My Creative Workbook

Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman

What goes around

What goes around floral art design by Christine de Beer

Most of all… that it should be fun.

Creating art from nature

… it should be fun and it should be gratifying and entertaining and meaningful.

Using just a few flowers to create an arrangement

It should keep you curious.

Sustainable floral design ideas for Autumn

You should be designing with flowers in a way that amazes you.

Soft minimal floral styling for fall

Not so different from any other “shoulds” in any other creative pursuit, come to think of it.

Inca lily bark and autumn leaf floral design

… and then you take all those "shoulds" and add what you have learned about craftsmanship…

Contemporary no foam floral design

… and it all comes around .

Every week I add a new design with related tutorials. Be sure to subscribe to receive an email notification with design inspiration.

Tutorials

11 November 2020 Kenzan peg bark curls into a hollow and bottomless log vase

Craft a bottomless vase out of bark so that the floral stem is supported but can still stand in water to remain hydrated.

7 January 2015 Securing a kenzan

Temporarily adhere a traditional Ikebana Kenzan or pincushion to a shallow container.

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...

24 August 2018 Kenzan foliage cover-up

Cover your kenzan by wrapping it in a leaf.

22 August 2018 Vein Veil For Freesias

Cut a slight veil to frame your flowers with

18 October 2017 Muted Side Up Autumn Leaf Pod

Turn the leaf so that the muted underside faces outward to create a more understated Autumn colour scheme .

14 October 2015 Roll hundreds (yes! hundreds) of autumn leaves so create a natural, upright flower frog

Rolled leaves offer support for floral stems

11 November 2012 Autumn Leaf Rosette

Great way to use all the autumn leaves you collect on walks during the season. Slowly build up the leaf rosette and let the leaves dry before adding a few more.

17 April 2019 Cross cut Spring Twig Armature

Give a sturdy twig a cut to stay put in your Spring design.

6 December 2017 Barely there twig tabletop Christmas tree

Glue curved twig snippets to craft a delicate winter white Christmas tree

6 December 2017 Fluffy pillow filler tree skirt

The fluffy stuffing found in pillows create beautiful, water repellent tree skirts.

Favourite Flowers

Alstroemeria

Inca lily, Peruvian lily or lily of the Incas

Related Designs

25 May 2022 Grateful Heart

Frame a single perfect Bleeding heart flower in a leaf dot.

6 September 2023 Mother Nature’s little magic to let us know Autumn is near

It's the little sun-washed coloured hints that makes you look again to see if you really saw what you thought you saw... yes! There really are signs of autumn everywhere!

19 June 2024 Do you know what the point is?

A bark armature standing on pointe for some gorgeous blue King Tut sweet peas

22 August 2018 FreestyleFreesia

Dutch floral designer Pim van den Akker, from Flower Factor invited me to participate in a FloraHolland initiative promoting the versatility of Freesias entitled ...

22 August 2018 Freestyle Freesia design video for Flower Factor

Freestyle Freesia design video for Flower Factor

18 February 2015 Snail Away

Spiral roll a snail to add to this sunny design

17 September 2014 Still

My bark bowl design and tutorial featured in the Centrepiece Wedding Magazine

18 October 2017 On the inside

For a softer autumn leaf pod turn the leaves so that the bright side faces in when making the pod.

14 October 2015 What a find!

Roll autumn leaves to create a frog to keep flowers upright

11 November 2012 Leaves by Hundreds came

A rosette of fall leaves to celebrate the beauty of autumn

17 April 2019 Hopping with Excitement

A hoppingly-fun Spring design for Easter.

6 June 2018 Hi-Lo

Perfect stems, perfect flowers. Needs nothing more.

6 December 2017 While I sing of beauty's treasure

Glue the most delicate twig table top Christmas tree