Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman
A wand-erful Amaranthus stem drape swizzle-stick
- 22 July 2026
- and more
Is there anything more filled with creative potential than a tall water filled vase? You can do anything!
Cut and groom a tall Amaranthus stem.
Snip away all the foliage to leave you with a clean floral stem.
Balance the stem to lean securely in the container.
Lift the stem slightly and keep it in place by adjusting the diagonal cut in the stem to fit perfectly against the side of the container.
But this stem is going to carry a lot of weight. Make sure the stem will not slip back into the water by cutting a notch into the stem with a sharp knife.
Open the notch slightly wider (but take care not to split the stem!) and slip it over the edge of the vase.
Just this tiny hook is enough to secure the stem in place.
I am focusing on clean vertical lines draping down in my design. Follow the lines and snip away any stems that breaks the lines.
Loop a long ribbon through the Amaranthus stem.
Adjust the ribbon... and add your style to the design. Would you like a bow? A knot? A double bow for drama? Cut the ribbon ends. For my design I wanted the design to create minimal vertical lines so I am cutting the ribbon ends straight. No visual distractions only clean lines allowed.
Next we add a few sedum tips into the amarathus swizzle stick.
Glue the sedum tips into the Amaranthus drapes... to dangle down.
Build up tiny clusters of the rosettes.
Every Wednesday morning (Vancouver time), I send out a design note as an early glimpse at the newest Design and a few notes that I picked up creating the Tutorial that might be useful to you.
This week I show you how to cut the sedum to give you a tiny stem to cover in glue... and then how to insert that tiny stem (without the glue smudging all over the Amaranthus) to completely conceal the stem.
If you’re new here, you can sign up below this post. And if you’ve been receiving these notes for some time, I hope they feel like a welcome break in your busy week.
Add sedum all around the Amarathus.
Slowly turn the container and fill in the design with small sedum rosettes.
But make sure the Amaranthus dangles straight down. The sedum snippets should not change the direction of the drape.
Book readers turn to page 104 to learn more about designing with succulents. For more information about my book: The Effortless Floral Craftsman
... but to get you started have a look at the Tutorials below.
Tip: the easiest way to turn the design is to put it on a small turntable.
Cut dried passiflora tendrils from stems.
Glue the tendrils into the sedum clusters.
To create tiny little designs that hangs from the amarathus.
Follow the longest ribbon line and extend it up with a long tendril to add height.
And I finish my design with dew drop crystal sparkles down the Amaranthus.
For more detailed instructions see the Tutorials below.
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