My Creative Workbook

Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman

Contained rose twig stack

Line a shallow container with plastic wrap

Place a dried rose twig in the bottom of the container

Glue another twig to this twig

As a rule of thumb: each twig should be glued at three places to another twig to make sure the armature is strong.

Start to build up the stack

The twigs should extend to touch the sides of the container to follow the shape

Set the stack aside to dry completely

Place the stack in a display container

Fill the base with water. Make sure the stack is not resting in the water because this will weaken the glue

Add your fresh floral details

Glue in a few more twigs to finish off the design

Sign up for my weekly newsletter

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

Sign Up Now
Tutorials
Bite and snap a sturdy twig
22 May 2012
Bite and snap a sturdy twig

Break the sturdy twig on the scribe line.
Syringe with tube
3 January 2011
Syringe with tube

Easy way to fill test tubes and easiest way to remove water from a vase
Twig collar
6 September 2011
Twig collar

Create a light and transparent collar-base for the large composite flower to nestle into.
Scalable twig and Phalaenopsis orchid winterscape panel
9 December 2015
Scalable twig and Phalaenopsis orchid winterscape panel

This design can easily scale up or down by using larger or smaller pieces of wood to create a larger wall panel or make a few of these panels to stack as tiles to create a more easily manageable composite
Popsicle Stick Square Armature
8 June 2016
Popsicle Stick Square Armature

Glue Popsicle sticks to create a double layered, upright armature
Twig snippet vase armature
11 May 2016
Twig snippet vase armature

Glue twig snippets to closely follow the shape of a glass vase
Stacked Twig Roundabout
24 July 2012
Stacked Twig Roundabout

This is a great way to use all those bits of twigs and sticks in your design room to make a floral armature
Square Twig Cube
21 May 2014
Square Twig Cube

Glue twigs together to create a cube armature
Loop and Twist a Wire and Twig Tangle Grid
25 August 2021
Loop and Twist a Wire and Twig Tangle Grid

Wire twigs and wire around a shallow container to keep your floral details suspended in water in a shallow container.
Twig snippet pillar armature
19 February 2020
Twig snippet pillar armature

A great do-in-advance and reusable design solution for a winter, early spring floral display.
Over and under weave floral panel armature for inside a vase
15 January 2020
Over and under weave floral panel armature for inside a vase

Weave a small panel that fits snugly in a container for a minimal, foam free design that is quick to make but looks spectacular.
Stack a Stack of Stems to create a sturdy grid Armature... with some height
5 June 2019
Stack a Stack of Stems to create a sturdy grid Armature... with some height

Stack green lily stems to create an upright mechanic to keep shorter stems in place.
Snippet grid
30 May 2018
Snippet grid

Glue grass stem snippets to create a natural grid over a shallow container
Radiating rainbow vine armature
2 May 2018
Radiating rainbow vine armature

Design an armature that is light enough to be carried by two flower stems to create a radiating frame.
Tap in a Twig Support
4 April 2018
Tap in a Twig Support

Wedge snipped twigs into a glass vase to act as a support for your flowers
Related Designs
A Rock by any other Name...
25 February 2011
A Rock by any other Name...

It's not really what we call things that matter but what they are made of- in this design, it's made of all three types of Oasis and wool.
When Autumn Fall
6 September 2011
When Autumn Fall

Autumn leaf composite flower
On a Grand Scale
9 December 2015
On a Grand Scale

My article and a floral panel design featured in DIY Weddings Magazine
When the wind whisper
8 June 2016
When the wind whisper

Glue a fantasy forest from Popsicle sticks, grape vine tendrils and willow tips
Pour
11 May 2016
Pour

Glue a twig vase and melt some plastic to create a tumbling design
A little bit of Art and Soul
24 July 2012
A little bit of Art and Soul

A twig structure with roses
The Beauty in the Sleeping Woods
30 May 2012
The Beauty in the Sleeping Woods

As a floral artist I am inspired by the endurance of nature and my work is still re-creating the Sleeping Beauty Castle of my imagination.
Doing a loop tangle twist
25 August 2021
Doing a loop tangle twist

oh yes, a light an airy design showing off those very first autumn leaves.
The Upside of being Inside
19 February 2020
The Upside of being Inside

A creative design that has some height to it without blocking the view. This can easily be scaled up or down to match the environment you want to display it in.
This way we connect
15 January 2020
This way we connect

Weave a connected panel to frame a single orchid.
Add up!
5 June 2019
Add up!

Stacking green stems to create an armature for short stemmed flowers.
You see... here is the Thing:
30 May 2018
You see... here is the Thing:

Glue a grass snippet grid for shallow container design
Over the rainbow
2 May 2018
Over the rainbow

Craft a radiating design that suspends from the orchid stems
Grow on it
4 April 2018
Grow on it

Wedge twigs into a vase to create a grid.
One of those difficult questions
6 September 2017
One of those difficult questions

Glue a bunch of twigs inside a container to create a round stack
Favourite Flowers
Phalaenopsis
Phalaenopsis

Phalaenopsis orchid detail from my Harnessing the Wind design