My Creative Workbook

Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman

Hovering golden wheat Ghost Ship armature

Place a wide container on your working surface.

Pour some water in the container.

Glue a reedy stem end of wheat to the container with hot glue.

Glue in another golden wheat stem.

And a third dried wheat stem next to that.

Make sure these are sturdy pieces and add a bit more glue than needed. The dried plant material hangs from these supporting stems.

Start to build up the ghost ship shape by connecting the wheat stems.

Glue in the next section to connect the other two wheat stems.

This shapes the basic hull of the ghost ship from which the design is sculpted.

Place some spray roses between the wheat stems...

Book readers turn to page 265 of my book before cutting the stems for a tip on how to help the roses stand upright.

For more information about my book: The Effortless Floral Craftsman

And add in wheat stems to anchor (see what I did there? :o) ... the roses in place.

Place the next stem of spray roses...

... And anchor them in place with wheat.

Fill the space with spray roses and neatly keep them upright with stems.

Turn the design around and start adding support stems from the back.

And add a few spray roses into the the gaps.

Anchor the roses with wheat stems.

Next we add in the wheat

Last week we tamed the twigs (remember the hot glue hair net in our email?) this week we do the exact opposite. Do not glue the wheat part, only the reed part.

I do this to avoid even the slightest hint of a droopy look to my design. When adding stems, even stems like dried wheat always make sure it looks fresh and vibrant rather than droopy and wilting. A sure fire way is to glue in things with a natural angle to point... up.

Turn the design and add wheat all around to create a golden ghost ship shape around the roses.

Adjust the spray roses to be perfectly upright (see our email of this week for how) and add in some parallel stems to mirror the spray rose stems to create a sailboat mast look with towering poles mounted to the deck of the ghost ship.

For a bit more about these parallel lines and this week's tip on how to keep them at least almost straight see our email. If you are not yet signed up to receive the once a week email you can sign up below this post.

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Tutorials
Blow away hot glue strands
24 July 2012
Blow away hot glue strands

When you glue a structure with hot glue there are always a few stray strands of glue stuck all over the design. Blow it away with a hairdryer.
Scattered dried grass with raindrop crystals
4 August 2021
Scattered dried grass with raindrop crystals

Craft a light and airy grass halo to suspend tiny drop crystals around gorgeous roses.
All dried Autumn hemisphere design that will outlast even the falling leaves outside
23 September 2020
All dried Autumn hemisphere design that will outlast even the falling leaves outside

Preserve some floral material to design with when it is but not quite Autumn outside.
Twig snippet pillar armature
19 February 2020
Twig snippet pillar armature

A great do-in-advance and reusable design solution for a winter, early spring floral display.
Twig collar
6 September 2011
Twig collar

Create a light and transparent collar-base for the large composite flower to nestle into.
Twig snippet vase armature
11 May 2016
Twig snippet vase armature

Glue twig snippets to closely follow the shape of a glass vase
Stacked Twig Roundabout
24 July 2012
Stacked Twig Roundabout

This is a great way to use all those bits of twigs and sticks in your design room to make a floral armature
Winter White Twig Screen
6 February 2019
Winter White Twig Screen

Glue twigs to screen delicate flowers for a wintry design.
On the edge grid for a decorative twig and reed armature
14 October 2020
On the edge grid for a decorative twig and reed armature

Place the floral details strategically on the edge of sturdier parts of the armature to keep the reed grid from collapsing under the weight of the floral details.
Twig Dome Armature
17 July 2019
Twig Dome Armature

Crafted from a hand full of twigs to give you a large design... even though you add only two stems of sweet peas.
Popsicle Stick Square Armature
8 June 2016
Popsicle Stick Square Armature

Glue Popsicle sticks to create a double layered, upright armature
Protect your “mercury” glass vases with a reusable lining when using wire as a mechanic
16 October 2024
Protect your “mercury” glass vases with a reusable lining when using wire as a mechanic

How to protect glass vases from scratching when using wire as a mechanic
No Mow May Scattered Grass and Erigeron Meadow design
31 May 2023
No Mow May Scattered Grass and Erigeron Meadow design

Tape a grid to create a barely there scattered grass display for a cooling summer display.
Snowy twig band armature for a ever changing winter display
18 January 2023
Snowy twig band armature for a ever changing winter display

A well made snow covered twig band armature will last all winter so that you can display even the most delicate winter treasures.
Dendrobium orchid and grass snippet cone around a glass container
27 July 2022
Dendrobium orchid and grass snippet cone around a glass container

Craft a grass armature to suspend the orchids in deep water from around the outside of your container.
A wild "found it this way" thorn and overgrown tulip design with a ribbon tangle instead of a bow.
1 June 2022
A wild "found it this way" thorn and overgrown tulip design with a ribbon tangle instead of a bow.

Glue an overgrown thorn armature to a container to display fully opened tulips
Related Designs
Counting Raindrops
4 August 2021
Counting Raindrops

Grass crisscross that makes you want to lean in closer to count the late summer raindrops around these gorgeous roses.
Getting a head start on all that Fall-ing
23 September 2020
Getting a head start on all that Fall-ing

Floral styling using mostly dried material that will last the entire Autumn.
The Upside of being Inside
19 February 2020
The Upside of being Inside

A creative design that has some height to it without blocking the view. This can easily be scaled up or down to match the environment you want to display it in.
When Autumn Fall
6 September 2011
When Autumn Fall

Autumn leaf composite flower
Pour
11 May 2016
Pour

Glue a twig vase and melt some plastic to create a tumbling design
A little bit of Art and Soul
24 July 2012
A little bit of Art and Soul

A twig structure with roses
Tread softly on winter
6 February 2019
Tread softly on winter

A delicate winter twig armature to show off the delicate beauty of these early spring coloured tulips.
Stick it out… the creative spirit version
14 October 2020
Stick it out… the creative spirit version

Soft minimal Fall armature making it easy to replace the flowers as the season progress.
… and... a bit more... effort… to make it special
17 July 2019
… and... a bit more... effort… to make it special

Instead of just placing a handful of twigs and two stems of sweet peas in a vase... why not...?
Cross-hatch a Shadow Bright Autumn
2 October 2019
Cross-hatch a Shadow Bright Autumn

A clever trick borrowed from art techniques to add dimension to a bright and colourful Autumn floral design.
When the wind whisper
8 June 2016
When the wind whisper

Glue a fantasy forest from Popsicle sticks, grape vine tendrils and willow tips
And there you glow
16 October 2024
And there you glow

A glowing autumn display of vases to scatter around every here and there.
Notice That?/!
31 May 2023
Notice That?/!

Light and airy... like a wonderful breeze on a hot summer day grass and erigeron display.
Getting the Band Back Together Again
18 January 2023
Getting the Band Back Together Again

Glue a band of snow dusted twigs to create a delicate armature for winter treasures.
Wrong on the right, for a right
27 July 2022
Wrong on the right, for a right

A glued snipped to create a cooling cone for dangling orchids
Found it!
1 June 2022
Found it!

A very secure thorn branch armature to hold overgrown Tulips in place
Ship Shape
27 October 2021
Ship Shape

The dry wheat stems are suspended from the outside of the container so that they remain dry and the flower stems can gently rest inside to remain hydrated.
Favourite Flowers
Rosa
Rosa

My all in the same boat floral art arrangement with roses in an Agave sisalana (sisal) leaf.