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Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman

Skewered Foliage Garland

  • 22 March 2017
  • and more

I used both Leucadendron and Eucalyptus leaves in the Tutorial below

Strip the Leucadendron leaves from the stems.

Cut the wire at a sharp angle

Roll the Leucadendron leave and skewer with the wire

Thread the leaves on the wire and space it apart

Rolled Leucadendron leaf skewers ready to add to the design

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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
Roll gladiolus leaves into tubes to craft a raft for a toad lily stem
20 August 2025
Roll gladiolus leaves into tubes to craft a raft for a toad lily stem

Pin leaf rolls with sharp thorns to craft a natural raft to display tiny stems of unusual flowers cut from your garden.
Bark squares, wire and water tubes dangling dangler
11 June 2025
Bark squares, wire and water tubes dangling dangler

A mobile design that is crafted around your plant material.
Cross stem spacer
10 August 2022
Cross stem spacer

Use the off-cut stems to create a spacer to keep the flowers in place.
Threaded stem and wire spacer wire garland
10 August 2022
Threaded stem and wire spacer wire garland

Thread stems into a wire to create dangling garlands
How to skewer foliage tubes for a lily bud swirl support
18 May 2022
How to skewer foliage tubes for a lily bud swirl support

Ombre designing with the smallest to the biggest lily buds in a shallow container.
Rolled leaf shelter for a lean-in-closer tiny bud vase design
6 January 2021
Rolled leaf shelter for a lean-in-closer tiny bud vase design

Create a tiny visual tunnel to focus attention.
Quarter fold and Thread an Autumn leaf tube armature
9 October 2019
Quarter fold and Thread an Autumn leaf tube armature

This armature is actually made of four times as many leaves as what it looks like to create a hinge to fan the entire leaf-tube open yet keep it's shape.
Autumn leaf Christmas tree stack
24 October 2018
Autumn leaf Christmas tree stack

Stack autumn leaves, from big to small to look like a tiny Christmas tree
Clips to hang flowers vertically
17 October 2018
Clips to hang flowers vertically

I designed and printed these clips on a 3D printer as a fast, secure and convenient way to hang water tubes vertically down fishing line.
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
And that’s when inspiration toad us to hop to it
20 August 2025
And that’s when inspiration toad us to hop to it

Banana shaped rolled foliage Toad lily lookout
Space holder
10 August 2022
Space holder

Creating a bit of space in a summer design to allow for the plant material to naturally fall as it wants.
Because Why
18 May 2022
Because Why

Adding the smallest details to absolutely make the design.
I tip my (flower) cap!
6 January 2021
I tip my (flower) cap!

An enclosed design that invites the onlooker to lean in closer to explore the pretty orchid.
Take a Stab at it
27 May 2020
Take a Stab at it

Skewer a few leaves to turn a single carnation in a bud vase... into an occasion... all by itself!
With a thankful twist in the middle
9 October 2019
With a thankful twist in the middle

Fold and thread an autumn leaf armature for a thankful Thanksgiving design
It all stacks up
24 October 2018
It all stacks up

Quick and easy: Stack autumn leaves onto a wire for a... tiny table top Christmas tree.
But wait… there's more!
17 October 2018
But wait… there's more!

Tucked into the box with every advance copy of the book, the effortless floral craftsman is a packet of clips. This design and Tutorial is a bit of inspiration... what will you create with your clips?
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.