My Creative Workbook

Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman

A round, around a round foliage… spiral in a vase

Place the container on its side to make it easier to stack the foliage in the container

Place the container on its side to make it easier to stack the foliage in the container.

Place the lily foliage in the container

Place the lily foliage length wise in the container

Stack the leaves to slightly overlap

Stack the leaves to slightly overlap while gently rolling the container.

Roll the container while stacking the leaves to cover the surface

Roll the container while stacking the leaves to cover the surface.

Keep rolling the container while stacking leaves in the inside

Keep rolling the container while stacking leaves in the inside

When the container is filled gently tilt the container upright

When the container is filled gently tilt the container upright

Roll a leaf around a skewer

Roll a leaf around a skewer to create the tight roll in the mid point.

Remove the skewer

Remove the skewer.

And slip the roll into the middle of the spiral

And slip the roll into the middle of the spiral.

Fill any gaps by slipping in additional leaves

Fill any gaps by slipping in additional leaves.

Lift some of the stems out with a bamboo skewer

Adjust the position of the foliage and lift some of the stems out with a bamboo skewer

Fill the container with water

Fill the container with water.

Slip in a few lily pistils to follow the spiral

Slip in a few lily pistils (or flowers) to follow the spiral and add a few crystals.

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

Tutorials

2 August 2017 Two vase, two level Phormium snippets

Design in two levels by using two vases, the smaller slipped into a bigger one.

22 May 2012 Filling a vase with water without disturbing the design details

Break the water flow when you fill a vase with details in that can move with the stream of water

22 June 2016 Lily grass spiral in a vase

Twist lily grass slightly to create a spiral for the orchids to nestle in

27 April 2016 Hiding a secret water source in a twig frog

New growth is really difficult to design with and definitely needs to be conditioned and placed in a water source

18 March 2015 Meadow in a bowl

Inspired by a classic and traditional Ikebana technique used in a Rikka design called Komiwara. Designers would usually bundle straw to keep the flowers in place.

22 October 2014 Roll a folded leaf coil

Fold and then stitch a long fall leaf garland to roll into a coil

7 May 2014 Rethinking the traditional Komiwara technique

Komiwara is a classic and traditional Ikebana technique used in a Rikka design. Designers would usually bundle straw to keep the flowers in place.

22 May 2012 Spiral twig frog

Multiple tiny twigs create a flower frog to keep the delicate buds and leaves in the exact spot you want.

11 September 2013 Longer lasting Gladiolus Composite Flower

Split (but don't cut) a few gladiolus flowers to spiral in a vase

Favourite Flowers

Lilium

Lily

Related Designs

30 January 2019 Around Here

Wind lily leaves to spiral around in a water filled container.

19 May 2021 In the little gap

Use the petals of your flower to cleverly keep all the other floral details of your design firmly in place.

2 June 2021 Like an open book

Position foliage to create a smaller, shallow pond for your floral details to shelter in.

16 November 2022 All your Christmases…

A little bit of effort... that will last for weeks design to roll us in to the Festive Season.

8 May 2024 I mean… did you!?!

Playing with shapes to frame the light in a dramatic floral design.

3 July 2024 Oh! my word

A perfectly flat leaf to support tiny floral details in the summer heat.

28 August 2024 Soft Serve Swirl

A nod to a summer filled with flowers... and the quite possibly the last of the season flowers still there to be picked.

2 August 2017 Grace

Use snips and snippets and leftovers to create a design of it's own

22 June 2016 Perfection

Spiral grass to create a nest for the lady slipper orchids

27 April 2016 Sprout

A sneaky way to condition new growth to add into your Spring design

18 March 2015 Spring Dreaming

A bowl full of miniature Chrysanthemums

21 February 2018 Impossible things

A cut stem flower frog for the heavy Hanging Heliconia flowers

22 October 2014 Stand Around

Fold and roll leaves to create an Autumn swirl

7 May 2014 Serendipity

Be inspired by traditional Ikebana techniques

22 May 2012 Lean

Place short twigs, leaning to one side to create a flower frog

11 September 2013 Making it last

Split and spiral a few gladiolus flowers in a way that the stems remain intact, to spiral in a water filled filled vase for a long lasting composite flower