My Creative Workbook

Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman

Fold a Grass Disk

Cut small strips of double sided tape and adhere it to a Styrofoam disk

Smooth the tape down all around the disk

Turn the disk over and tape the other side

Remove the tape cover to expose the sticky side and fold a blade of grass to stick to both sides

Place the next blade of grass to slightly overlap the first blade so that the Styrofoam will still be covered when the grass dries and shrinks

Continue to add blades of grass

Adhere the grass to point into the armature, with all the blades facing the same direction

Open the double sided tape as you go along

Disk armature ready to design with

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Tutorials
Removing Oasis Floral Adhesive glue spills
30 August 2011
Removing Oasis Floral Adhesive glue spills

The finish of every design should be flawless. Make sure there are no bits of glue visible in your design by carefully removing all traces of spills.
A plait, a braid or a French knot grass collar
25 April 2012
A plait, a braid or a French knot grass collar

"Plaid" and "braid" are synonyms, and where you are from will most likely dictate whether you use plait (British) or braid (American or Celtic). Some people also refer to cornrows as braids or refer to pinned up plaits as braids. A French braid is a braiding technique.
Fold a Foliage Fish
6 February 2013
Fold a Foliage Fish

Fold and weave a fish from two blades of grass
Foliage Weaving
8 June 2011
Foliage Weaving

For this tutorial I focus on a simple weave pattern that does not require you to soften or prepare the leaves to be more durable or flexible. This is the starting point in weaving techniques. You can build on this technique to make floral handbags, gift boxes, and baskets, sew it into a curve or wrap it around a vase or cover a test tube.
Ripped Grass Frame
6 November 2012
Ripped Grass Frame

Create a sheltered or veiled design by framing the outer edge of your armature (in this case thick cardboard) with long strands of grass
Ripped Foliage Mesh
27 February 2013
Ripped Foliage Mesh

Create a delicate mesh over the design
Foliage doughnut corsage with a hidden Boutstix Floral Magnet
26 March 2014
Foliage doughnut corsage with a hidden Boutstix Floral Magnet

Wrap a foliage circle to9 create a base for a magnetized corsage
Cone shaped leafy puddle for a short stemmed flower
17 March 2021
Cone shaped leafy puddle for a short stemmed flower

Take all the usual ingredients for a budvase design- a flower, a leafy green something and roll it into something unusual to display.
Sponge mechanic for a tiny flower stem
19 April 2017
Sponge mechanic for a tiny flower stem

Soak a small sponge to create a water source for a small focal flower.
Related Designs
How to catch a dew drop:
1 October 2012
How to catch a dew drop:

Weave a sphere from grass to catch a precious and exquisite and perfect glistening early autumn dew drop
Leapfrog
24 September 2014
Leapfrog

Fold and weave a frog from grass
You are not done
26 March 2014
You are not done

Retail florists and wholesalers are already designing, ordering and preparing their product range for prom. This is my article that I wrote for the Prom Design Issue of Canadian Florist Magazine
A scoop of pretty
17 March 2021
A scoop of pretty

A tiny budvase design that rearranges basic ingredients, such as a single leaf and an orchid to create a new design concept.
A spongy home for this octopus orchid
19 April 2017
A spongy home for this octopus orchid

An unusual mechanic for a tiny orchid design
Pointing In
16 September 2015
Pointing In

wrap and glue a ring armature to create a decorative wreath