Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman
Slip-slit tapped in stems to keep vines upright in a muted autumn display
- 25 September 2024
- click to send Christine a smile
For this design I am removing most of the yellow petals from sunflowers to blend in in a darker autumn themed design.
If you want more detailed instructions on how to pick away petals see the Tutorial below.
Strong and robust sunflower stems are ideal for wedging into glass containers
Measure out the stem and cut it to fit snugly in the container.
Book readers turn to page 358 for more inspiration on how to use this technique to wedge flowers into containers... this time using the way the flower is positioned on the stem as a way to position it. For more information about my book: The Effortless Floral Craftsman
Wedge in another stem next to that...
For the base of my design I am adding three sets of wedged stems... and one more...
Design note: cut one more stem to size and keep it aside...
Pour water into the container so that the fresh material can remain hydrated in your design.
Slip the heavy sunflowers into the container to rest on the wedged in stems.
Add the smaller flowers to rest between two stems so that it remains perfectly upright.
Slip a passion fruit vine into the container to drape over the flowers... and to keep it upright...
Cut into the stem with a sharp knife...
Slip the vine into the slit...
Or/and slip a vine through the narrow gap between two wedged stems...
Or/and catch a tendril from the vine and slip that through the slit...
And make sure the stems are securely wedged into place and allow the vine to drape elegantly over the design.
Glue in a few leaves to look like the just fell onto the design... perfectly.
... but oh no... what if you do not yet have autumn leaves to design with this early in the season? Just like I did with removing the bright yellow petals from the sunflowers there are a few all natural ways to make sure your design looks perfectly Autumn. I tell you more about my ways of doing this in our email this week. I send out an email every Wednesday morning (Vancouver time) with a design specific lesson for you to read about before looking at the design and Tutorial. Sign up is below this post.
Secure the leaves with only a tiny drop of glue so that it looks like it might flutter away again at the slightest breeze.
Guide the tendrils to connect the design details.
And I finish my design with a few grass stems just scattered throughout the design...
And I add a few dew drop crystals for some sparkle.
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Tutorials
Wedge snipped twigs into a glass vase to act as a support for your flowers
I love using bits of flowers to add interest and texture
Gently pull the petals ( Ray floret) from the seeded part of the sunflower
Placing gladiolus stems horizontally so that the stems... disappear.
Pick away the ray floret so that the disk floret of a sunflower can be used as a flat surface to display your design on.
Sharp thorns can be used to keep your floral details in place
Adding tension to a design with a grass frame and collar.
Carefully manipulate and bend green willow stems to place in water to sprout as an armature for tulips to mature and open
Create a support for your floral details by wedging the cut flower stem across the opening of the vase.
Bend pliable stems to kick against the side to anchor design details exactly in place in a small vase.
Craft an everything is still growing spring design to celebrate... what we love!
Making a truss out of sunflower stems for a free standing design
Stack green lily stems to create an upright mechanic to keep shorter stems in place.
Tie a bundle of lily grass in a bundle to offer support for your flowers.
Favourite Flowers
Sunflower
Granadilla, passionflower, passion vines
Related Designs
Using summery floral details in a way that it gives you all the autumn feelings... when autumn details are not yet out.
Craft a willow heart to display 12 red roses to celebrate Valentine's Day.
Use the heart of a sunflower as a platform to place your autumn floral details on.
Manipulate fresh willow stems to create a sprouting armature for long tulip stems
Oh my! Picked from my balcony garden... after I thought I completely missed it blooming.
