My Creative Workbook

Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman

Layered sisal and twig armature

Use wood glue and sisal to make a large sisal mat

Use wood glue and sisal to make a large sisal mat

See the Tutorial below for more detailed instructions on how to make an armature from sisal and glue

Fold the sisal in four and press flat

Fold the sisal in four and press flat

Cut a disk shape in the sisal to create a frame for the focal point

Cut a disk shape in the sisal to create a frame for the focal point

Remove the four disks

Remove the four disks

Place the sisal armature on a flat working surface

Place the sisal armature on a flat working surface

Fold the sisal in four

Open it up and start to pin small snippets of twigs at random places through the sisal

See the Tutorial below for an easy way to bite and snap sturdy twigs.

Keep adding twigs crossing them at random places

Keep adding twigs crossing them at random places

Add a few twigs here and there on the entire sisal surface

Add a few twigs here and there on the entire sisal surface

Fold the next layer of sisal over the first

Fold the next layer of sisal over the first

And pin a new layer of twigs

And pin a new layer of twigs

Randomly pin twigs to cross with twigs on the layers below

Randomly pin twigs to cross with twigs on the layers below

Fold over the next layer of sisal

Fold over the next layer of sisal

And pin with twigs

... and pin with twigs

Fold over the last layer of sisal.

Fold over the last layer of sisal.

Fitting it neatly into place

Fitting it neatly into place

And pin this layer with twigs

And pin this layer with twigs

Add a few smaller twigs for visual contrast

Add a few smaller twigs for visual contrast

The twig and sisal armature is ready to design with

The twig and sisal armature is ready to design with

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

Tutorials

19 June 2013 Sisal Disk

Create a inflexible circle armature to hang flowers from

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.

18 January 2012 Butterfly feeler hooks for swinging test tubes

I don't always want to wire my test tubes into the design. I like to create a bit of movement by simply hooking the tubes to gently swing.

29 July 2015 Disk Twig Armature

Glue a few wigs to follow the shape of a glass bowl to create a disk armature

9 May 2014 See-through sisal basket

Glue a very light flower girl basket from sisal

28 August 2013 Barely there Mad Hatter's Top Hat

Glue sisal fibers to create a floral top hat

8 May 2013 Glue a Sisal Fiber Bubble

Mix Sisal fibers and glue to make a bubble

26 June 2012 Berry dye for sisal fibers

Soak sisal fibres in strawberry and black berry juice to stain it purple

Related Designs

9 September 2015 Fall Treasures

A sisal mat armature for fall twigs flowers and leaves

23 November 2016 All things Autumn (by which I mean all things chocolate): Another perspective

This was the third design I did in my "All things Autumn (by which I mean all things chocolate)" floral art demonstration

29 November 2017 Marcescent

Glue a delicate autumn room devider

25 March 2020 How to lay a little bit low

A flat-lay to celebrate finally finding the perfect way to dry passion fruit flowers... and my book's first birthday but mostly the drying of passion fruit flowers thing.

8 September 2021 A good September Soaking

Exploring two soaking techniques for a subtle early autumn design

27 April 2022 Shine Shade

Glue snippets of grass into a double layer sphere to create a sheltered floral globe.

21 June 2023 Floral Hurricane

My Floral Hurricane design entry for the BC Floral Art Society mini show competition

28 August 2013 Losing some of that Muchness

A barely there sisal Mad Hatter's floral hat

8 May 2013 So happy together

Glue a sisal bubble for a few delicate flowers to rest in

26 June 2012 Diamond Jubilee Waterfall

To commemorate Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee and the 20th Anniversary of Friends of Government House Gardens Society a Horticultural event was hosted in the gardens and...