My Creative Workbook

Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman

Up around the bend

Do do do do

Do do do do

Do do do do

Do do do do... yeah!

Do do do do

Do do do do

Lyrics by (John Cameron Fogerty) Creedence Clearwater Revival from the song: Up Around the Bend

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Tutorials
Bend Wired Equisetum into a Hollow Wreath
7 February 2018
Bend Wired Equisetum into a Hollow Wreath

Craft a wreath with a hollow cavity inside to use as an armature for your flowers
Syringe with tube
3 January 2011
Syringe with tube

Easy way to fill test tubes and easiest way to remove water from a vase
Paper covered Wire
1 March 2011
Paper covered Wire

Cover the wire with the raffia
Lilies
2 January 2011
Lilies

How to keep Lilies in bud for longer. Removing the pollen. Stringing a Lily Garland.
Keep pod shaped flowers in bud for longer
30 March 2012
Keep pod shaped flowers in bud for longer

Sometimes you want to keep flowers in tight bud for as long as possible to suit your design
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
Glue a forest filigree twig wreath
7 December 2011
Glue a forest filigree twig wreath

This wreath is not woven but glued to create a see-through forest filigree
Butterfly hairclip claws to hold twigs in place while glue dries
18 January 2012
Butterfly hairclip claws to hold twigs in place while glue dries

Butterfly hair clips are the perfect little claws to help you hold tiny items in place while you wait for glue to dry
Hang a wreath on a door without knocking nails into the door face
7 December 2011
Hang a wreath on a door without knocking nails into the door face

I use two methods (or a combination of both) to attach a wreath to a door.
Willow flower crown
7 September 2016
Willow flower crown

Loosely weave willow tips to create an ethereal crown
Sun baked Sweetpea vine wreath
26 August 2015
Sun baked Sweetpea vine wreath

A perfect way to use a Lathyrus vine after all it flowered
Barely there Wreath armature
30 November 2016
Barely there Wreath armature

Glue snippets of Baby's breath and grass into a lace fine wreath shape to showcase the tiny chocolate cosmos buds
Folded Bleached Baby’s Breath Wreath Armature
26 October 2016
Folded Bleached Baby’s Breath Wreath Armature

Glued Baby's Breath Wreath, folded in half to create a moon shaped armature
Bleached Baby’s Breath Wreath
4 November 2015
Bleached Baby’s Breath Wreath

Glue a radiating wreath from bleached Gyp
Stacked Twig Roundabout
24 July 2012
Stacked Twig Roundabout

This is a great way to use all those bits of twigs and sticks in your design room to make a floral armature
Disk Twig Armature
29 July 2015
Disk Twig Armature

Glue a few wigs to follow the shape of a glass bowl to create a disk armature
Curl Equisetum shoots into a snail shell spiral
23 March 2012
Curl Equisetum shoots into a snail shell spiral

Equisetum is hollow and jointed resembling miniature bamboo but it can be shaped into spirals by wiring the shoots
Rose shaped tuberous root spiral floral frog
28 May 2025
Rose shaped tuberous root spiral floral frog

While repotting your foxtail fern why not save a few of the roots... for an armature.
Willow disk frog
7 September 2022
Willow disk frog

Dried willow shaped to create a disk to keep your floral details in place in a vase with water.
Shelter grass veil for a round container
16 June 2021
Shelter grass veil for a round container

A single lily flower design dressed up with a grass veil.
A contained design for watching those pretty twigs get their leaves
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.
Tangle a perfect vine around two wreaths for a split armature
19 August 2020
Tangle a perfect vine around two wreaths for a split armature

Passion fruit flowers never lasts long. Not even growing outside on a vine. But the buds continue to open once cut making a wreath display ideal for an even changing passion fruit flower display.
Building up a wreath panel
24 June 2020
Building up a wreath panel

Connect six wreaths to build up a hanging panel to display your flowers on.
Overgrown vine tangle to suspend flowers in a clear 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.
Glue a grapevine armature shaped like the petals of an open rose
15 May 2019
Glue a grapevine armature shaped like the petals of an open rose

Cut a wreath into sections to glue back together into a beautiful rose petal shape
Wire two Equisetum shoots into a heart
14 February 2018
Wire two Equisetum shoots into a heart

A wire in the hollow cavity inside a shoot of equisetum makes it easy to manipulate into a heart
Related Designs
The last Vine Wreath
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.
One Singular Sensation
3 April 2011
One Singular Sensation

Three Lilies plaited to create a sensational, singular flower "growing" out of a Equisetum dome filled with Rainbow Oasis pebbles.
Forest Filigree Christmas Wreath
7 December 2011
Forest Filigree Christmas Wreath

I wanted my Hazel twig wreath to look like forest filigree: mysteriously overgrown, tangled with age and dappled with moss and lichen. The wreath is also dressed with fresh and dried flower bud clusters and operculum of Eucalyptus.
You are all invited!
7 September 2016
You are all invited!

My article and Willow Crown design featured in DIY Weddings Magazine
Bent
26 August 2015
Bent

Weave a wreath from sweetpea stems and tendrils
All things Autumn (by which I mean all things chocolate): Worth a second look
30 November 2016
All things Autumn (by which I mean all things chocolate): Worth a second look

This was the fourth (and last) design I did in my "All things Autumn (by which I mean all things chocolate)" floral art demonstration
Harvest Moon
26 October 2016
Harvest Moon

Fold a fine twig wreath in half to create a moon shaped armature
The Beauty in the Sleeping Woods
30 May 2012
The Beauty in the Sleeping Woods

As a floral artist I am inspired by the endurance of nature and my work is still re-creating the Sleeping Beauty Castle of my imagination.
Seriously, though where do they all go?
28 May 2025
Seriously, though where do they all go?

Using roots as an unusual floral armature.
Of the shades to come
7 September 2022
Of the shades to come

This design requires a bit of prep-time so it is perfect to make while waiting for the first autumn leaf to appear…
Dream Rescue
16 June 2021
Dream Rescue

Weave the most delicate grass shelter veil for a gorgeous lily.
Here comes the sun...
28 April 2021
Here comes the sun...

A minimal design celebrating the new growth on twigs
All round pretty sweet and short
19 August 2020
All round pretty sweet and short

Frame a passion flower in a vine wreath for a short lived but so pretty arrangement.
End Up
24 June 2020
End Up

Connect small wreaths to create a pretty summer armature to arrange your flowers on.
All Out
10 June 2020
All Out

An all out effective way of keeping a flower stem in the exact spot you want it to be in a clear water vase design.
Heard it through the grapevine?
15 May 2019
Heard it through the grapevine?

Have you heard? I have wonderful news this week. Oh! and I also have this pretty grapevine armature shaped like the petals of an open rose to show you. But... Have you heard my wonderful news???
Before I show you my book- let me show you my book
19 September 2018
Before I show you my book- let me show you my book

… and why we call this the special craftsmanship edition
Two Are
14 February 2018
Two Are

Equisetum Valentine's hearts
Favourite Flowers
Equisetum
Equisetum

Equisetum dome made for "One Singular Sensation". Floral Trends Design Group Inter-club Mini Show: Old and New
Lilium
Lilium

A Rock by any other name, lily design
Cymbidium
Cymbidium

Cymbidium orchids for my Designing your way to profits article that was featured in the Canadian Florist Magazine