My Creative Workbook

Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman

Glue an early Spring basket from leftover cherry blossom twigs

Once the blossoms start to fade

It is so wonderful to bring in a few branches for some indoor blossoms. And once the petals drop and the blossoms start to fade you can use the branches to craft a basket.

Remove the faded blossoms

Remove the faded blossoms...

Curl a twig into a circle

Cut the longest most flexible branches to craft into two wreaths by first curling a twig into a circle.

Add a few more twigs and weave them into a wreath

Add a few more twigs and weave them into a wreath.

For more information on weaving a wreath see the Tutorial below.

I want my basket to look natural

I want my basket to look natural, a little wild and most importantly... handmade so I left a few pieces unwoven. Adjust your basket to suit your style.

Gently start to curve a sturdy branch for the handle

Gently start to curve a sturdy branch for the handle.

Book readers turn to page 284 where I discuss Crafting an illusion and give you tips on how to manipulate branches.

For more information about my book: The Effortless Floral Craftsman

Be very gentle and curve the branch into a u shape

Be very gentle and curve the branch into a long legged u shape...

That extends from the one side up and over and down the other

... That extends from the one side up and over and down the other.

Tie the branch temporarily to keep the shape

Tie the branch temporarily to keep the shape.

Again, this is where we add our own style to the basket. Cut away any pieces of the branch that you do not want. I loved the pointy up twig that is somewhere up over there... it gave the handle personality so I am leaving it on. Work with what you have.

Slip the first wreath over the twig handle

Slip the first wreath over the twig handle.

Slip the second wreath over the handle to sit below the first wreath

Slip the second wreath over the handle to sit below the first wreath.

Space out the wreaths. These will be the top and the bottom of your basket.

Temporarily secure the wreaths to the handle with a knot

Temporarily secure the wreaths to the handle with a knot.

Position the bottom wreath so that the basket shape can stand upright

Position the bottom wreath so that the basket shape can stand upright. Cut away any twigs that makes it difficult for the basket to balance.

Weave in twigs through the top wreath down to the bottom wreath

Weave in twigs through the top wreath down to the bottom wreath to start filling in the sides of the basket.

I am not wiring the basket

I wanted to see if I can glue the basket in place. If your basket is going to get wet it would be better to wire the twigs in place. I have added wired basket Tutorials below for you to use as inspiration. But for mine I used loads of wood glue...

Loads and loads of wood glue

Loads and loads of wood glue. Soak every connection piece with glue. The glue dries mostly clear and the runs that might be visible looks like water drops... so it's not too bad for a spring design. You can also sprinkle artificial snow on the glue to conceal that if you prefer. I have added Tutorials for that below to show you what I mean. But for my design... I wanted just the glue.

Add a few more twigs with a few more drops of glue all the way around the basket

Add a few more twigs with a few more drops of glue all the way around the basket.

Place a sturdy twig that forks to extend over the bottom of the basket

Place a sturdy twig that forks to extend over the bottom of the basket. The more side branches extend over the bottom of the basket the easier it will be for you to fill in the gaps.

Create a flat bottom for the basket by bending the twigs into place

Create a flat bottom for the basket by bending the twigs into place. Add glue and secure the twigs into position with butterfly clips so that the glue dries in position.

Once all the twigs are in position go over the basket and paint in another layer of glue

Once all the twigs are in position go over the basket and paint in another layer of glue.

Add a few twigs into the basket to start the design and break up the formal pattern created by the wreath and twigs

Add a few twigs into the basket to start the design and break up the formal pattern created by the wreath and twigs.

This is your moment to add the personality of your basket. What would you like your basket to say?

Set the basket aside for the glue to dry completely

Set the basket aside for the glue to dry completely.

Once dry cut the support string

Once dry cut the support string...

And remove the string.

Test the basket to see if it is secure. If anything still feels wobbly add a bit more glue and keep it in place with the butterfly clips.

Remove all the butterfly clips

Remove all the butterfly clips

I wanted to show you how I get these delicate vines to stay in the water tubes without slipping out. You can read about it in our email this week. You can sign up to receive your weekly tip... and ask me questions or comments or say hi by replying to the email. I would love to hear from you. The sign up is below this post.

