My Creative Workbook

Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman

Pin Protea foliage into a curl

Cut short lengths of wire to pin the leaves

Choose something round to roll the leaves over to make it easier to roll a lot of the leaves. For my design I chose a plastic test tube because I also wanted to fit the tubes through the leaves to conceal.

Roll the leaf around the tube

Remove the tube

And secure with the wire pin

Leaf curl ready to design with

Sign up for my weekly newsletter

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

Sign Up Now
Tutorials
Unravel Sisal string to get Sisal Fibers
28 August 2013
Unravel Sisal string to get Sisal Fibers

I purchase a huge roll of sisal string to use... sometimes as string, but mostly I unravel it for the fibers
Using sisal and wood glue to make a rigid and versatile foundation for floral art armatures
22 March 2017
Using sisal and wood glue to make a rigid and versatile foundation for floral art armatures

Wrap thin, glue soaked sisal fibers around a balloon or ball to create a barely there armature
Pin Protea foliage into a curl
22 March 2017
Pin Protea foliage into a curl

The sturdy Protea leaves holds it shape even when dried when pinned into place
Add plant material and a wire support to sisal armatures
22 March 2017
Add plant material and a wire support to sisal armatures

Customize sisal armatures by adding a wire skeleton and interesting bits of plant material
Skewered Foliage Garland
22 March 2017
Skewered Foliage Garland

Create a garland that dries well with rolled up leaves
Peel a Protea flower
5 January 2011
Peel a Protea flower

Peel away the tepals and bracts from a Protea flower hear to make a large composite flower orb
Use a BoutStix Floral Magnet to hang test tubes
29 March 2012
Use a BoutStix Floral Magnet to hang test tubes

This is a fast and easy way to hang test tubes in a design
Unravel wire from a copper pot scrubber
5 May 2011
Unravel wire from a copper pot scrubber

Up-cycle a pot scrubber to get a huge roll of very pretty copper wire
Wire baubles
5 May 2011
Wire baubles

Make baubles from wire
Wire curls
5 May 2011
Wire curls

curl wire to add to designs
Wire Tendrils
26 July 2011
Wire Tendrils

Curl the wire at irregular intervals to create a natural wire tendril similar to that of a passion fruit plant
The Three legged trick for Upright Constructions
7 September 2012
The Three legged trick for Upright Constructions

When in doubt, always give your armature three legs. Two legs are simply not enough and four legs will wobble if it is even slightly off balance.
Twig garland
2 October 2013
Twig garland

Add a dangling garland of twigs to the design
Beaded wire
14 January 2011
Beaded wire

Thread thin wire with tiny beads
Stain wooden skewers with natural dye
24 August 2011
Stain wooden skewers with natural dye

Using fruit, berries, flowers, leaves and grasses to naturally stain design details for floral art relies on the same techniques as using paint or any other dye.
A Neighbor friendly way to deflate a balloon
7 April 2012
A Neighbor friendly way to deflate a balloon

Apart from avoiding the noise popping a balloon makes this is also a less violent way to deflate a balloon when you make Papier Mache items
Glue a Sisal Fiber Bubble
8 May 2013
Glue a Sisal Fiber Bubble

Mix Sisal fibers and glue to make a bubble
Sisal Disk
19 June 2013
Sisal Disk

Create a inflexible circle armature to hang flowers from
Firethorns join two leaves for an edgy support for a tall flower stem
14 August 2024
Firethorns join two leaves for an edgy support for a tall flower stem

Thorns are a great way to spear (and keep) design details into position.
Using sisal and wood glue to make a rigid and versatile foundation for floral art armatures
22 March 2017
Using sisal and wood glue to make a rigid and versatile foundation for floral art armatures

Wrap thin, glue soaked sisal fibers around a balloon or ball to create a barely there armature
Pin Protea foliage into a curl
22 March 2017
Pin Protea foliage into a curl

The sturdy Protea leaves holds it shape even when dried when pinned into place
Skewered Foliage Garland
22 March 2017
Skewered Foliage Garland

Create a garland that dries well with rolled up leaves
Add plant material and a wire support to sisal armatures
22 March 2017
Add plant material and a wire support to sisal armatures

Customize sisal armatures by adding a wire skeleton and interesting bits of plant material
Related Designs
Wish Upon a Dandelion Star
11 June 2012
Wish Upon a Dandelion Star

A sticky shooting star made with gypsophila stems and fluffy dandelion seeds
Diamond Jubilee Waterfall
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 Great Hall of Government House in Victoria, Canada entitled British Columbia Blooms.
So happy together
8 May 2013
So happy together

Glue a sisal bubble for a few delicate flowers to rest in
This Moment
19 June 2013
This Moment

Create an armature design outside the vase
Limelight
27 May 2015
Limelight

My RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2015 Limelight Floral Art Design. My Limelight design was inspired by a slice of lime. But I wanted it to look like it was spun by a butterfly. I used Sisal, silk and loads of Lisianthus flowers and 9 grapevine plants. Each tiny stem was placed in a water filled glass seahorse or test tube to keep it hydrated.
Fall Treasures
9 September 2015
Fall Treasures

A sisal mat armature for fall twigs flowers and leaves
everything in one
14 August 2024
everything in one

Connect a unit of leaves... and a pretty floppy stem with thorns.
Let's hang out
31 May 2017
Let's hang out

Skewer some Eucalyptus to suspend between the orchids
Biomimicry
22 March 2017
Biomimicry

A design demonstration and workshop at the Floral Trends Design group in South Africa exploring how we emulate nature’s best biological ideas to solve our modern day design problems.