My Creative Workbook

Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman

Snowy Pinecone with green tomato berries and Kalanchoe flowers

Allow a large pine cone to dry out.jpg

Bring in the largest pinecone to thoroughly open up as it dries out.

Line your work surface to protect it from the sticky pinecone sap. This sticky xylem and phloem contains nutrients and sugar for the tree and is perfectly harmless... but rather sticky. You can bake the sap away in a warm oven (about 200 degrees Fahrenheit) for up to an hour or soak the cones in diluted vinegar for 30 minutes. If there are no bugs and mildew on the cones you can also craft with it as is.
A bit of stickiness and that wonderful pine smell is part of the Christmas feeling... so I stick to that (see what I did there?)

If you are wondering what is the best way to line your working surface I have a tip for you on page 19 of my book where I show you what I stock up on for my design space.
For more information about my book: The Effortless Floral Craftsman

Paint the cone tips with wood glue

Paint the cone tips with wood glue...

Sprinkle artificial snow so that it covers the glue

... and sprinkle artificial snow so that it covers the glue.

Hang the cone up to add the design details.

Hang the cone up to dry.

Glue in a few sticks

Glue in a few sticks to drape around the edge of the cone.

And a few more sticks to grow out of the pine cones

And a few more sticks to grow out of the pine cones.

Glue in the Kalanchoe flowers with floral glue

Glue in the Kalanchoe flowers with floral glue. The flowers are cut from succulent plants, need no water source and will magically remain looking this beautiful for about a week longer than you expect it to!

I do have a tip for you for placing the flowers and wanted to explain in more detail so I added it to our weekly notification email. Feel free to reply to the email if you have a comment (or a tip to remove the wax from your hands) or just to say hi. The sign up is below this post.

Next I added a few tiny green tomatoes that were still growing in my balcony garden

Next I added a few tiny green tomatoes that I have been treasuring for this design out on my balcony garden.

I just love the star shaped sepal of the berries! Prefect for a natural Christmas details.

Glue in the berries at an angle so that you can see the sepals

Glue the berries into the design, at an angle, so that you can see the sepals

Add a few more twigs to drape over the flowers and the berries

Add a few more twigs to drape over the flowers and the berries.

Hang a few baubles on the twigs

Hang a few baubles on the twigs...

Drape a few rosary vines around the pinecone

Drape a few rosary vines around the pinecone...

And finish the design with a pretty bow

And finish the design with a pretty bow.

That drapes down the sides of the design so that it looks pretty from all sides as it spins

That drapes down the sides of the design so that it looks pretty from all sides as it spins.

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

Tutorials

7 April 2012 Foam pin holder drying rack

This is a convenient way to keep flowers perfectly upright while you wait for glue to dry.

27 December 2017 Pine NeedleTube

Glue pine needles to a up-cycled disk to create a winter scene

2 December 2015 Silver bell Christmas Greenery kissing ball

Use delicate sprigs of cypress or juniper, fir, pine, eucalyptus, ivy or a combination of them all to create a winter themed kissing bough

13 December 2017 Long lasting bark and Kalanchoe sleigh

Kalanchoe flowers last weeks without a water source and is the perfect way to dress up a bark and silver bell sleigh

10 January 2018 Long lasting flower wand

Create a long lasting wand with Kalachoe.

7 November 2018 Ripped Flax Mittens

Knot delicate floral mittens from flax.

22 December 2021 Patina Copper Spiral Bauble and Pinecone Cascade

A beautiful pinecone dressed up for Christmas.

4 December 2019 Eucalyptus collar for a snow-covered Christmas candle

Not only will your home smell wonderful while crafting this design you will also have a ethereal and long lasting design to enjoy.

22 July 2020 Adding flowers to those pretty hand coiled flip flops I made for my book

Step up the flip-flop design by decorating it with some long lasting succulent flowers. It might look delicate... but these flowers are robust and long lasting.

12 January 2022 Budding winter twigs with a fluffy fairy light garland

Snowfall twigs with a light glow garland for a minimal winter display

Favourite Flowers

Kalanchoe

Christmas Kalanchoe, Kalanchöe or Kalanchoë

Related Designs

23 November 2022 Ways to Merry a Christmas

A little bit of effort... that will last for weeks design to hang about the whole Festive Season.

21 December 2022 Let it

A happy December Solstice or the Winter Solstice lantern.

20 November 2024 A Very Merry… all elf pass into Santa’s workshop!

A light... and slight start to designing for Christmas... an oversized Finial

27 November 2024 A Very Merry… all elf pass into Santa’s workshop, special department of tinkering together those Soooo Good, for Goodness Sake moments

Long lasting and easy to pick up and place garland to decorate a Festive Platter of… anything, really!

27 December 2017 Can it be?

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

30 April 2015 Layer

Design One from my Inspiration Video: Use the same floral ingredients, willow twigs, Lichen, Spanish Moss, Kalanchoe and Gypsophila to make three distinctly different contemporary...

6 May 2015 Tape and Wrap

Design Two from my Inspiration Video: Use the same floral ingredients, willow twigs, Lichen, Spanish Moss, Kalanchoe and Gypsophila to make three distinctly different contemporary...

13 May 2015 Encased

Design Three from my Inspiration Video: Use the same floral ingredients, willow twigs, Lichen, Spanish Moss, Kalanchoe and Gypsophila to make three distinctly different...

2 December 2015 Stacking the odds in your favour

Cover a wire frame for a winter kissing bough.

13 December 2017 Just hear those sleigh bells jingling

Craft a bark sleigh that will last for weeks.

10 January 2018 Let some magic find you

My article and floral wand design featured in DIY Weddings Magazine

4 December 2013 Red, Redder, Reddest!

My article and flower girl net basket design featured in the Red! issue of DIY Weddings Magazine

7 November 2018 Grab your party mittens, flower buds… it’s Book Launch Day!

Celebrating my book launch by knotting floral mittens using the design Tutorial from my book and the template from the free gift template booklet.

22 December 2021 It’s the most… it’s the most… wonderful Patina Copper Spiral Bauble Christmas of all!

This is the fifth of my Christmas 2021 series of designs. This year in the form of a mini workshop… my Christmas present to you. This week I will show you how to add a mostly...

4 December 2019 A Very Merry eucalyptus-collar-candle Christmas!

An easy and naturally fragrant winter white candle decoration to bring nature into your house this Christmas.

22 July 2020 Step It Up

Dress up a pair of hand coiled flip-flops with succulents.

12 January 2022 All That Potential

Softly glowing winter twigs for a minimal display