My Creative Workbook

Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman

Why When

1 February 2023
click to send Christine a smile
and more

“Isn’t it funny

How

Day by day

Nothing changes

But when you look

Back

Everything

is different”

Quote by CS Lewis

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

Tutorials

1 February 2023

Spiked Tulip Fan

Fanned out Tulips for a snowy winter display... that stays just so.

7 January 2015

Securing a kenzan

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

8 July 2015

Using a pin to place tiny dew drop crystals

It's sometimes difficult to place a tiny crystal or bead exactly where you want it.

24 March 2021

A Spring Sprout Wreath Flower Frog

Craft an everything is still growing spring design to celebrate... what we love!

19 June 2012

Tapping away Tulip pollen

Tap away most of the pollen from a fully opened tulip

11 May 2011

Slow down tulip growth, after the stems have been severed from the bulbs

Tulips continue to grow after being cut. Sometimes when you make a very small design or for competition or bridal work you want to minimize growth. The best way to do this is to divert their energy.

1 June 2022

A wild "found it this way" thorn and overgrown tulip design with a ribbon tangle instead of a bow.

Glue an overgrown thorn armature to a container to display fully opened tulips

23 March 2022

A Double vase, Sticky tape, Reflexed AND Woven Nestled Grass and Tulip Whirl

so many techniques rolled into one rather pretty tulip nest. Perfect to celebrate new beginnings: Spring and my book birthday... and my online workshop!

19 January 2022

Knot a wool grid for a cozy Tulip and twig armature design

Bring in some warmth with a tulip design that still hints at winter

20 January 2021

Trapped Bubble Double Shallow Vase Design

Trap air between two vases to create a third circle... and frame for a small feather hint to a hopeful Spring

4 December 2013

Large wax snowflakes

Artificial snow can be very "chemical" and flowers deteriorate quickly when exposed to it. It also dissolves in water. I use candle wax as "snow"

1 April 2020

Using your seriously cool hot glue skills to glue a wire support for a tulip stem

A clever almost concealed wire support to keep a single tulip flower upright in a minimal bud design.

3 January 2012

Bubble raft to float flowers

Flowers naturally float in water. They just don’t always naturally float on water. For that they sometimes need a bit of help.

21 March 2012

Where to cut Tulips to condition

Here is a trick to make sure your tulips will condition thoroughly

21 January 2015

Braiding three Tulip stems

Plait Tulip stems

4 April 2018

Tap in a Twig Support

Wedge snipped twigs into a glass vase to act as a support for your flowers

6 February 2019

Winter White Twig Screen

Glue twigs to screen delicate flowers for a wintry design.

26 February 2020

Weave a grass Platform for an opening Tulip bud

Tulips continue to grow as they open. This means you not only have to be mindful of their proportions as they are now... but also as they will be once open.

15 January 2025

Palm and hazel fan together to support perfect to pick Helleborus stems

Winter treasures in a small vase for an uplifting fresh flower display.

6 September 2023

Peg Sunflowers and Quaking Grass in a Kenzan

An old trick... but still a great one to support thin stems in the needles of a Kenzan.

Related Designs

24 March 2021

To two too!

A Spring Tulip celebration design... with a special message

1 June 2022

Found it!

A very secure thorn branch armature to hold overgrown Tulips in place

23 March 2022

Chockablock!

Luxuriously filled design... filled with flowers... filled with grass. But most fun, for us as designers filled with hidden techniques

19 January 2022

Thaw

It's Tulip Season! Perfect for that "it's still winter ... but is that something green I see...?" mood designs.

20 January 2021

Hope Bubble

That good old double vase trick... but this time I deliberately added a bubble between the two layers to create a third circle in the design.

1 April 2020

Hang in there!

Keeping this tulip upright requires less magic and more hot glue skills... but it looks magical never the less.

3 January 2012

Going Cold Twinkle Turkey

Is it better to go Cold Twinkle Turkey and embrace the minimalist living room or rather ease into it?

21 January 2015

Tiptoe through the Tulips

Braid Tulip stems to set in water

4 April 2018

Grow on it

Wedge twigs into a vase to create a grid.

6 February 2019

Tread softly on winter

A delicate winter twig armature to show off the delicate beauty of these early spring coloured tulips.

26 February 2020

To top it all off

This is a great "space-keeper" design. The tulip will continue to grow into the vase height as they open... but until then the grass platform part of the design diverts your attention to fix any issues you might experience with the proportions right now.

15 January 2025

What’s that word for it again?

A fun way to fan out palm leaves to display some winter pickings

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!

Favourite Flowers

Tulipa

Plaited tulips in my I’ve got my head in the clouds design.