My Creative Workbook

Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman

Foliage doughnut corsage with a hidden Boutstix Floral Magnet

Read more about Boutstix Floral Magnets on their website

Cut a cardboard circle and draw another circle.jpg

Cut a cardboard circle and draw another circle just slightly off-centre

Cut the circle out with a sharp knife

Cut the circle out with a sharp knife

Match a Boutstix Floral Magnet on the wider side of the cardboard.

Match a Boutstix Floral Magnet on the wider side of the cardboard.

Glue the Boutix floral magent to the cardboard.

Glue the Boutix Floral Magent to the cardboard.

Rip a hand full of leaves into strands

Rip a hand full of leaves into strands. You can use flax, typha, palm leaves, iris leaves or any fibrous leaf. (see the detailed Tutorial below for more on ripping foliage)

Take a small amount of ripped strands and combine it with copper wire

Take a small amount of ripped strands and combine it with copper wire.

Design note:
The copper wire is mostly decorative. You can omit the wire or use any other decorative wire, string or ribbon. I like to use this flat copper wire that I unravel from a copper pot scrubber (see detailed Tutorial below)

Start to wind the strands and wire around the cardboard.

Start to wind the strands and wire around the cardboard. Simply secure the strands by wrapping it over itself.

Add a bit of bulk by wrapping the strands thickly around the cardboard.

Add a bit of bulk by wrapping the strands thickly around the cardboard. The wire should merely peek out of the strands and not dominate

Cover the stick part of the Boutstix.

Cover the stick part of the Boutstix. This flat plastic piece creates a strong base for the magnet to rest on that will help support the cardboard and keep it from bending

Add more strands as you go along

When you reach the end of a strand simply add more as you go along. Wrap the new long strands over the short end pieces to secure.

Keep wrapping

Keep wrapping...

Cover the magnet part of the Boutix Floral Magnet.

Cover the magnet part of the Boutix Floral Magnet.

Simply wrap the strands around the magnet.

Simply wrap the strands around the magnet.

Add more bulk by wrapping a second layer of strands

Add more bulk by wrapping a second layer of strands

When the cardboard is covered knot the strands in on itself

When the cardboard is covered knot the strands in on itself

Foliage doughnut corsage with a hidden Boutstix Floral Magnet

Foliage doughnut corsage with a hidden Boutstix Floral Magnet ready to design with

Fit the other magnet over the hidden Boutstix Floral Magnet

Fit the other magnet over the hidden Boutstix Floral Magnet. This will be the back of your design

Glue on the design details.

Glue on the design details.

Place the corsage on the jacket lapel

Place the corsage on the jacket lapel and secure with the shiny magnet at the back

This can, of course also be attached to a hat, handbag, sash, belt or whatever you need embelished

Long lasting corsage on the jacket lapel

This design should look pretty for days and would dry beautifully to last for a long time

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

Tutorials

14 January 2011 Ripping Flax

Flax can be ripped into fibres creating long and versatile strips

5 May 2011 Unravel wire from a copper pot scrubber

Up-cycle a pot scrubber to get a huge roll of very pretty copper wire

5 January 2011 Palm leaf Hopper-flies (grasshoppers and butterflies)

Weave grasshoppers or butterflies (or fireflies) from palm leaves

Favourite Flowers

Ceropegia woodii

Rosary vine, Chain of Hearts, Collar of hearts and String of hearts

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