My Creative Workbook

Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman

Drinking straw "test tubes"

This is something I came up with out of necessity: Drinking straw test tubes.

I prefer not to design flowers dry and include some sort of a water source even when I glue flowers into a fragile armature.

I have also used these in corsages and other body flowers. Its handy when you want to add a tiny stem into a tiny space. It is especially suitable for orchids- they are slow drinkers with thin stems. One tiny tube can keep a single orchid hydrated for days

Drinking straw-cut

Cut the straws

Into small sections

...into small sections...

Drinking straw-seal

Seal the opening with a drop of Hot Glue

Carefully inspect each drinking straw tube to make sure it seals perfectly

Carefully inspect each drinking straw tube to make sure it seals...

Perfect seal

... perfectly...

Not all drinking straws are created equal. You get fat ones and thin ones. Strong ones and really flimsy ones.
By now I am a bit of a drinking straw collector. I know exactly where I can find the fatter straws or coloured straws. And yes, I always take my straw home with me. Up-cycling in action, I think

Fill the tubes with water

I even developed a special way to fill these tiny tubes really fast. Follow the link below to see my Syringe Tube Tutorial.

Small pipes can also become test tubes

You can also use a thicker pipe to create small test tubes. The tubes in this picture was wired into the design to allow the tubes to move and be moved.

Follow the link below to the Tutorial for Butterfly feeler hooks for swinging test tubes

Tiny stems in a hidden water source.

When you add a tiny stem in to a design it might be worth it to add just a drop of glue to the flower when placing it in the tube. This secures the flower in place and also makes it possible for you to top up the water without disturbing the flowers. In this design I glued the tubes directly to the hazel twig

Follow the link below to see the Tutorial for a Foam pin holder drying rack to keep tiny flower stems upright while you add glue and wait for the glue to become tacky.

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

Tutorials

7 April 2012 Foam pin holder drying rack

This is a convenient way to keep flowers perfectly upright while you wait for glue to dry.

18 January 2012 Butterfly feeler hooks for swinging test tubes

I don't always want to wire my test tubes into the design. I like to create a bit of movement by simply hooking the tubes to gently swing.

3 January 2011 Syringe with tube

Easy way to fill test tubes and easiest way to remove water from a vase

Related Designs

18 March 2011 SHAPE

Chrysanthemum Hourglass

4 April 2011 Floral Trends Design Group Opening Demonstration: 2010

A look at the Old and New of Floral art

25 April 2011 Drinking straws become flower test tubes

Design 2: Up-cycle drinking straws to make tiny test tubes to hold the orchids on my willow twig blind.

21 June 2011 WAFA 10th International Flower Show in Boston USA: This Glorious Earth

I wove my Zipper from just over 300 short, dried rose twigs with tiny thorns on them. The delicate "fabric" at the back of the design is woven rose bush roots. Aranthera and...

26 October 2011 Trick a levitating Treat

A fun Halloween ghost pumpkin design

18 January 2012 Winter’s Green

This contorted hazel twig reminded me of an ancient and wise bonsai tree. It definitely has a story of its own to tell. I wanted to capture that in my design. All it needed was...

6 March 2012 Round and Round

Instead of weaving a platter try stacking the twigs from large to tiny small

7 April 2012 Spring Clean

A clean Easter design. The tiny blossoms are Kalanchoe 'Calandiva Pink'. Tucked low in the paper eggs are a few Cymbidium orchids and the twigs are contorted hazel. The...

19 April 2012 In a nutshell

Sunday April 22 is Earth day and a tiny floral fridge magnet is a wonderful reminder of just how beautiful our planet is.

1 May 2012 Center the more adventurous design ideas on your centerpieces

Designing adventurous Contemporary Floral centerpieces Article in the Canadian Florist Magazine.

10 July 2012 Sticktoitness

Glue a heart shaped design made from bark and wood.

24 July 2012 A little bit of Art and Soul

A twig structure with roses

21 August 2012 Just Right! Floral Art demonstration: Too Cold!

My first design in my demonstration at the BC Floral Art Society meeting

16 October 2012 Bright, brighter… brightest!

Celebrate the bright colours of autumn with lilies and Chinese lanterns

10 April 2013 Unthinkably good things

Oncidium orchids hiding in a woven grass cup. This Design Tutorial is featured on The Conna Flower and Garden Club (Ireland) website. It is part of their Floral Art Lessons...

29 May 2013 The day came

Weave a tiny rattan basket

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...

