My Creative Workbook

Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman

Prickly Pine-needle Square

Cut a block of floral foam into a square

Cut a block of floral foam into a square. I wanted my block to rest on an upturned square vase so I measured it to be slightly smaller than the container

I seal the foam with wax before soaking it to create a water tight base. See the Tutorial below for more detailed information about sealing floral foam

Fill a container with water and rest the floral foam on the water to soak.

Fill a container with water and rest the floral foam on the water to soak. Do not dunk the foam under water but let it naturally soak up water and sink to the bottom to prevent air bubbles from being trapped in the foam

See the Tutorial below on more details on Types of Floral Foam and Soaking Floral Foam.

Score any pattern lines into the foam

Let the water drain from the block and score any pattern lines into the foam

Start pressing the pine needles into the foam

Start pressing the pine needles into the foam. For my design I created a pattern by pressing the sheath into the foam to let the sharp needle stick out or pressed the needle into the foam to let the sheathe portrude

Continue adding needles

Continue adding needles

Move around the flat surfaces and press in needles

Move around the flat surfaces and press in needles

Keep pressing in needles to cover all the angles

Keep pressing in needles to cover all the angles

Split a needle open to create a hairpin

Split a needle open to create a hairpin...

Peg a small bundle of needles in place to cover the sharp edges.

To peg a small bundle of needles in place to cover the sharp edges.

One needle peg on each side

One needle peg on each side

Peg a verticle bundle to cover the side edges

Peg a verticle bundle to cover the side edges

Peg the bottom bundle to secure it in place

Peg the bottom bundle to secure it in place

Sprinkle very fine artificial snow to settle between the needles

Sprinkle very fine artificial snow to settle between the needles

Lightly dusting the entire cube with artificial snow

Lightly dusting the entire cube with artificial snow

Pineneedle cube ready to design with

Pineneedle cube ready to design with

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Tutorials

Sealing floral foam shapes with candle wax to make them water tight
14 February 2013 Sealing floral foam shapes with candle wax to make them water tight

A thin layer of melted wax creates a watertight layer for floral foam

Types of Floral Foam
20 February 2011 Types of Floral Foam

Dry foam (normally a grey block) used for dried or artificial flower arrangements, wet foam (normally a green block) for fresh flower arrangements and decorative Rainbow Oasis...

Soaking Floral Foam
20 February 2011 Soaking Floral Foam

Each block of foam holds forty times its own weight in water. One brick holds two litres of water

Related Designs

Let It Snow
10 December 2014 Let It Snow

Use floral foam to create a pine needle cube

A Very Merry Christmas Star
20 December 2017 A Very Merry Christmas Star

A wire Christmas star with a secret plan to hide the twinkle

Can it be?
27 December 2017 Can it be?

Craft a pine tube to display a soft and snow filled winter scene

Have yourself a Merry Cellulose Fibre Christmas: Snow Globe
16 December 2020 Have yourself a Merry Cellulose Fibre Christmas: Snow Globe

...ok not really that fancy- it’s paper pulp. Cardboard boxes, really. In the spirit of 2020- I am inspired by the endless stream of cardboard boxes being delivered. This week...