Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman
Flatten a Spring for a disk grid
- 5 March 2025
- click to send Christine a smile
Cut a section of the spring rolled 12-gauge aluminum wire. Mine is the apple green.
These wires make fabulous grids. They are easy to manipulate, yet it holds the shape and can carry the weight of the flowers. It looks pretty if you happen to notice it peeking out from under the flowers and will not rust if it gets wet. Simply rinse the wire, reshape and reuse.
Start to roll the wire into a large ball between your hands...
Do not press too hard when rolling the ball you want wide gaps to accommodate the flower stems.
Next... and this is a very important step: tuck all the sharp wire ends into the ball...
Place the ball on a working surface and squish it flat.
So that you have a perfectly flat grid to keep the flowers exactly where you want them, suspended above the water.
Book readers, if you would prefer to weave a grid from twigs rather than use wire turn to page 235 for a Tutorial.
For more information about my book: The Effortless Floral Craftsman
Fill a display container with an opening the size of the grid with water.
Place the grid over the opening in the vase... and bend the wire into the vase every here and there to make sure it is securely wedged into position.
Slip the cyclamen foliage through the gap in the grid to nestle it into place...
Adding in one after the other to overlap slightly like roof tiles.
Absolutely, these leaves are so stunning and deserve to be shown off in a rosette all of their own. But you know what I fell in love with? This dusty pink tinge on their stems!
This week in our email I tell you more about how I decided to highlight the pink stems and I show you how I create a design buffet for me to pick and choose the foliage I want to place next. I send out an email every Wednesday morning (Vancouver time) the moment the new design is ready for you to view. And I include a few notes that is handy to know even before viewing the design that will ensure you make the most of this week's inspiration. The sign up to the email is below this post if you want to join in.
Overlap the foliage ever so slightly to cover the wire before...
... Starting with the next row of foliage...
Around and around and around...
Until you slip in the last leaf into position in the middle.
Add the last dusting of snow of the season to some hazel twigs.
See the Tutorial below for more detailed instructions on how I add artificial snow to twigs.
And rest the snow covered twigs through and over the foliage rosette.
Slip in a few anthurium flowers.
And I am finishing my design off with a few sparkling dew drop crystals on the snow covered twigs...
See the Tutorial below for detailed instructions on how (and why) I add the crystals with a pin.
And a final dusting of snow to tie the details together
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Tutorials
It's sometimes difficult to place a tiny crystal or bead exactly where you want it.
Great way to use all the autumn leaves you collect on walks during the season. Slowly build up the leaf rosette and let the leaves dry before adding a few more.
Just look at that puddle! This design is all about the fresh eucalyptus... but in a cooling down for summer kind of way.
Build up a design in a shallow container by stacking it by threading the plant material into the teeth of a pin cushion in three levels.
Cyclamen stems are so close together that it is easy to damage the plant when cutting stems.
Long lasting berries, magnolia leaves and succulent (kalanchoe) flowers that can remain without any water or maintenance for... well... all the way to Christmas!
Design in two levels by using two vases, the smaller slipped into a bigger one.
Split (but don't cut) a few gladiolus flowers to spiral in a vase
Fold and then stitch a long fall leaf garland to roll into a coil
Inspired by a classic and traditional Ikebana technique used in a Rikka design called Komiwara. Designers would usually bundle straw to keep the flowers in place.
Threaded Heuchera (Coral Bells) rosette with curved stems to kick against the sides of your container to keep it suspended above water.
An armature to display a lovely surprise orchid that developed on the long spike just after the other flowers started to fade.
The trick of this Tutorial is to create a flat top platform to display Spring blossom twigs- the way it would look on moss in a forest.
Easy assemble… and disassemble design details using a Wristix™ corsage magnet from BoutStix™
Related Designs
Spiral cyclamen foliage around to create a composite flower to showcase the petal-like anthurium flowers.
Cut stems of Gladiolus to place in a radiating summer design.
A little bit of effort... that will last for weeks design to roll us in to the Festive Season.
Split and spiral a few gladiolus flowers in a way that the stems remain intact, to spiral in a water filled filled vase for a long lasting composite flower
Beautiful Bletilla striata (Chinese Ground Orchid) deserves it's own elaborate frilly skirt display.
This orchid developed at the very end of a long stem... right as the rest of the flowers started to die back so I made a special armature to display the cut stem.
A mindful summer craft using banana leaves to create a floating arrangement.
An early Spring design with a twist on using an old favourite: composite flowers.
I am a huge (HUGE!) fan of the original BoutStix magnets and I love the newest wrist corsage magnets as well. And not just for making corsages. I use them for everything. It is a...