My Creative Workbook

Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman

You Say Tomato I Say Tomato

22 June 2022
and more

“Things have come to a pretty pass

Our romance is growing flat,

For you like this and the other

While I go for this and that,

Goodness knows what the end will be

Oh I don’t know where I’m at

It looks as if we two will never be one

Something must be done…”

Lyrics from “Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off” by Ella Fitzgerald.

Urgh… anyone else having problems with their floral glue???

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Tutorials

22 June 2022

Using European OASIS floral glue to secure floral details… yes! It makes a difference

Securing the most delicate of design details successfully has a lot to do with what glue you use. But what glue is even more complicated than just brand.

1 November 2011

Weaving a twig wreath

For my design I wanted the wreath to look wind blown so I added a few loosely woven twigs into the weave. I also wanted to emphasize the autumn colours so I added a twirling copper wire into the weave

5 September 2018

Wisteria Vine Wreath Armature

Create a barely there armature with sturdy end of season vines.

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.

30 August 2011

Removing Oasis Floral Adhesive glue spills

The finish of every design should be flawless. Make sure there are no bits of glue visible in your design by carefully removing all traces of spills.

25 September 2019

Spin a tiny glue bead around a thin stem to secure it at an angle in a design

This is a trick for attaching fine details at exactly the right angle.

27 September 2017

Tendril vine Wreath Pumpkin

Reshape a vine wreath into smaller wreaths to combine as a pumpkin

11 February 2015

Stripping foliage from weaving stems

Remove foliage from stems to weave with

24 May 2017

Chain link wreath weaving

Weave a few small wreaths to connect

24 May 2017

Designing an odd one out wreath

Adding floral material to a wreath design

23 July 2014

Twig Chain Garlands

Knot stems into decorative swinging chains

18 April 2018

Clematis Vine Swing

Weave a delicate nest for a small spring design.

8 July 2015

Overgrown Willow web inspired by a traditional Dream-catcher

I wanted my willow armature to hint of a web-like dreamcatcher that grows in the wild rather than being a precise replica of the traditional craft technique. But I did weave it in a similar way.