Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman
A summer treat inspired tweak to a leaf-roll technique to display the last cut flowers (or left-overs) picked from your warm weather garden
- 28 August 2024
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Roll a large leaf over a thin stick like a dowel...
This week our flower lesson email is about rolling the leaf neatly. Beginning it over a guide stick is absolutely vital and so is getting to know your leaf... it makes all the difference! I send out an email every Wednesday morning (Vancouver time) to let everyone know when the new design is ready to view and I add an insider tip for you to read about so that you can make the most of this weeks lesson... even before looking at the design. You can sign up below this post.
Carefully roll the leaf around and around...
Add in more leaves if you need to create a big roll to fit snugly into the vase.
I use amaryllis leaves. But New Zealand flax, Dracaena even banana leaves work well.
Book readers turn to page 22 for instructions on how to craft a much larger version of this armature. And turn to page 210 for a leaf garland tutorial to make a leaf roll. It is such a great alternative to this technique! For more information about my book: The Effortless Floral Craftsman
But to get you started, I will also add a few more leaf-roll techniques below for inspiration.
Continue to add leaves until it fits into your container...
Drop the leaf roll into the vase..
And lift the stick out so that the leaf can settle snugly in the vase.
Lift out the innermost part of the leaf. Roll it slightly tighter and allow it to fall back crating a slight peak. You can of course adjust this to have more of a peak (or no peak) of flop over like a melted ice cream... if you want... but I wanted mine to stand slightly proud.
Pour water around the leaf swirl to fill the vase.
Add in a few vines...
I used clematis.
And slip the fuchsia flowers between the leaf swirl so that it stands perfectly upright.
And I finish my design with a few sparkling dew drop crystals.
See the tutorial below for more detailed instructions.
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Tutorials
It's sometimes difficult to place a tiny crystal or bead exactly where you want it.
Curl and pin a few leaves into a tube to create an armature for those "left over" freesiabuds.
Great way to use all the autumn leaves you collect on walks during the season. Slowly build up the leaf rosette and let the leaves dry before adding a few more.
Hide the water source in a rolled leaf
Rolled leaves offer support for floral stems
Spiral birch bark strips into two mirror images to create a wintery wrap for a bud vase.
Fold and glue a Monstera deliciosa (delicious monster) leaf
Long stemmed autumn leave tubes as a floral armature
Split (but don't cut) a few gladiolus flowers to spiral in a vase
Stack foliage to create a rose spiral in a container.
Fold and then stitch a long fall leaf garland to roll into a coil
Long lasting berries, magnolia leaves and succulent (kalanchoe) flowers that can remain without any water or maintenance for... well... all the way to Christmas!
Related Designs
A nod to a summer filled with flowers... and the quite possibly the last of the season flowers still there to be picked.
My article and Japanese paper flower armature design featured in the March issue of The Academy Leader- Academy of Floral Design, published by the The Floral Art Society of New...
Skewer Dracaena leaves into a roll that supports a tiny water source for the Oncidium orchids
I would definitely describe my own personal style as minimalist classic... but with an edgy twist.
Roll birch bark into a double spiral to cradle some perfect flowers to admire all winter.
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
A little bit of effort... that will last for weeks design to roll us in to the Festive Season.