Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman
A tangle of ribbon instead of a bow for an unusual winter design
- 13 November 2019
- click to send Christine a smile
I added two sections of ribbon to the design. The first dangles down from the branch to look like it was tangled up by the winter breeze...
The longest tail of the ribbon is tucked behind a branch to keep it neatly in place. This also gives your eye a visual pathway so that you notice the hand frosted golden bauble to the side.
The Tutorial for how to paint the bauble is in the Tutorial section below.
The other ribbon tail trails to the front where it loops around the branch. Once you are happy with the way it falls secure it in place with tiny drops of hot glue.
Knot the second section in the middle. This gives you a stable place to glue the ribbon into the design.
Glue the ribbon into the design and weave the one ribbon tail through the branches to curve first around a hand painted bauble and then point up.
And weave the other ribbon tail to point down to more of the hand painted baubles.
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Tutorials
Just a few adjustments can transform a boring artificial wreath into a high end looking designer decoration.
Part of the charm of contemporary designing is adding elements to your work that create a story.
You can use any type of paper to make flowers. I use tissue paper, Crêpe paper, cardboard, newsprint and coffee filters (new and used) to make sweet peas, carnations, paper...
Brushing a shiny bauble with an almost dry brush with just a bit of paint on turns it into a beautiful almost antique snowball.
What if you absolutely HAVE to decorate with faux plants? Here are my guiding rules when it comes to styling with permanent botanicals
Use delicate sprigs of cypress or juniper, fir, pine, eucalyptus, ivy or a combination of them all to create a winter themed kissing bough
Cover a cardboard shape in cotton and bark to create a floral armature
When you glue a structure with hot glue there are always a few stray strands of glue stuck all over the design. Blow it away with a hairdryer.
Artificial snow can be very "chemical" and flowers deteriorate quickly when exposed to it. It also dissolves in water. I use candle wax as "snow"
Related Designs
Design 1 of my three week pre-Christmas designing series looking at How to style with artificial plants and branches using quality faux plants and stems. This week: a wreath
Design 3 looking at How to style with artificial plants and branches using quality faux plants and stems. This week: mistletoe! And also .. give your faux a reason for being...
Balancing dried ribbons of foliage to craft a wind twisted floral display.
