My Creative Workbook

Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman

Kenzan leaf rack

Design note: Now normally I would remove the messy pollen from the lily but in this design I left the golden stamens to drop gently onto the petals to bring out the gold in the autumn leaves. See the Tutorial below if you want to rather remove the messy pollen.

Roll a long worm from floral fix

Roll a long worm from floral fix

Connect the ends and fix it to the bottom of a Kenzan

Connect the ends and fix it to the bottom of a Kenzan

Press the Kenzan onto the design container and twist

Press the Kenzan onto the design container and twist. This creates a seal and the Kenzan is secured to the container.

See the Tutorial below for detailed instructions on how to secure a Kenzan

Add another Kenzan

For this design I placed two Kenzans in the bottom of my container, with a tiny gap between them.

Slip a leaf to rest between the metal teeth of the Kenzan

Slip the leaf to rest between the metal teeth of the Kenzan

Add a few more leaves.

Add a few more leaves.

Play around with the placement

Play around with the placement. I placed mine from big to small with a few prominent gaps in between.

Place your flower stem in the teeth of the Kenzan

Place your flower stem in the teeth of the Kenzan.

Fill the container with water

Fill the container with water.

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

Tutorials

7 January 2015 Securing a kenzan

Temporarily adhere a traditional Ikebana Kenzan or pincushion to a shallow container.

2 January 2011 Lilies

How to keep Lilies in bud for longer. Removing the pollen. Stringing a Lily Garland.

8 October 2014 Replacing water in a shallow container design without disturbing the design elements

Our goal as designers is to create the best environment for our flowers to stay as beautiful and fresh for as long as possible. When we condition flowers we always remove any...

7 January 2015 So many ways to use a Kenzan to hold floral materials

How to place various sizes of plant material in a Kenzan

1 April 2015 Keeping pollen tidy

Most of the time I would gently tug the pollen covered stamens away the moment it becomes yellow and messy. But the Gloriosa looks rather pretty with the stamens on, so I fix it...

30 March 2012 Keep pod shaped flowers in bud for longer

Sometimes you want to keep flowers in tight bud for as long as possible to suit your design

Related Designs

15 November 2017 Alchemy

Gently stand leaves upright in a Kenzan

14 April 2021 a Yay! You

A tiny Spring detail to add to a cute little floral design.

25 May 2022 Grateful Heart

Frame a single perfect Bleeding heart flower in a leaf dot.

8 June 2022 Make Believe

Ever seen an eucalyptus flower? This is... and is not one.

20 July 2022 The tiniest drop

A radiating summer design that waves in the slightest of breezes.

10 May 2023 By the cone full

A small design to display those last Spring snippets from your garden...

30 August 2023 Courage, now

A bit of a rethink as the season is getting ready to change. How can I give my design idea a fresh twist?

6 September 2023 Mother Nature’s little magic to let us know Autumn is near

It's the little sun-washed coloured hints that makes you look again to see if you really saw what you thought you saw... yes! There really are signs of autumn everywhere!

7 January 2015 Any Which Way

Using a traditional Ikabana Kenzan to place flowers in a shallow container

21 June 2017 Playing Favourites

A quick and easy Kenzan design

1 June 2016 The ties that Bind

Bind a lily to create a trumpet shape as it opens

13 March 2013 Than you have to

Weave blades of grass to create a cover for a glass vase

16 April 2014 Never saw such a lovely day...

Weave a palm thorn garland to decorate for Easter

10 June 2015 Gotcha!

Hana Kubari lily stems

17 September 2014 Still

My bark bowl design and tutorial featured in the Centrepiece Wedding Magazine

18 February 2015 Snail Away

Spiral roll a snail to add to this sunny design

2 August 2017 Grace

Use snips and snippets and leftovers to create a design of it's own

3 April 2011 One Singular Sensation

Three Lilies plaited to create a sensational, singular flower "growing" out of a Equisetum dome filled with Rainbow Oasis pebbles.