Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman
Spiked Tulip Fan
- 1 February 2023
- click to send Christine a smile
Fix a Kenzan to a small container.
To get you started there is a Tutorial below this post that will show you how to fix a Kenzan,
Book readers see page 160 onwards for a whole bunch of tips on how to use a Kenzan.
For more information about my book:
The Effortless Floral Craftsman
Place the tulips on a working surface to measure and groom the stems. See the Tutorial below to get you started.
I am using both peony-flowered tulips and then...
Peel the petals to reveal the stigma from another bunch of more mature tulips.
Spike the stigma stem into the Kenzan.
Spike in the rest of the stigma stems to radiate out.
Spike in a peony tulip.
The cheery flowers continue to grow even when severed from the bulb and you need to divert their energy to keep them in place in a design. This week in our email I show you why a Kenzan is so ideal for this kind of design. The subscribe button is below this post if you want to recieve advance notice of when the design is ready for you to view, a bonus tip or want to ask questions... or say hi.
And add in two more tulips this time leaning to the other side.
Cut a tulip leaf from the stem with a sharp knife...
Loosely curl the tulip leaf...
Hold the leaf in your hand for five seconds and release to reveal the curl...
And add the tulip leaf curl into the design and elegantly curve it to join the one tulip and thinning out while pointing to the other tulips to connect them.
Add in a few dew drop crystals.
See the Tutorial below for how (and why) I use a pin to position these delicate crystals.
And add a sprinkling of artificial snow
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Tutorials
Temporarily adhere a traditional Ikebana Kenzan or pincushion to a shallow container.
It's sometimes difficult to place a tiny crystal or bead exactly where you want it.
Tulips continue to grow after being cut. Sometimes when you make a very small design or for competition or bridal work you want to minimize growth. The best way to do this is to...
Craft an everything is still growing spring design to celebrate... what we love!
Glue an overgrown thorn armature to a container to display fully opened tulips
so many techniques rolled into one rather pretty tulip nest. Perfect to celebrate new beginnings: Spring and my book birthday... and my online workshop!
Bring in some warmth with a tulip design that still hints at winter
Trap air between two vases to create a third circle... and frame for a small feather hint to a hopeful Spring
Artificial snow can be very "chemical" and flowers deteriorate quickly when exposed to it. It also dissolves in water. I use candle wax as "snow"
A clever almost concealed wire support to keep a single tulip flower upright in a minimal bud design.
Flowers naturally float in water. They just don’t always naturally float on water. For that they sometimes need a bit of help.
Here is a trick to make sure your tulips will condition thoroughly
Wedge snipped twigs into a glass vase to act as a support for your flowers
Tulips continue to grow as they open. This means you not only have to be mindful of their proportions as they are now... but also as they will be once open.
A clever almost concealed wire support to keep a single tulip flower upright in a minimal bud design.
Favourite Flowers
Tulip
Related Designs
Luxuriously filled design... filled with flowers... filled with grass. But most fun, for us as designers filled with hidden techniques
It's Tulip Season! Perfect for that "it's still winter ... but is that something green I see...?" mood designs.
That good old double vase trick... but this time I deliberately added a bubble between the two layers to create a third circle in the design.
Keeping this tulip upright requires less magic and more hot glue skills... but it looks magical never the less.
Is it better to go Cold Twinkle Turkey and embrace the minimalist living room or rather ease into it?
A delicate winter twig armature to show off the delicate beauty of these early spring coloured tulips.
This is a great "space-keeper" design. The tulip will continue to grow into the vase height as they open... but until then the grass platform part of the design diverts your...