Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman
Stachys byzantina gifts on a snow drift Christmas table scape
- 24 December 2025
Start by crafting a snow covered twig wreath... the detailed Tutorial is below this post.
I am placing my snow covered wreath on a round display container...
Twirl fairy lights through the twigs for that Christmassy glow.
Place frosted glass chips in the bottom of the display container...
Pour water over the glass chips to fill the container...
The glass chips are not merely decorative... although they sure are pretty in a frosted glass pond kind of way... but...
The heavy chips are also great to help anchor the tiniest of rosary vines so that the stems remain hydrated...
And keep the orchids snugly in place with their stems tucked under the glass chips and the petals above the water.
Now for the fun part... gift wrapping. I am shaping my Lambs' Ear gift boxes around small wooden cubes
Smooth floral glue onto the wooden cube...
Design note: Hot glue scorches the leaf and it will discolour so rather use floral glue.
Smooth the Stachys byzantina leaves smoothly down over the tacky glue covered cube.
I found that spreading glue on all four sides allows it to become just the right amount of tacky... but be careful not to get glue on your fingers!
Every Wednesday morning (Vancouver time), I send out a design note as an early glimpse at the newest Design and a few notes that I picked up creating the Tutorial that might be useful to you. This week, I wanted to show you how to hold the cube so that the glue can become tacky but your fingers stay out of the way... If you’re new here, you can sign up below this post. And if you’ve been receiving these notes for some time, I hope they feel like a welcome break in your busy week.
Make sure to overlap the leaves so that it can dry in place without corners opening up when it dries and shrinks.
Make sure not to overlap the leaves too much though you want a neat gift box shape...
Try to keep track of your fingers. I know this sounds strange but the glue gets super messy quickly. Use one finger to smooth the leaves down and another to handle the tiny giftboxes with so that you do not get messy glue spills on the delicate foliage.
If you accidentally get a bit of glue onto the leaves do not wipe. This will also rip off the fuzzy leaf covering. Rather lift the glue away. Book readers turn to page 29 where I show you how to roll and lift away any floral glue spills. .
For more information about my book: The Effortless Floral Craftsman
... and if you have a glue emergency I also have a Tutorial for you linked below.
Tie tinsel around the tiny giftboxes...
Start to decorate the gifts. Whatever is your taste... maybe just a bow? Or curl the tinsel (See the Tutorial below for detailed instructions)
Maybe glue in a few Chocolate kisses succulents to decorate the gift boxes...
Lastly also add a sparkling dew drop crystal to the giftboxes for that final sparkling Christmas touch... why not? It is Christmas Eve!
Your Lamb's Ear gift boxes are ready to add into the snowy twig wreath display...
Simply glue them in like they dropped from Santa's sleigh to softly drift down from the sky and settle all around the wreath... some at an angle and some perfectly placed.
And drape the tinsel to settle over the snow covered wreath... a perfect frame for the gorgeous white phalaenopsis orchids in the snow puddle in the middle.
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