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Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman

When it gets chilly

  • 21 October 2020
  • and more

The best time to take one of those…

cool breeze

crisp crunchy leaves

freshly fallen rain scented

sharp chilly dusk coloured

brisk nowhere particular to go walks

… is on a nippy autumn day.

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Gather what you'll need

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Dew-Drop Crystals
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
Sunflower heart autumn display
21 October 2020
Sunflower heart autumn display

Pick away the ray floret so that the disk floret of a sunflower can be used as a flat surface to display your design on.
Sunflower Disk Floret
13 August 2014
Sunflower Disk Floret

Gently pull the petals ( Ray floret) from the seeded part of the sunflower
Drinking straw "test tubes"
4 January 2011
Drinking straw "test tubes"

When you need to keep a tiny stem hydrated this is just what you need.
Bite and snap a sturdy twig
22 May 2012
Bite and snap a sturdy twig

Break the sturdy twig on the scribe line.
Adding folded grass "jitters" to a Sunflower
31 July 2019
Adding folded grass "jitters" to a Sunflower

Adding tension to a design with a grass frame and collar.
Trailing Ceropegia woodii vines from a Heliconia flower
23 May 2018
Trailing Ceropegia woodii vines from a Heliconia flower

Set the rosary vines into the natural cavity of the flower head.
Twig mushroom
3 July 2012
Twig mushroom

Stack and wire a twig mushroom armature
Fill a trumpet shaped flower cup with... more flowers!
8 May 2019
Fill a trumpet shaped flower cup with... more flowers!

A hidden water source small enough to fit into a dainty flower.
Acorn inspired Autumn leaf armature
5 November 2014
Acorn inspired Autumn leaf armature

Dry fall leaves to create a ball shape structure
Rock Rest for a heavy Protea Flower Head
31 January 2018
Rock Rest for a heavy Protea Flower Head

Create a contrasting base to lift the heavy flower-head to design in
Standing flowering stems in shallow puddles
13 August 2014
Standing flowering stems in shallow puddles

Making a truss out of sunflower stems for a free standing design
Spider-mum
31 October 2018
Spider-mum

Craft a spider from twigs and a chrysanthemum
Turning a pumpkin to hover for a sway in the lightest autumn breeze display
1 October 2025
Turning a pumpkin to hover for a sway in the lightest autumn breeze display

A pretty pumpkin deserves some fancy mechanics to create an impossibly ethereal display.
A grand kale to spark that almost end of summer colour
6 August 2025
A grand kale to spark that almost end of summer colour

A slight tweak turn a ornamental kale into a ornamental mechanic.
Slip-slit tapped in stems to keep vines upright in a muted autumn display
25 September 2024
Slip-slit tapped in stems to keep vines upright in a muted autumn display

A tiny adjustment in a stem wedged into a vase mechanic to give you even more control over the placement of design details.
Palm twirl with a hidden double knot grid support that hold even heavier flowers in place
11 September 2024
Palm twirl with a hidden double knot grid support that hold even heavier flowers in place

Knot horizontal palm fronts in place to create a support for heavy flowers.
Light as a kite wire spiked sunflower heart
14 July 2021
Light as a kite wire spiked sunflower heart

Using the disk floret of a sunflower to support your floral details.
Related Designs
Jitters!
31 July 2019
Jitters!

Zig-zag grass details add a bit of tension to the design
In Summer!
23 May 2018
In Summer!

A contemporary cascade of rosary vine and dried petals.
Twig-a-tude
3 July 2012
Twig-a-tude

Stack and wire twigs to create a twig mushroom with attitude for summer
It takes more than one person to invent a trumpet!
8 May 2019
It takes more than one person to invent a trumpet!

Filling a trumpet flower cup... with more flowers!
All In One
5 November 2014
All In One

dry autumn leaves into an acorn shape
Rock, don't Roll
31 January 2018
Rock, don't Roll

Balance the heavy Protea flower head to lean against a rock.
A leg to stand on
13 August 2014
A leg to stand on

Create a upright design by supporting the flowering stems
Scary stuff!
31 October 2018
Scary stuff!

My Halloween design... with some scary stuff hidden if you can read between the leaves!
And just like that, it is The Pumpkin’s Turn
1 October 2025
And just like that, it is The Pumpkin’s Turn

An impossibly minimal autumn display that sways in the slightest breeze... as if by magic!
Your brain rewards curiosity on a grand…. kale
6 August 2025
Your brain rewards curiosity on a grand…. kale

Growing plant material for floral design requires an unique spark of creativity.
Toning down the summer up into the earliest autumn
25 September 2024
Toning down the summer up into the earliest autumn

Using summery floral details in a way that it gives you all the autumn feelings... when autumn details are not yet out.
More! More!! More!!!
11 September 2024
More! More!! More!!!

Adding more to an autumn design... but leaving everything out that you don't need.
Light as a Kite
14 July 2021
Light as a Kite

Spike a wire frame into a disk floret for a light summer design.
Favourite Flowers
Helianthus anuus
Helianthus anuus

Nature's Treasures, A Floral Art Exhibition at D'Ville Shopping Center Durbanville Floral Carpet with the members of the Durbanville Flower Club. For the mid section I used roses,...
Phalaenopsis
Phalaenopsis

Phalaenopsis orchid detail from my Harnessing the Wind design