7 August 2013 Over the Blue

Glue a twig rainbow to sit over a vase

21 August 2013 Hold on to the knot

Bend and knot wire into a heart shaped armature

28 August 2013 Losing some of that Muchness

A barely there sisal Mad Hatter's floral hat

4 September 2013 Been there, Seen that

My article and woven heart basket design featured in the third anniversary issue of DIY Weddings Magazine

9 October 2013 Whisk

Bend and glue a open basket to display fall leaves and flowers

14 October 2013 All To Myself

Cut and stain old books to create a paperback nook pumpkin armature

6 November 2013 This is the Fragrance of November

Weave a wreath to thread a dome for an Autumn leaf design

11 December 2013 Glistening and glowing out in the snow

Glue twigs to create a snow scattered dome

8 January 2014 It's stick season!

Snap and stack an glue a few twigs to create a lace like armature

26 February 2014 Hatching a plan

Early spring floral nest design

14 May 2014 Say "I Do" to design decisions

This is my article that I wrote for the Bridal Design Issue of Canadian Florist Magazine

28 May 2014 Be Silent And Listen

Lash a few bamboo pieces together to create a scaffold armature

4 June 2014 All white, just not quite

My article and woven ring basket design featured in the summer issue of DIY Weddings Magazine

18 June 2014 Stuck stick

Glue a few sticks to create a hollowed out crescent armature

25 June 2014 Fine Tune

Thread cane through sticks to make a music inspired armature

27 August 2014 Brought Together

Loosely weave blades of grass together

3 September 2014 What's done is done

My article and lace fine wreath design featured in the Autumn issue of DIY Weddings Magazine

29 October 2014 Frightfully Pretty

Weave a single strand Spanish Moss spider web

5 November 2014 All In One

dry autumn leaves into an acorn shape

12 November 2014 The Thing Is

Use a glue mixture to shape skeleton leaves into a lacy bowl

19 November 2014 Forest Floor

Glue a autumn leaf rosette armature

3 December 2014 Finding Common Ground

My article and twig boutonniere design featured in the Winter issue of DIY Weddings Magazine

17 December 2014 Star of Wonder

Glue pine needles into star shapes

31 December 2014 The sound of a kiss

Stack and glue twigs into a table top heart

14 January 2015 Take a load off

Weave slippers from foliage

11 February 2015 Love Spell

Weave willow to create a heart shaped wand design

25 February 2015 Just So

Twirl a few willow twigs to create a balanced armature to display orchids

11 March 2015 What is your Currency?

My article and stir stick fan design featured in the Spring issue of DIY Weddings Magazine

8 April 2015 Just think!

Weave a nest for chocolate Easter eggs

22 April 2015 Toiling

Convert a dowel stick into a container for delicate flower stems

20 May 2015 Up on

Tie a bundle of grass as a floral mechanic

27 May 2015 Limelight

My RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2015 Limelight Floral Art Design. My Limelight design was inspired by a slice of lime. But I wanted it to look like it was spun by a butterfly. I used...

24 June 2015 Staying connected

My article and a floral cell phone re-charge station design featured in DIY Weddings Magazine

1 July 2015 At a Stretch

Glue a paper tube floral art structure

8 July 2015 How To Catch A Dream

Take inspiration from a traditional Dream-catcher design to create a floral armature

22 July 2015 Fluffy

Fluff out Washi paper to create a delicate armature

29 July 2015 Beautiful Things

Glue a few twigs into a disk armature

9 September 2015 Fall Treasures

A sisal mat armature for fall twigs flowers and leaves

16 September 2015 Pointing In

wrap and glue a ring armature to create a decorative wreath

21 October 2015 Watch the leaves turn

Roll autumn leaves to create a wreath

4 November 2015 Delicate

Bleached Gypsophila wreath with delicate autumn touches

11 November 2015 Balancing Act

Bend dried fall leaves to balance on the edge of a glass container

25 November 2015 So white

A dried Baby's breath and fresh orchid wreath

9 December 2015 On a Grand Scale

My article and a floral panel design featured in DIY Weddings Magazine

17 February 2016 Where would you put it!?!

Tie a twig armature enclosure for fresh flowers

24 February 2016 How to make an early Spring

Roll and set willow twigs into a spring

2 March 2016 Beginning

Glue a Midelino Cane Coil Globe Cup to display beautiful Gloriosa lilies

30 March 2016 Floral Designs From Around The World

A demonstration presented at Canada Blooms, Toronto, Canada I was invited to share the stage with designers from Bermuda, United Kingdom, France, South Africa, Barbados, United...

