My Creative Workbook

Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman

Above and below water jasmine in a grass square

oh yes, it is the time of year when I crave water for my design work. Over the years I have shown you many other options for keeping flowers in water, on water and even slightly above water. In this design I show you something in between. The grass sinks slightly in the water and the flowers are kept in position slightly above.

Fold a blade of grass at a sharp angle

Fold a blade of grass at a sharp angle...

So that the end piece of the grass fold into the grass shape

So that the end piece of the grass fold into the grass square.

Knot the shape with a piece of ripped grass

Knot the square with a piece of ripped grass.

You can absolutely use a granny knot to tie the grass. But Book Readers if you learn only one fancy knot turn to page 59. It looks so professional and rather impressive to do. you can tie bouquet stems with this knot, you can tie bunches with this knot... and yes, floating grass squares. And bonus! It looks harder to do than what it is. Try it and let me know what you think.

But to get you started I have included a Tutorial below on how to rip grass.

Slip a new blade of grass through the knot

Slip a new blade of grass through the knot and thread it almost all the way through...

(see our email for an explanation)

And follow the square shape all the way around

And follow the square shape all the way around.

Thread the grass end through the knot to secure

Thread the grass end through the knot to secure.

I have a grass weaving and threading tip for you this week in our notification email. Make sure you are signed up to receive your weekly bonus tip. The sign-up is below this post.

Snip away the dangling grass ends

Snip away the too long and dangling grass end.

Pour water into a shallow container to fill

Pour water into a shallow container to fill.

Place the square on the water

Place the square on the water.

Make sure the square is flat on the water

Make sure the square is flat on the water. Adjust the shape if need be so that it does not dip into the water on one side or lift out on the other.

Slip a jasmine flower between the grass

Slip a jasmine flower between the grass...

So that the stem end is below the water and the flower above

So that the stem end is below the water and the flower above.

All the way around the square

All the way around the square... spacing them out as you slip them in...

To create your floral design

... to create your floral design.

Slip in a few curled blades of grass

Slip in a few curled blades of grass.

I find using a tweezer worked best. As for curling the grass you can find a Tutorial below where I show you how to rip foliage. But for even more delicate curls try the How-To in my book on page 55.

Add in curls all the way around the square

Add in curls all the way around the square.

And finish the design by placing a few dew drop crystals on the grass with a pin

And finish the design by placing a few dew drop crystals on the grass with a pin

See the Tutorial below for detailed instructions on how I use a pin to place these delicate crystals.

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

Tutorials

14 January 2011 Ripping Flax

Flax can be ripped into fibres creating long and versatile strips

8 July 2015 Using a pin to place tiny dew drop crystals

It's sometimes difficult to place a tiny crystal or bead exactly where you want it.

3 January 2012 Bubble raft to float flowers

Flowers naturally float in water. They just don’t always naturally float on water. For that they sometimes need a bit of help.

11 July 2018 Glued Hydrangea Float

Glue a delicate hydrangea wreath to float on water

22 September 2012 Stir-stick Sunburst

Glue a radiating armature from stir-sticks.

20 May 2020 A floral float… that floats

If you know my work you have probably seen me do this: I float flowers using a tiny bubble wrap skirt... this time I am floating an entire design on it's own bubble wrap raft.

4 September 2019 Stack banana leaf rice pockets to float as rosettes

Fold and peg banana leaves into pockets so that they float freely on water. This is inspired by a traditional banana leaf craft used to cook rice in.

10 July 2019 Letting grass kick against the side of the vase to create a neat and minimal line

Plant material float about in water. To keep it in place it is best to wedge it slightly to touch the sides of the container.

7 October 2015 Keeping design details submerged in water

Flowers tend to float in water. To keep them submerged you need to add a bit of weight

7 July 2021 Floral Raft in a Bottle

Float flowers in a bottle by giving each flower their own little bubble wrap raft-skirt.

30 June 2021 Sparkling dew drop puddle to keep flowers hydrated even during a heatwave

Done in no time design... and it is rather refreshing to make.

15 July 2015 Floating transparent ripples to support delicate floral material

Cut circles out of transparencies to make ripples in the water

Related Designs

3 August 2022 It's a Heatwave!

Deep water design for extremely warm weather.

17 May 2023 Purple haze… float

Softest Wisteria colour to cool things down on an unexpectedly warm day.

2 August 2023 here… from … my little corner… of the world wide web

Weave a web of jasmine vine to support orchid stems

3 January 2012 Going Cold Twinkle Turkey

Is it better to go Cold Twinkle Turkey and embrace the minimalist living room or rather ease into it?

11 July 2018 Stay-a-Float

Snip florets from a hydrangea mop head to float on water

22 September 2012 Turning of the leaves

An Autumn Equinox design that captures the moment before the spectacular colour burst of autumn floats around again

20 May 2020 Whatever floats your boat

This is one of my best known and still my go-to core techniques for floating flowers.

4 September 2019 Gently down the stream

A mindful summer craft using banana leaves to create a floating arrangement.

10 July 2019 These are my favourite summer things:

A submerged design... perfect for summertime designing... and enjoying!

30 August 2011 Ichi-go, ichi-e

Freely translated it means Each Moment, Only Once. It is a saying associated with Japanese tea ceremonies.

7 October 2015 Down-bubble

Add grass "bubbles" that can be repositioned to your design

11 May 2022 Is this new…?

Giving old ideas a new twist to refresh it for Spring

24 September 2014 Leapfrog

Fold and weave a frog from grass

20 August 2014 Summer

A quick and easy design for summer

7 July 2021 Do and Don'ts

One of my trusty tried and tested techniques. When the going gets hot... float your flowers!

30 June 2021 Into a Puddle!

Heat proof floral design for summer.

15 July 2015 So Fine

Use transparencies to create floating devices for the flower material