Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman
Popsicle Stick Square Armature
- 8 June 2016
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Line a deep square tray with plastic wrap
Set the Popsicle sticks in the tray and secure with wood glue in a random overlapping pattern
Build up the shape making sure every connection point is secured with wood glue
As a rule of thumb, I try to glue each stick at three points to the neighbouring sticks
To create dimension built the sticks so that it rests both over and under the other sticks
Once you have the first layer move on to add the next layer
Keep adding layer after layer.
When you have a solid armature set it aside to dry
Lift the armature from the tray
Glue the second Popsicle square in the same way
Set the armature on a flat working surface and glue in a partially stripped willow stick
See the Tutorial below for detailed instructions on how to strip the bark from willow sticks
Set the two armatures upright with a gap between the two
Let the armatures balance on the working surface
Press a willow twig from one side of the armature straight through to the other side and glue to secure.
Keep adding sticks to secure the two armatures
Add in some more decorative willow sticks
Wrap painters tape around the bottom of four willow sticks as spacers for the armature feet
Glue in the stick so that only the blue tape sticks out from the bottom of the armature
Glue in all four feet.
Remove the tape
The armature is now ready to design with
Glue in a few willow tips, ivy leaves and grape vine tendrils
Popsicle stick armature ready to add flowers
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Tutorials
Butterfly hair clips are the perfect little claws to help you hold tiny items in place while you wait for glue to dry
When you need to keep a tiny stem hydrated this is just what you need.
Strip the green bark from the stems to expose the smooth wood
I glued wooden slats into a frame and then wove flax string to create the floral parasol
I wanted to make a thin and delicate fan with open spaced slats for weaving plant material through.
This design can easily scale up or down by using larger or smaller pieces of wood to create a larger wall panel or make a few of these panels to stack as tiles to create a more...
Favourite Flowers
Curly Willow, Chinese Willow, Tortured Willow, Globe Willow, Dragon's Claw, Hankow Willow
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