Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman
Curve a leaf shelter to slowly reveal your flowers
- 13 May 2026
- and more
Place a gorgeously curved calla lily leaf over a deep display container so that the stem end is just inside the glass.
Slowly dip the stem so that it curves into the water.
To the point where the leaf tip and the cut stem tip almost connect, the stem under water and the leaf curved over the water.
Every Wednesday morning (Vancouver time), I send out a design note as an early glimpse at the newest Design and a few notes that I picked up creating the Tutorial that might be useful to you. This week, I show you how to make sure the leaf stem curves without bending at an angle.
If you’re new here, you can sign up below this post. And if you’ve been receiving these notes for some time, I hope they feel like a welcome break in your busy week.
Insert a clamatis vine with pretty burgundy stems to follow the curve set by the leaf.
Add another vine and make sure you follow the curve above and below the water.
Cut a camelia flower short and set it in the water.
Flowers float in water. They just don't naturally float under water or on water. For those arrangements you will need to design in some support. Because I am designing both under the water and above I want my flower to dip at a slight cheeky angle into the water. Flowers do that all on their own. well... a heavier flower, like a Camelia might also need a bit of support to make sure it sits exactly where you want it to, though.
I have a Tutorial for you (it is probably my best know Tutorial of all) linked below, to get you started on floating flowers on top of water.
Book readers turn to page 157 for un updated version where I show you how to position different flowers (with a tip on how to support heavy flower heads, like camelias) into a support so that they float. For more information about my book: The Effortless Floral Craftsman
And I am finishing my design by accessorizing with sparkling dew drop crystals. See the Tutorial below for detailed instructions.
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