30 March 2016 A Point of Support

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

13 April 2016 It keeps me going and I love it.

Hang a veil of Tillandsia Usneoides to create an armature

20 April 2016 That Will Be

Freestanding willow twig armature design

11 May 2016 Pour

Glue a twig vase and melt some plastic to create a tumbling design

25 May 2016 Half the Fun

Cut a cabbage to create a design platform

8 June 2016 When the wind whisper

Glue a fantasy forest from Popsicle sticks, grape vine tendrils and willow tips

29 June 2016 Make the design

Weave a reed cradle to suspend orchids from

6 July 2016 The oh no factor

My article and Floral Monogram Seating Plan designs featured in DIY Weddings Magazine

3 August 2016 Practice

Weave a willow bird nest

31 August 2016 Leftovers

Using bits and snippets to create an everlasting moss and succulent design

7 September 2016 You are all invited!

My article and Willow Crown design featured in DIY Weddings Magazine

26 October 2016 Harvest Moon

Fold a fine twig wreath in half to create a moon shaped armature

30 November 2016 All things Autumn (by which I mean all things chocolate): Worth a second look

This was the fourth (and last) design I did in my "All things Autumn (by which I mean all things chocolate)" floral art demonstration

7 December 2016 Oh! So clever

My article and Bridal basket design featured in DIY Weddings Magazine

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

28 December 2016 A Jingle Cotton Christmas

Cover a wreath frame with bark and cotton for a textured Christmas wreath design

11 January 2017 As special as an almost never find

Sometimes you find such a beautiful plant that you just can't bring yourself to cut it. This design explores using the entire plant, pot and all, in a design

18 January 2017 Look at you!

Tie twigs to shape a hanging armature

8 February 2017 It could hold

A fragile looking heart made from twigs that can hold a lot of orchids

15 February 2017 Step Along

Create twig steps to display the orchids

15 March 2017 Wedding Welcome

My article and wedding direction board design featured in DIY Weddings Magazine

5 April 2017 Easter Bonnet

Weave a delicate Pillbox hat

3 May 2017 Oh just...

Braid a few twigs to dance around your flowers

24 May 2017 Link

weave a few wreaths to link

14 June 2017 Things are looking up!

My article and Bamboo Lantern design featured in DIY Weddings Magazine

28 June 2017 Somewhere in the Middle

Skewer Dracaena leaves into a roll that supports a tiny water source for the Oncidium orchids

16 August 2017 Making Ends Meet

Criss-cross corset style connect the gaps in a Monstera deliciosa leaf

25 October 2017 When the pretty eyeballs you back!

Barely there skeleton blossoms with Eucalyptus eyes for my Halloween design... Oh! and a Willow Paddle, which probably should have been the main Tutorial... but... well...

22 November 2017 How do squirrels Cache a tree?

Hoard a few acorns in the fork of a twig to show off a single oncidium orchid.

29 November 2017 Marcescent

Glue a delicate autumn room devider

6 December 2017 While I sing of beauty's treasure

Glue the most delicate twig table top Christmas tree

20 December 2017 A Very Merry Christmas Star

A wire Christmas star with a secret plan to hide the twinkle

24 January 2018 How to make a stack of just enough:

Stack two vases to create a small gap at the side to keep a leaf upright

14 March 2018 Old, new trends

My article and willow birdcage design for wedding rings featured in DIY Weddings Magazine.

21 March 2018 Bring some Spring

Just like the weather is only hinting at spring, so is this design only hinting at being a basket

25 April 2018 Get in line!

Line up a few pussy willow twigs for a hanging armature

18 July 2018 Is it an Isit?

Deep cherry red Miltonia orchid in a platter of cherries

12 September 2018 Hole-ding it’s breath

Craft an almost Autumn armature from dried sweet pea vines

17 October 2018 But wait… there's more!

Tucked into the box with every advance copy of the book, the effortless floral craftsman is a packet of clips. This design and Tutorial is a bit of inspiration... what will you...

31 October 2018 Scary stuff!

My Halloween design... with some scary stuff hidden if you can read between the leaves!

21 November 2018 Rules!

The first design I did for my book launch demonstration looking at aspects that influences my effortless style of designing.

21 November 2018 The effortless floral craftsman, a floral crafter's guide to crafting with nature Book Launch Demonstration

My book launch demonstration was hosted by my flower-buddies from the Capilano Flower Arranging Club. We looked at what influences our own effortless style... that "thing" that...

5 December 2018 Personal Preference

The third design I did for my book launch demonstration looking at aspects that influences my effortless style of designing.

12 December 2018 Availability of plant material shows in your design style

The last design I did for my book launch demonstration looking at aspects that influences my effortless style of designing... this week: often when we see a design element...

9 January 2019 Magical Craftsmanship

My article and winter white Tulle bridal basket design featured in DIY Weddings Magazine.

13 February 2019 Pick Love

Craft a willow heart to display 12 red roses to celebrate Valentine's Day.

