Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman
Balancing a Twirled Willow Armature
- 25 February 2015
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Balancing the design to be secure without looking solid can be tricky. That is why I always balance these designs on three legs. It just balance easier. See the Tutorial below for a more detailed look at designing on three legs
Twirl a long, fresh willow twig. Hook the twig through itself to create a wreath
Keep twirling the stem roughly and adding a few more stems to create a willow tube
Just hook the next stem into the armature and wrap
Keep the shape natural by overlapping the twigs and threading it through
Start another tube in the same way as the first
I made two tubes to make it easier to fit the water source for the orchids in the middle before connecting the tubes to create an elongated tubular armature.
See the Tutorial below for more details on how I use drinking straws as tiny water sources
Cut a few twigs with natural forks
See the Tutorial below on how I use these twigs as hooks
Hook the twilrled willow tube through the twig so that it rests in the natural fork
Hook the other twirled willow tube through the twig to rest in the fork
Measure the two stems to fit in a foundation. It is important that these twigs are balanced
Push a third forked twig through the willow tubes to perfectly balande the armature in an upright position
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Tutorials
When in doubt, always give your armature three legs. Two legs are simply not enough and four legs will wobble if it is even slightly off balance.
Side stems of branches can be used as hooks to hang floral material in a design.
When you need to keep a tiny stem hydrated this is just what you need.
Related Designs
Hoard a few acorns in the fork of a twig to show off a single oncidium orchid.
Frame a passion flower in a vine wreath for a short lived but so pretty arrangement.
An "it's only 10 days to Spring" design to display some blossom buds.