On my online workbook this week: The struggle is real!

Dear

This week's inspiration is the need to know how. Yes, I know. The last 3 weeks were a real break in what I normally show you here on My Creative Workbook. I am not a huge fan of plastic plant material either. But I wanted to share how I design with it when I have to. And I say have to because I am a firm believer in learning the how-to's on my journey to master my craft. And yes, you really do need to learn how, it gives you options and your work credibility. In my book I spoke about building your skill set to include those tried and tested traditional techniques and the example I used was practicing how to wire and tape flowers, even though you mostly use glue in your designs... and this week's design is a great example of this. I needed to tape my branches!

So my tip for you this week is exactly how to use this "old fashioned" technique to make your contemporary design easier. Wrapping the wired stems with twigs is delicate work. Especially the last layer where the side stems are left to extend beyond the wired stem. Take care not to snap these… or to get them caught up in the main wrapping stem. My tip for you this week: concentrate while wrapping the wire with florist tape right in the beginning. This is your practice run for how to wrap the delicate twigs (with side branches) that finish off the icicle branches in the end. Notice how you turn the wire to spin the tape… do exactly the same with the branches to make it less likely that it snaps. I found it easier to spin the wire upside down so that the icicles dangle down, and let the tape/stem then move along rather than wrapping the tape while the wire is still.

Enjoy!

Every good wish,

Christine