13 March 2019 How to avoid your wedding treasures from becoming “after the event trash”

My article and grass wedding basket design.

8 May 2019 It takes more than one person to invent a trumpet!

Filling a trumpet flower cup... with more flowers!

29 May 2019 Creative Competition

This week I am so excited to share my article and design that was published in the recent issue of the Floral Art Society of New Zealand's Academy Magazine for NZ qualified...

3 July 2019 Taking a Breather

A relaxing summer design that spins gently in the wind

31 July 2019 Jitters!

Zig-zag grass details add a bit of tension to the design

18 September 2019 It’s a sugar rush!

A perfectly imperfect wild willow wreath to display the first Autumn treasures of the year.

2 October 2019 Cross-hatch a Shadow Bright Autumn

A clever trick borrowed from art techniques to add dimension to a bright and colourful Autumn floral design.

11 December 2019 A Very Merry eucalyptus bauble Christmas!

For this year's Christmas tree I wired and glued a wild and wintry twig armature... but... these little eucalyptus baubles are just the cutest!

22 January 2020 Spacer

Armatures are great (budget friendly) spacers for creating large floral designs without using an enormous amount of your resources.

11 March 2020 On-Spring-dium

A almost impossibly delicate oncidium (dancing lady) orchid wreath.

6 May 2020 Forever… incomplete

Craft a pretty armature that can be used again and again.

17 June 2020 Lei-way

Allow for a bit of variation by crafting a sturdy armature.

24 June 2020 End Up

Connect small wreaths to create a pretty summer armature to arrange your flowers on.

21 October 2020 When it gets chilly

Use the heart of a sunflower as a platform to place your autumn floral details on.

28 October 2020 Magic Spell Number 614: How to make absolutely any task you need to do fun

A hint of a wreath table top design for pre-Halloween decorating.

25 November 2020 Have yourself a Merry Cellulose Fibre Christmas: Santa’s gift bag wreath

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

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.

7 April 2021 First we learn HOW to design… and then we learn how only WE design.

Whipped up to be light in the Spring breeze wreath design.

21 April 2021 All A-flutter

Adding a few fluttering petals to a design.

14 July 2021 Light as a Kite

Spike a wire frame into a disk floret for a light summer design.

22 September 2021 Kinda Corny

Crafting with corn to make... well... corn, really.

6 October 2021 A good measure of Autumn

A wire and twig permanent display basket with tiny water sources for a few fresh flowers that can be replaced as needed.

1 December 2021 It’s the most… it’s the most... Hap-Hapiest Patina Christmas of all!

This is the second of my Christmas 2021 series of designs. This year in the form of a mini workshop… my Christmas present to you. Craft a three twig sphere snow man to proudly...

15 December 2021 It’s the most… it’s the most… wonderful Patina Copper Christmas Tree of all!

This is the fourth of my Christmas 2021 series of designs. This year in the form of a mini workshop… my Christmas present to you. Paint copper to add a beautiful patina to a...

22 December 2021 It’s the most… it’s the most… wonderful Patina Copper Spiral Bauble Christmas of all!

This is the fifth of my Christmas 2021 series of designs. This year in the form of a mini workshop… my Christmas present to you. This week I will show you how to add a mostly...

26 January 2022 Carry On

As sturdy as it is delicate basket made from off-cut stems and grass.

9 February 2022 Pouring

Place a small fishbowl vase at an angle to look like it is pouring out flowers and twigs.

27 April 2022 Shine Shade

Glue snippets of grass into a double layer sphere to create a sheltered floral globe.

29 June 2022 But for this… let’s not rush

A take your time and mindfully craft a pretty design to celebrate the summer solstice- it is officially summer here in Canada.

5 October 2022 Tail End Of The Season

A display armature for a delicate autumn display.

19 October 2022 Point Witch (or Wizard) Way

A wire framed witch or wizard hat that can be reshaped.

1 March 2023 … ish

An early... ish Spring basket glued from blossom twigs

29 March 2023 To grow a patch of grass of our very own

The first of my new monthly articles about growing the material you need to design with. This month we are taking stock of what we need... and growing wheatgrass.

5 April 2023 Where do you even start looking?

Easter egg... egg for Easter eggs

21 June 2023 Floral Hurricane

My Floral Hurricane design entry for the BC Floral Art Society mini show competition

11 October 2023 Plenty Glow to Harvest

Glow and sparkle bark armature to celebrate the first signs of Autumn

10 January 2024 Snow Glitters and Mossy Glimmers

A glimmer is the opposite of a trigger... a little uplift. For this design I am lifting up my happiness by starting a tiny mossarium... but enjoying it as a design while it is in...

10 July 2024 Still wrapping my head around this one

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