My Creative Workbook

Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman

Bark and Cotton Candy Cane

Tape a few cardboard rolls to create a basic candy cane shape

Tape a few cardboard rolls together to create a basic candy cane shape

Draw out the lines on the candy cane

Draw out the lines on the candy cane

Tape a guide line with painters tape

Tape a guide line with painters tape

I wanted my line to be slightly thicker so I taped a strip on both sides of the guide line

Cardboard candy cane ready to cover

Cardboard candy cane ready to cover

Chip away some bark with a sharp knife from a piece of wood

Chip away some bark with a sharp knife from a piece of wood

Start to glue the wood chips to the candy cane

Start to glue the wood chips to the candy cane

Move around the following the cane shape

Move around the following the cane shape

Following the growth direction of the cane

Following the growth direction of the cane

Around and up the top curve

Around and up the top curve

Remove the painters tape

Remove the painters tape

Pull out the fluffy cotton from the pod

Pull out the fluffy cotton from the pod

See the Tutorial below for more information how to mat cotton and wool into felt

Mat the fluff to create long strands of cotton

Mat (or tangle) the fluff to create long strands of cotton by placing it on a flat surface and rubbing the fibres to tangle

I loved the look of the seeds in the cotton but you can remove it for a smoother fluffy part

Glue the cotton fluff to cover the open candy cane strip

Glue the cotton fluff to cover the open candy cane strip

Place a cotton pod in the top cavity

Place a cotton pod in the top cavity

Place a pod in the bottom cavity to close that as well

Place a pod in the bottom cavity to close that as well

Softly smooth the cotton down again so that it follows the shape closely.

Softly smooth the cotton down again so that it follows the shape closely.

Cotton and bark candy cane

Cotton and bark candy cane

Glue in a few air plants

Glue in a few air-plants

See the Tutorial below for detailed instructions on how I cover the ends of the air-plants with cotton

Add in baubles and wire spirals

Add in baubles and wire spirals. And add a few drinking straw test tubes to keep the roses hydrated (see the Tutorial below)

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

Tutorials

1 February 2011 Felt

How to tangle wool into felt and make pebbles, felt strips and test tube covers

4 January 2011 Drinking straw "test tubes"

When you need to keep a tiny stem hydrated this is just what you need.

14 December 2016 Cover the ends of the individual air plant leaves with cotton before adding it to the design

Pull leaves the Tillandsia plant to add into a design

14 January 2013 Bark and paper covered Styrofoam stand for ice cream cones

Press a wooden skewer into the Styrofoam to help the cones stand upright when displayed

17 September 2014 Bark Bowl

Glue bark onto a bowl to create a dome shape

10 July 2012 Bark covered heart

Cover cardboard with bark to create a heart shaped log

22 January 2013 Bark Veneer Cardboard Cake stands

A quick and easy way to make a cardboard cake stand

22 January 2013 Bark Veneer Cardboard Floral Cake

Glue a stack of cardboard circles to create a log-like floral cake

19 August 2015 Bark pod for growing a Pearl Oyster mushroom mini farm

Glue bark to a Papier Maché and wire frame to create a pod shaped armature

2 June 2011 Papier Mache

I save all the thin tissue paper or un-printed newsprint papers that are wrapped around the flowers that are delivered to me to make batches of Papier Mache with. These sheets...

9 July 2014 Taking care of Tillandsia

Conditioning and growing air plants

Related Designs

14 December 2016 A Candy(cane) Cotton Christmas

A floral cotton candy cane

21 December 2016 A Gleaming Cotton Christmas

Glue bark to a wire frame to create a Christmas stocking armature

6 December 2017 While I sing of beauty's treasure

Glue the most delicate twig table top Christmas tree

13 December 2017 Just hear those sleigh bells jingling

Craft a bark sleigh that will last for weeks.

19 December 2018 Oh Florist-tree

Craft an Eucalyptus Christmas tree

13 November 2019 It’s unreal!

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

18 November 2020 Have yourself a Merry Cellulose Fibre Christmas: Yule log

...ok not really that fancy- it’s made from paper pulp. A cardboard box Yule log… really. In the spirit of 2020- I am inspired by the endless stream of cardboard boxes being...

30 December 2020 All is Calm, All is Bright

An easy to do ahead of time winter wonderland themed design for the calm days just after Christmas but before New Years Eve.

30 November 2022 Take a bough… it’s Christmas time!

A wool and twig snowflake design (made from candy canes!) that will last the entire Festive Season.

21 December 2022 Let it

A happy December Solstice or the Winter Solstice lantern.

6 December 2023 A Very Merry Dark and Moody and bring it in from the Woods Trendy Christmas Cheer

From now to a bit after New Year's Eve I will show you my take on the trends for Christmas 2023. This week I start with natural styling with a handcrafted twig candy cane.

20 December 2023 A Very Merry Dark chocolate Velvet Texture of Yore, Tall and Trendy Christmas Cheer

Tall and velvety Christmas tree... with a starlight garland

10 July 2024 Still wrapping my head around this one

Craft a haze of green around a log for a sweet pea swirl effect.

20 November 2024 A Very Merry… all elf pass into Santa’s workshop!

A light... and slight start to designing for Christmas... an oversized Finial

4 December 2024 A Very Merry… all elf pass into Santa’s workshop, department for checking it twice

A frozen in a moment bark scroll with silver leaf letters that was about to reveal Santa's Nice list!

22 January 2013 It's High Time for Tea: from craft to art, taking a delicious floral journey with veneer techniques

This was my second two designs for my It's High Time for Tea Floral Craft and Art Demonstration at The Capilano Flower Arranging Club meeting.

24 July 2013 Getting into the competitive spirit of things

Retail florists and wholesalers are already designing, ordering and preparing their product range for Christmas. This is my article that I wrote for the Christmas Design Issue of...

19 August 2015 Growth Medium

Design a bark and moss pod for a mushroom mini farm