My Creative Workbook

Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman

Stacked eggshell containers that won't topple over.

Wash and dry a few eggshells

Wash and dry a few eggshells.

Place a small corsage magnet in the eggshell

Place a small corsage magnet in the eggshell

Stack a few more eggshells over the magnet to create a pretty pattern.

Stack a few more eggshells over the magnet to cover the magnet and create a pretty pattern.

Place the partner magnets at the bottom of a display container.

Place the partner magnets at the bottom of a display container.

You can now carefully drag and position the eggshells exactly how you want it without it toppling over when you add the plant material.

Fill the eggshells with Reindeer moss

Fill the eggshells with Reindeer moss.

Add a pretty twig

Add a pretty twig...

Add a few wooden feathers

... and a few wooden feathers

See the Tutorial below for detailed instructions on how to make the shaved wood feathers.

Fill the eggshells with water

Fill the eggshells with water to keep the fresh flowers hydrated.

See the Tutorial below for detailed instructions on how I make the syringe with tube.

Add the oncidium orchids and a few bulbs

Add the oncidium orchids and a few bulbs and roots.

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

Tutorials

28 March 2018 Stacked eggshell containers that won't topple over.

Balance a stack of eggshells with a magnet for a tiny Easter design

7 April 2012 Paste and cut Wooden Feathers

Wood glue makes wood veneer or Kyogi paper soft and playable to make feathers with

3 January 2011 Syringe with tube

Easy way to fill test tubes and easiest way to remove water from a vase

10 March 2012 Kyogi paper wood veneer

I wanted to create extremely light weight wooden blocks for my design. The easiest way is to cover Styrofoam with a Kyogi paper veneer.

9 August 2017 Weave a flat top to tip at an angle with flower stems

Craft a platform to highlight small flowers

16 August 2011 Cut spiked flower stems and foliage into short sections

Orchids grow in long flower spikes. It is great to use the entire stem but sometimes you need shorter section. There is a trick to cutting the stems without leaving a visible...

22 April 2015 Dowel ring flower holder for the most delicate of stems

The most delicate of stems often disappear in a design. this is an easy way to display really delicate flowering stems without overwhelming them

28 June 2017 Skewer leaf rolls to support a tiny water source for fresh flowers

Hide the water source in a rolled leaf

10 August 2016 Bamboo frog for a shallow container design

Cut short bamboo lengths to keep your flower material upright in a shallow and narrow container

1 April 2015 Hana-kubari Bamboo

Hana-Kubari is an Ikebana flower mechanic. Only natural materials such as pebbles, sticks and branches can be seen to support the flowers. Traditionally no twine or wire, nails,...

30 May 2012 Plaiting a palm thorn garland

This is the basic technique used in traditional Easter crafts to plait a crown of thorns.

Related Designs

28 March 2018 Walking on eggshells

Fill eggshells with moss to create an upright container... with a surprising balancing trick.

10 October 2018 From A... for Acer to Z… for Zantedeschia

This week we look at the design featured in the Flower Guide Chapter at the very end of my book

20 March 2019 It’s all ===> right

Hang a dangling eggshell in a Spring blossom design.

27 March 2019 Like trying to find a water tube in a eggshell stack

A fun Spring and Easter design with stacked eggshells.

8 April 2020 Don’t put all your Baskets in one Egg

A bit of a wrong way round pretty Easter design. Put the basket weave inside the egg instead of putting the eggs in a basket.

29 July 2020 Tail end of the story

Craft a bark platform to design on in a foxtail fern frond.

13 April 2022 Hop on… it’s Easter!

A cheery Easter basket for a new beginning

29 March 2023 To grow a patch of grass of our very own

The first of my new monthly articles about growing the material you need to design with. This month we are taking stock of what we need... and growing wheatgrass.

9 August 2017 Hat tip

Tip a mortarboard inspired top at an angle for a glass design

22 April 2015 Toiling

Convert a dowel stick into a container for delicate flower stems

28 June 2017 Somewhere in the Middle

Skewer Dracaena leaves into a roll that supports a tiny water source for the Oncidium orchids

10 August 2016 Saved up

Cut lengths of bamboo to place in a shallow container as a flower frog

1 April 2015 The Space Between

Traditional Hana-Kubari flower mechanic

12 August 2015 Catch of the Day

Weave a loose basket to display a single flower... or three

16 April 2014 Never saw such a lovely day...

Weave a palm thorn garland to decorate for Easter

2 July 2014 Clearly contained

Clear containers need clear grids to keep the flowers in place

7 April 2012 Spring Clean

A clean Easter design. The tiny blossoms are Kalanchoe 'Calandiva Pink'. Tucked low in the paper eggs are a few Cymbidium orchids and the twigs are contorted hazel. The...