Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman
Firethorns join two leaves for an edgy support for a tall flower stem
- 14 August 2024
- click to send Christine a smile
Book readers turn to page 218 if you are interested in adding threading techniques to your floral designs.
For more information about my book: The Effortless Floral Craftsman
Place a small Kenzan in a pretty display bowl.
This bowl is perfect! The Kenzan simply rest in the bowl and is supported by the sides... but if you need to fix the Kenzan in the bowl I have a Tutorial for you below.
Cut a few thorns. Mine is from a firethorn bush.
If you do not have a thorn cut a twig at a sharp angle to thread. See the Tutorial below for more details.
Cut away any nodes or bits that will get in the way when threading the thorns.
Pour water in the display container to cover the Kenzan.
Place a beautiful stem of Salvia flowers upright in the Kenzan.
Slip a tall leaf over the Salvia stem from one side...
I used Bletilla striata - Chinese Ground Orchid leaves. But any tall leaf will do. Gladiolus leaves work well. Or banana leaves, Aspidistra, or even a palm.
And another leaf from the other side. They tend to flop over a bit... so...
Design note: I do like how the leaves wrap around the base... so maybe look out for that when you harvest or purchase the leaves.
Secure the leaves by threading the thorn right through... be careful though. A firethorn got that name for a reason.
I used to play with these All The Time as a little girl. I would stich together leaves and spear fairy gown together. They are lovely thorns to have in your design pantry... a must to grow, I think.
But if the thorn pricks puts you off or if you are worried about the leaf ripping as you thread the thorn I have an alternative for you in this week's floral lesson email. If you are new here... I send out an email every Wednesday morning (Vancouver time) that turns the design into a really detailed craftsmanship floral design lesson for you to learn before looking at the design. The sign up is below this post.
Press through another thorn this time slightly higher.
Add thorns all the way to where you want the leaves to naturally flop open.
Now here is a bit of a something that is just my own lesson that I learned over the years: Choose your perfection carefully. Do not do absolutely everything so perfect that the onlooker forget that it is a person who made it. People often asked... "wait... you made that!?!" Urgh!
So instead of aiming for all round perfection, I would perfectly line up my leaves when you look at it from the side... but the thorns not (or even the other way around) but never both. How I choose is what imperfection would keep it from looking sloppy... because never, ever make it look sloppy! Just hand made. Beautifully imperfect.
My glass chips perfectly conceal the Kenzan below in the container...
And as always I add a few dew drop crystals to add just enough sparkle to my 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.
Tutorials
It's sometimes difficult to place a tiny crystal or bead exactly where you want it.
The sturdy Protea leaves holds it shape even when dried when pinned into place
A glue-less way of manipulating leaves
Sharp thorns can be used to keep your floral details in place
A larger summer display in a Kenzan
Sturdy and easy to make... a small harvest basket ready for all the Spring flowers still to come.
Threaded Heuchera (Coral Bells) rosette with curved stems to kick against the sides of your container to keep it suspended above water.
Fold and peg banana leaves into pockets so that they float freely on water. This is inspired by a traditional banana leaf craft used to cook rice in.
Hollow out a faux moss pebble to add... a pebble of moss covered in snowflakes.
An old trick... but still a great one to support thin stems in the needles of a Kenzan.
Thread grass into flexi grass to create a spinner that gently turns in the wind.
Carefully break... but don't snap a reed to create a curved base for a fanned out grass armature.
Threat a stack of leaves to dry so that they shrivel and dry up in a similar way.
A hovering Halloween design that seems to float.
Hide the water source in a rolled leaf
Related Designs
Creating a larger sustainable floral design by clustering the floral details into bunches.
My Twig Bridal Basket design and Tutorial featured in the Extraordinary Wedding Flowers issue of the New Zealand Floral Design Magazine
Beautiful Bletilla striata (Chinese Ground Orchid) deserves it's own elaborate frilly skirt display.
A mindful summer craft using banana leaves to create a floating arrangement.
It's the little sun-washed coloured hints that makes you look again to see if you really saw what you thought you saw... yes! There really are signs of autumn everywhere!
A fun and easy contemporary floral design to display foraged autumn leaves and just a touch of flowers that can easily be replaced.
My Halloween design... with some scary stuff hidden if you can read between the leaves!
Skewer Dracaena leaves into a roll that supports a tiny water source for the Oncidium orchids