My Creative Workbook

Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman

Construction Lumber and Dowel Spike Armature

Drill holes in a piece of lumber

Clear out the hole before fitting the dowels

The dowel stick should fit snugly in the hole

Wash the wood with a wet brush dipped in a weak mixture of paint or vegetable stain to match the twigs

See the Tutorial below for more detailed instructions on how to stain with natural dye

Continue to build up the colour of both the dowel sticks and the lumber layer by layer so that you can still see the grain of the wood

Fit the dowel sticks into the hole when the stain is dry

The armature is now ready to design with.

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Tutorials
Stain wooden skewers with natural dye
24 August 2011
Stain wooden skewers with natural dye

Using fruit, berries, flowers, leaves and grasses to naturally stain design details for floral art relies on the same techniques as using paint or any other dye.
Weave a willow twig blind
26 April 2011
Weave a willow twig blind

Weave twigs in parallel to create a twig blind with strong but natural horizontal lines.
Catch Blossom Petals in a Pussy Willow tray basket
2 March 2021
Catch Blossom Petals in a Pussy Willow tray basket

An easy to assemble yourself harvest basket to carry home and display Spring blossoms.
Rock Rest for a heavy Protea Flower Head
31 January 2018
Rock Rest for a heavy Protea Flower Head

Create a contrasting base to lift the heavy flower-head to design in
Using a fork in a twig to “peg” a stem in place
3 January 2018
Using a fork in a twig to “peg” a stem in place

A easy to use Hana Kubari technique
Skewered Eucalyptus leaf line-up armature
10 May 2017
Skewered Eucalyptus leaf line-up armature

Thread leaves through wire
Related Designs
Spring Tray-ning
3 March 2021
Spring Tray-ning

A Spring basket design for catching falling blossom petals.
Rock, don't Roll
31 January 2018
Rock, don't Roll

Balance the heavy Protea flower head to lean against a rock.
Happy Coincidence!
3 January 2018
Happy Coincidence!

Some designs really do just make themselves. I received this tiny vase for Christmas from Marius (thank you, Marius!) and while cleaning out my design room I found this little twig with a fork in it. Add a ranunculus with a ridiculously gorgeous curve in it's stem... done.
If
30 August 2017
If

Place a water tube at an angle in lumber so that the Zantedeschia float just above the base to show off the delicate grass snippets scattered up the stem
About a line
10 May 2017
About a line

Skewer and line up leaves to create an armature
Step Along
15 February 2017
Step Along

Create twig steps to display the orchids
A Point of Support
30 March 2016
A Point of Support

My contemporary floral art design demonstrated at the Canada Blooms flower show in Toronto.