Glue the water tube into the basket and weave the vine through and up to the handle

Glue the water tube into the basket and weave the vine through and up to the handle.

Glue a few twigs over the water tube to cage it in and conceal it

Glue a few twigs over the water tube to cage it in and conceal it.

Glue in a few small water tubes for the flowers.

Glue in a few small water tubes for the flowers. If it is a display basket , like mine, you can add open water tubes so that it is easy to refill and replace the flowers. I make these tiny water tubes from drinking straws or pipe. See the Tutorial below for more detailed instructions.

Fill the tubes with water

Fill the tubes with water.

See the Tutorial below for more detailed instructions on how I adjust a syringe to fill my water tubes.

Cut a few twigs with a sharp knife

Split a few twigs with a sharp knife...

Split a few of the twigs

to create a flat surface...

Conceal the water tubes

so that you can conceal the water tubes if you prefer.

Add in your flowers

Add in your flowers so that they are kept in position by the twigs.

Isn't these Lime Saxifrage flowers gorgeous? They are in full bloom on our balcony garden at the moment.

Finish the design with a few dew drop crystals

Finish the design with a few dew drop crystals.

See the Tutorial below for more detailed instructions on how I place these crystals in my designs.

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

Tutorials

1 November 2011 Weaving a twig wreath

For my design I wanted the wreath to look wind blown so I added a few loosely woven twigs into the weave. I also wanted to emphasize the autumn colours so I added a twirling...

22 May 2012 Bite and snap a sturdy twig

Break the sturdy twig on the scribe line.

4 January 2011 Drinking straw "test tubes"

When you need to keep a tiny stem hydrated this is just what you need.

8 July 2015 Using a pin to place tiny dew drop crystals

It's sometimes difficult to place a tiny crystal or bead exactly where you want it.

24 May 2017 Chain link wreath weaving

Weave a few small wreaths to connect

27 September 2017 Tendril vine Wreath Pumpkin

Reshape a vine wreath into smaller wreaths to combine as a pumpkin

18 April 2018 Clematis Vine Swing

Weave a delicate nest for a small spring design.

21 March 2018 Craft a Spring basket from a wreath

A wide gap nearly basket for nearly spring

10 September 2014 Twig Bridal Basket

A slim basket design made from twigs

6 January 2012 Mossy Twig handbag

Radiate short twigs in a circle to make a moss and twig handbag

2 March 2021 Catch Blossom Petals in a Pussy Willow tray basket

An easy to assemble yourself harvest basket to carry home and display Spring blossoms.

Related Designs

1 March 2023 … ish

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

19 April 2023 Short Cut

A tiny carry basket to gather the shortest stems from your cutting garden... with a place for water and your cutters.

28 June 2023 Catch and Release

Ah... yes summer time designing. Anyone else seeing more insects hiding between the petals this year?

20 March 2024 the arc of Success

Coil a straw basket for an Easter display

20 January 2011 The last Vine Wreath

Every designer knows how to stretch their supplies. We use and re-use our dried plant material until our fellow designers feel like hiding it from us. I formed such an...

16 March 2016 Creative Expectations

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

17 August 2016 Strangeness

Weave a wreath to display air plants on

8 April 2011 Large Open Weave Twig Basket

Easter Basket used in the Durbanville Flower Club Easter Parade Demonstration

24 May 2017 Link

weave a few wreaths to link

12 April 2011 Intimate Dinner For Two- Table Setting Competition Class

Floral Sushi Dinner, for two

27 September 2017 As tendrils tend to do

Curl a wreath with tendrils to create a twig-pumpkin

18 April 2018 Swing Vine

Weave a delicate vine swing to nestle a small vase with spring flowers in

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

10 September 2014 Creativity will come

My Twig Bridal Basket design and Tutorial featured in the Extraordinary Wedding Flowers issue of the New Zealand Floral Design Magazine

5 January 2012 Designing Your Way to Profits

Floral Craftsmanship Article in the Canadian Florist Magazine

4 December 2013 Red, Redder, Reddest!

My article and flower girl net basket design featured in the Red! issue of DIY Weddings Magazine

3 March 2021 Spring Tray-ning

A Spring basket design for catching falling blossom petals.

3 December 2014 Finding Common Ground

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