Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman
A berry and kalanchoe sleigh… to carry your twig tree home, of course
- 7 December 2022
- click to send Christine a smile
Cut two sturdy curved twigs to be the runners at the bottom of the sleigh.
Before you start cutting the twigs have a look at this week's email. I have a tip for you to make sure you cut all the twigs at the correct place so that you do not run out of twigs or get frustrated half way through. If you are not yet receiving my Wednesday morning tip email you can sign up below this post.
Cut four more twigs to be the stanchions that connects the bottom to the seat part.
... and cut a handful of twigs for the cargo bed.
Fold three wires in half.
Catch the wire around the cargo bed twig and twist to secure.
Catch the second wire around the middle of the cargo bed twig and twist it to secure.
Catch the third wire around the twig and twist it to secure.
Give each wire a generous twist. The twist in the wire also serves as spacers between the twigs to create a bed.
Split the wires and insert the next twig.
Twist the wires to secure the twig...
... to craft the perfect size cargo bed for your sleigh.
Bend the wires in so that they are out of the way and cut them short.
Use hot glue to glue the stanchions into position.
When I design with the sleigh I further support it by adding artificial snow and wood glue to create a sturdy support, but for now the hot glue is enough to keep it in place.
Glue the runners to balance on the stanchions...
So that the sleigh can stand upright above the snow.
Glue a brush bow to the front... so that you can later add a ribbon and the bell to finish the sleigh off.
Paint all the connections with wood glue...
And sprinkle artificial snow on to the glue.
... set the sleigh aside to dry.
while you wait you can get started on the twig tree. This year I made a Fork In the Twig Tree. The Tutorial is below the post but you will also find a few more Tutorials so that you can customize your tree to suit your design. You can also find Tutorials for some foliage and twig gift boxes if you want to make that instead of a tree.
Prepare a flat display container...
Add some fairy lights into the display container...
And tape a grid over the container with the battery on the outside so that it is easy to operate.
... the reason why I did not just simply turn the container over to design on the bottom is... well... the ridge on the bottom of my container made the design details stand up and I wanted my design details to slightly settle into the vase and not just be on top of it. Tiny detail, but it makes a huge difference.
Make sure the lights are where you want them and adjust if needed
Place a thin layer of foam over the oping to rest on the grid.
Let the foam hang over the edge at the back so that it covers the battery.
Book readers... and what about if you want to collect the tree in summer? Turn to page 182 for wagon wheel inspiration instead of a sleigh. And page 238 for the swaying grass grid.
For more information about my book:
The Effortless Floral Craftsman
Glue in berries and kalanchoe flowers on to the sleigh. Kalanchoe flowers last a remarkably long time without a water source and is ideal for dainty designs like this.
Add a pretty ribbon to the sleigh...
Don't forget the silver bell!
And arrange all the design details on the display container.
And finish the design with arranging the ribbon. I am not much of a bow person but I love a windblown look for my ribbon. The ribbon can add so much personality to the design.... again I explain in this week's email.
Finish the design with a few twigs placed every here and there.
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Tutorials
Add warmth to a space with a softly glowing winter white arrangement
Cotton balls can be unrolled and fluffed to create long garlands of "snow"
Kalanchoe flowers last weeks without a water source and is the perfect way to dress up a bark and silver bell sleigh
It's sometimes difficult to place a tiny crystal or bead exactly where you want it.
Skeleton leaves create a light and ethereal gift box
Wire a small twig gift-box for Christmas presents
A great all natural gift decorating alternative
Cover Styrofoam with leaf snippets to create a gift box design
Talk about quick and easy! This takes almost no time... the hard part is to find something small enough to put inside... Chocolates... perhaps?
Not only will your home smell wonderful while crafting this design you will also have a ethereal and long lasting design to enjoy.
A fuzzy wool and twig snowflake that starts out as a handful of candy canes.
Glue curved twig snippets to craft a delicate winter white Christmas tree
Favourite Flowers
Christmas Kalanchoe, Kalanchöe or Kalanchoë
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