to create a disk armature

9 December 2015

Scalable twig and Phalaenopsis orchid winterscape panel

This design can easily scale up or down by using larger or smaller pieces of wood to create a larger wall panel or make a few of these panels to stack as tiles to create a more easily manageable composite

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.

6 September 2017

Contained rose twig stack

Glue the twigs in a container to easily follow the round shape

6 February 2019

Winter White Twig Screen

Glue twigs to screen delicate flowers for a wintry design.

17 July 2019

Twig Dome Armature

Crafted from a hand full of twigs to give you a large design... even though you add only two stems of sweet peas.

3 June 2026

Puzzle out a pollinator beacon for a clear and bright summer display

Create a middle layer of twigs for a stacked display.

31 December 2025

Winter Twig Panel with Space for a glowing Wish Upon a New Year’s Eve Star

Glue delicate twigs into a barely there armature for a glowing candle display to light up winter.

10 April 2024

See through Jasmine Vine tangle support

This is a great way to explore using vines dried, soon to dry and fresh and hydrated to craft the thinnest possible transparent design.

8 February 2023

Hover winter twig armature with an acetate platform

Crystal clear floral design for winter styling

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.

27 July 2022

Dendrobium orchid and grass snippet cone around a glass container

Craft a grass armature to suspend the orchids in deep water from around the outside of your container.

1 June 2022

A wild "found it this way" thorn and overgrown tulip design with a ribbon tangle instead of a bow.

Glue an overgrown thorn armature to a container to display fully opened tulips

16 March 2022

Sturdy, blossoming armature in a shallow puddle

If you know just a bit more about the "why" we do the things we do it is easy to discover new "how's". This week I show you why it is possible to design with blossoming twigs in a shallow puddle.

9 March 2022

Lily grid for cradling the first spring sprigs in a small vase

Place a fully opened lily over the opening of your vase to help support more delicate stems

27 October 2021

Hovering golden wheat Ghost Ship armature

Using dry and fresh floral material in one design without the dry becoming soggy and the fresh drying out.

8 September 2021

Glue soaked stems cheeky angled grid for those first autumn leaves (with a dye soak up tip)

A barely there delicate grid to keep your flowers in place.

18 August 2021

Racked up dried Twig Snippets to display a few flower buds

Combining dried and fresh floral details for a easy breezy summer design.

11 August 2021

Dried twig collar in a double vase display for gravity sensitive flowers

Putting the focus on the flowers with an ever changing design.

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.

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.

14 October 2020

On the edge grid for a decorative twig and reed armature

Place the floral details strategically on the edge of sturdier parts of the armature to keep the reed grid from collapsing under the weight of the floral details.

23 September 2020

All dried Autumn hemisphere design that will outlast even the falling leaves outside

Preserve some floral material to design with when it is but not quite Autumn outside.

6 May 2020

a Just-Replace-The-Flowers-When-They-Wilt freestanding bark armature

Part of sustainable designing is designing with the entire life-cycle of your work in mind. Designing armatures is a lasting and ever changing design solution.

Related Designs

8 January 2014

It's stick season!

Snap and stack an glue a few twigs to create a lace like armature

21 May 2014

Square

Glue a stick cube to fit a cube vase

25 March 2015

Pulling some Strings

Braid a twig blind armature

24 June 2015

Staying connected

My article and a floral cell phone re-charge station design featured in DIY Weddings Magazine

29 July 2015

Beautiful Things

Glue a few twigs into a disk armature

9 December 2015

On a Grand Scale

My article and a floral panel design featured in DIY Weddings Magazine

6 September 2017

One of those difficult questions

Glue a bunch of twigs inside a container to create a round stack

6 February 2019

Tread softly on winter

A delicate winter twig armature to show off the delicate beauty of these early spring coloured tulips.

17 July 2019

… and... a bit more... effort… to make it special

Instead of just placing a handful of twigs and two stems of sweet peas in a vase... why not...?

3 June 2026

This Just In

Double vase with a twig bowl layer to craft a light as air fairy light holder.

31 December 2025

‘Twas and still is mastery, originality and personal creativity that really elevates our floral designs to an artform, not just decorations

A bit like that tiny gap between two notes in a great song... this New Years eve design creates a meaningful emptiness for you to reflect.

10 April 2024

(if only) I can see you

Tangle jasmine vines outside a vase for a transparent screen to display floral details on and around a sea horse vase to display floral details in.

8 February 2023

Snow… drops

A late winter design for minimal floral styling.

28 December 2022

Giving a nod

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

27 July 2022

Wrong on the right, for a right

A glued snipped to create a cooling cone for dangling orchids

1 June 2022

Found it!

A very secure thorn branch armature to hold overgrown Tulips in place

16 March 2022

Poised to Spring

An "it's only 10 days to Spring" design to display some blossom buds.

9 March 2022

…. Aaaaaand tick!

Ever wonder how I decide what I share with you? A fun design ticking all the boxes.

27 October 2021

Ship Shape

The dry wheat stems are suspended from the outside of the container so that they remain dry and the flower stems can gently rest inside to remain hydrated.