My Creative Workbook

Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman

With a thankful twist in the middle

We all know how much a smile can mean...and here on My Creative Workbook

Your

smile

just

means

more

… and yes, I really do smile back.

So, thank you for clicking on the "click to send Christine a smile" button every week and Happy Canadian Thanksgiving week, everyone!

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Tutorials
Quarter fold and Thread an Autumn leaf tube armature
9 October 2019
Quarter fold and Thread an Autumn leaf tube armature

This armature is actually made of four times as many leaves as what it looks like to create a hinge to fan the entire leaf-tube open yet keep it's shape.
Unravel wire from a copper pot scrubber
5 May 2011
Unravel wire from a copper pot scrubber

Up-cycle a pot scrubber to get a huge roll of very pretty copper wire
Wire curls
5 May 2011
Wire curls

curl wire to add to designs
Muted Side Up Autumn Leaf Pod
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 .
Skewered Eucalyptus leaf line-up armature
10 May 2017
Skewered Eucalyptus leaf line-up armature

Thread leaves through wire
Foliage Pleat Garland
10 August 2011
Foliage Pleat Garland

Folding a garland from strips of a Aspidistra leaf
Spiked Autumn leaf cauldron
30 October 2013
Spiked Autumn leaf cauldron

Pike a few (hundred!) autumn leaves to build up a hollow leaf armature
Autumn leaf and decorative tissue paper gift bag
18 November 2015
Autumn leaf and decorative tissue paper gift bag

A gift bag that dries beautifully
Roll hundreds (yes! hundreds) of autumn leaves so create a natural, upright flower frog
14 October 2015
Roll hundreds (yes! hundreds) of autumn leaves so create a natural, upright flower frog

Rolled leaves offer support for floral stems
Skewered Foliage Garland
22 March 2017
Skewered Foliage Garland

Create a garland that dries well with rolled up leaves
Placing orchids in test tubes
25 August 2011
Placing orchids in test tubes

Cut the Phalaenopsis orchid with a bit of green stem attached. This will make them last longer.
Ivy and tendril blooms
4 September 2024
Ivy and tendril blooms

Wrap ivy leaves around a passionflower vine tendril to craft a flower
Dried Bougainvillaea and pink Pepper berry Disk
4 September 2024
Dried Bougainvillaea and pink Pepper berry Disk

Pink just before autumn, autumn design to celebrate the richness in colour.
Snowy Magnolia forest floor armature
25 January 2023
Snowy Magnolia forest floor armature

An armature to display a lovely surprise orchid that developed on the long spike just after the other flowers started to fade.
Pot-scrubber copper wire curls and autumn twig twirls bud vase toppers
4 November 2020
Pot-scrubber copper wire curls and autumn twig twirls bud vase toppers

A quick solution for a minimal horizontal autumn display -on top of bud vases.
Reusable Table Top Lei Armature
17 June 2020
Reusable Table Top Lei Armature

An easy to do, budget friendly, craft ahead- use many times floral armature.
Skewer and thread a double layer foliage ruffle collar to slip over a bud vase
27 May 2020
Skewer and thread a double layer foliage ruffle collar to slip over a bud vase

An easy to do and quick to add decorative detail to dress up contemporary floral designs.
Related Designs
On the inside
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.
It all stacks up
24 October 2018
It all stacks up

Quick and easy: Stack autumn leaves onto a wire for a... tiny table top Christmas tree.
About a line
10 May 2017
About a line

Skewer and line up leaves to create an armature
Pleated Pleasure
10 August 2011
Pleated Pleasure

Pleats are accordion like folds of equal width in alternating opposite directions in any kind of fabric. I absolutely love the tight buds of Allium and they represent the "pleasure" part of my design
As the leaves melt away
30 October 2013
As the leaves melt away

Spike a few hundred fall leaves to create a cauldron for Halloween flowers
Autumn is a mosaic of them all
18 November 2015
Autumn is a mosaic of them all

Easy to assemble fall leaf and tissue paper gift bag
What a find!
14 October 2015
What a find!

Roll autumn leaves to create a frog to keep flowers upright
Let's hang out
31 May 2017
Let's hang out

Skewer some Eucalyptus to suspend between the orchids
Forest Floor
19 November 2014
Forest Floor

Glue a autumn leaf rosette armature
A shade around there, probably… maybe
4 September 2024
A shade around there, probably… maybe

A dried flower and foliage... flower... disk to help me pretend it is autumn
Even More
25 January 2023
Even More

This orchid developed at the very end of a long stem... right as the rest of the flowers started to die back so I made a special armature to display the cut stem.
Because that is just how I roll
4 November 2020
Because that is just how I roll

A tumbling fall leaf design making use of the autumn leaves that are already falling to the ground.
Lei-way
17 June 2020
Lei-way

Allow for a bit of variation by crafting a sturdy armature.
Take a Stab at it
27 May 2020
Take a Stab at it

Skewer a few leaves to turn a single carnation in a bud vase... into an occasion... all by itself!
Favourite Flowers
Phalaenopsis
Phalaenopsis

Phalaenopsis orchid detail from my Harnessing the Wind design