My Creative Workbook

Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman

This is the Fragrance of November

6 November 2013
and more

Woody, wet bark and forgotten leaves

Fruity Citrus and apples so ripe they taste like burned sugary caramel

Warm Spiced pumpkins slowly roasting in honey and nutmeg

Cinnamon and splashes of rain on dirt that baked dry all summer

Vanilla and coffee and the crisp bite of the first frost on a dark night

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Tutorials

6 November 2013

Leaf Swirls

Cut fall leaves to create continuous swirls

19 February 2013

Manipulating stems: Snapping at an angle, Bending, Spiraling, Curling and Straightening

Most stems, twigs and even sturdier branches can be bend into shapes. It takes practice and more than a bit of patience. The main idea is to slowly manipulate the branch without breaking it.

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

25 August 2011

Placing orchids in test tubes

Cut the Phalaenopsis orchid with a bit of green stem attached. This will make them last longer.

4 January 2011

Drinking straw "test tubes"

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

16 April 2025

Just hatched willow twig egg armature

Craft a cracked egg shape armature for an Easter display.

23 October 2024

Four wreath harvest basket that looks like it grew that way… because now some of it still is!

Harvest some cuttings to root in a wild and overgrown floral design.

3 November 2021

Copper Pepper Berry Wreath

Wire pepper berries to a wreath

15 September 2021

Wire wrap for a shallow container to keep a twig arch armature neatly in place

Wrap a wire around both ends of a shallow container to keep the twigs in place.

7 October 2020

Floral wreath ring stem armature for a cute pumpkin patch in a stem vase design

Use a wreath to keep flower and a heavy little ghost pumpkin in place in a small vase.

10 June 2020

Overgrown vine tangle to suspend flowers in a clear vase

A zero waste and sustainable floral design solution to keep your flowers exactly where you want them without using floral foam.

13 June 2018

Lily grass and cane bubble for a Pitcher plant

Craft a dried cane globe for the armature of the design and then add lily grass to dry in place.

1 November 2017

Pierce and stack fall leaves to rest on the edge of a container

Use one leaf to keep the next in place

4 October 2017

Display wreath that hover around a big shiny pumpkin

For this design I wanted my wreath to be light and airy so that it just whips around the solid pumpkin like a breeze.

17 August 2016

Hanging Tillandsia

There are many ways to hang your air plants in a design. In this Tutorial I explore three

4 May 2016

Loosened Wreath Armature

Snip a dried twig wreath to undo the spirals to hang around a glass container

21 October 2015

Use the stem of an Autumn leaf to wrap, pin and secure it in a roll

A glue-less way of manipulating leaves

Related Designs

20 January 2011

The last Vine Wreath

Every designer knows how to stretch their supplies. We use and re-use our dried plant material until our fellow designers feel like hiding it from us. I formed such an attachment to my vine wreaths. This post features four designs using the same wreaths.