Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman
Booo-tunias
- 30 October 2024
- click to send Christine a smile
Remove most of the foliage from the petunia stems...
... so that the design details that you do add really stand out.
Choose twisted and gnarled stems to add to the Halloween theme of the design.
Insert the stems into the design to drape elegantly over the armature
You can find detailed instructions on how to craft the twig armature in the Tutorials below.
This week in our email I talk to you about drying plant material to add personality and character to it. I send out an email every Wednesday morning (Vancouver time) with a design detail that I want to highlight even before you view the design so that you can notice how I use the technique and get even more out the weekly inspiration. You can sign up for the email below this post.
I am using salvia flower buds for the red eyeballs of my boootunias...
Groom the flower buds so that you only have the two closed buds on a long stem...
Book readers: If you are using flower buds that need a secret water source turn to page 303. It works so well! You can even try this technique when creating body flowers if you want to make sure they do not wilt even on a hot day.
For more information about my book: The Effortless Floral Craftsman
Slip the buds into the petunia.
I roll black Mondo grass twice to craft the tongue. First from the cut end... roll the grass loosely between your fingers.
Release the curled grass to create more of an arch than a curl at the cut end so that when placed in the flower it will arch out instead of just being flat...
Then roll the tip of the grass tightly... and roll it back and forth between your fingers to set the curl...
So that the tongue has a scroll like curl in it.
Add a small amount of floral glue to the cut end...
And glue the tongue into the petunia flower.
And position the flowers so that they each have a personality and something to say about the whole Halloween situation. You will notice that even the slightest tilt in the flower head can give so much character to each flower! This one looks rather exasperated to say the least.
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Tutorials
Craft a stable dried autumn armature to keep petunia stems suspended in water at the top of a container.
It's sometimes difficult to place a tiny crystal or bead exactly where you want it.
Craft a wire tripod to fit into the bristles of a handcrafted broom so that it can stand freely in your display.
Eerie! Because you use what is there already in the twigs this skeleton looks rather... realistic!
Snip open a Physalis pod to create a cavity for delicate floral details.
Glue a few twigs to display Autumn flowers and foliage on
Glued Baby's Breath Wreath, folded in half to create a moon shaped armature
The word ‘Besom’ derives from the old English ‘besma’ meaning ‘bundle of twigs’.
Reshape a vine wreath into smaller wreaths to combine as a pumpkin
Made from dried cherry twigs and a skeleton leaf.
Weave a spider from lily grass... and reposition it every so often for a creative Halloween twist.
Wrap and tie a fishbowl vase with corn foliage to craft a lantern for autumn... almost... Halloween.
My Chameleon is mono-botanical. Made from coiled grass
Craft a wire tripod to fit into the bristles of a handcrafted broom so that it can stand freely in your display.
Quick and so easy... I added the bells so that the ghost looks kinda bored now that Halloween is all over.
Related Designs
Add something dark and suspicious to your petunias for a fun Halloween display
Time to cut down vines... and enjoy them a bit longer in a Halloween display.
An all plant zero waste, levitating, twig (with just a splatter of autumn leaves, a breath of spiderweb and float of roots) Halloween decoration with an eerie bat skeleton made...
This week we are looking at the contents pages of my book... but more specifically at the sweet little pod design on the content page of my book.
A twig and stick design with sweet dumpling pumpkins and rosary vine (Ceropegia woodii). I also made a cherry twig and skeleton leaf Stick Insect
It deserves a bowl all of it's own... right? I am (of course!) talking about these spectacular little sweet peas called King Tut. Not much else is needed. But add a cute little...
Oh my... a corn leaf mummy head for autumn... looking ahead to Halloween styling.
An easy going design of ripped grass and calla lilies. But look a bit closer. See if you can find Mr. Stalk relaxing somewhere between the blades of grass.
Give a loosely woven wreath legs to stand on to hover lightly around a pumpkin