Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman
Permanent Mossy Stick tree
- 15 March 2012
- click to send Christine a smile
This is an easy way to create a design armature to hang flowers, candles and beads from. It can be as simple as just cutting a single branch from a tree and setting it in a pot or more styled by using various sticks, twigs and branches to create a natural looking design.
Balance is all important. If you are going to hang floral details from the stick tree make sure it is really solid, stable and well balanced even before you start to design.
Place a few twigs, sticks and a thicker branch (or two) in a pot to create a decorative tree.
To keep the sticks in place secure them with concrete, clay or playdough. I like using playdough because it is very easy to colour and stick to the branches without needing a support while it dries so that you can continue designing the moment everything is in place.
Slowly build up layers of play-dough to create a heavy and very secure base. Cover the play-dough with potting soil or pebbles
Design with the tree as it is or set it in a decorative pot. I wanted my tree to look natural so I covered it with stone coloured growth medium. You can also use moss.
Your stick tree is now ready to design with. For extra strength place the tree in full sun to dry and harden the playdough.
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Tutorials
Playdough is heavy, pliable, easy to mix, sticky, inexpensive and dries overnight. Perfect for floral art accessories!
Up-cycle a pot scrubber to get a huge roll of very pretty copper wire
Sometimes you need a pot or vase to look more natural or completely disappear in a design. The easiest way is to cover it with moss or natural growth medium.
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