Walking on eggshells

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

Wood glue makes wood veneer or Kyogi paper soft and playable to make feathers with

Easy way to fill test tubes and easiest way to remove water from a vase

Orchids grow in long flower spikes. It is great to use the entire stem but sometimes you need shorter section. There is a trick to cutting the stems without leaving a visible...

The most delicate of stems often disappear in a design. this is an easy way to display really delicate flowering stems without overwhelming them

Hide the water source in a rolled leaf

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

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,...

This is the basic technique used in traditional Easter crafts to plait a crown of thorns.

Dancing lady

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

Hang a dangling eggshell in a Spring blossom design.

A hoppingly-fun Spring design for Easter.

A bit of a wrong way round pretty Easter design. Put the basket weave inside the egg instead of putting the eggs in a basket.

Craft a bark platform to design on in a foxtail fern frond.

A cheery Easter basket for a new beginning

The first of my new monthly articles about growing the material you need to design with. This month we are taking stock of what we need... and growing wheatgrass.

A glowing autumn display of vases to scatter around every here and there.

Convert a dowel stick into a container for delicate flower stems

Skewer Dracaena leaves into a roll that supports a tiny water source for the Oncidium orchids

Cut lengths of bamboo to place in a shallow container as a flower frog

Traditional Hana-Kubari flower mechanic

Weave a loose basket to display a single flower... or three

Weave a palm thorn garland to decorate for Easter

Clear containers need clear grids to keep the flowers in place

A clean Easter design. The tiny blossoms are Kalanchoe 'Calandiva Pink'. Tucked low in the paper eggs are a few Cymbidium orchids and the twigs are contorted hazel. The...