My Creative Workbook

Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman

Stacking stems to show off flowers from all angles

The hardest part of this design is choosing the flowers. Yes, really!

This week in our email I tell you a bit more about choosing the correct flowers to display when the angle at which you display them is the most important part of the design. Make sure you are signed up so that you don't miss out on this weekly tip for each design.

Test the stem angle of your floral details

Test the stem angle of your floral details

See this week's email if you are unsure of how to do that.

Place the first Monstera leaf in the vase

Place the first Monstera leaf in the vase. Position it to angle out of the vase.

Place the tallest rose behind the leaf

Place the tallest rose behind the leaf to show off the peduncle and sepals.

Place a second rose in front of the leaf

Place a second rose in front of the leaf, this time showing off the corolla flower head... and my absolute favourite... a pretty guard petal.

Yes, yes I know- we are taught to remove guard petals. No, no I don't. They are so pretty! Let them be.

Slip in a second monstera leaf

Slip in a second monstera leaf that mirrors the first leaf to complete the diagonal.

Position the leaf

Position the leaf...

Book readers turn to page 367 where I discuss reciprocity. It is difficult to copy a design for the purpose of learning how to do it when the entire design relies on very specific plant material. Please have a look at the first leaf-point: be inspired by...

By slipping it through the rose stems so that they keep it perfectly in place

By slipping it through the rose stems so that they keep it perfectly in place.

Add a few dew drop crystals to the monstera to finish the design

Add a few dew drop crystals to the monstera to finish the design

See the Tutorial below for more detailed instructions on How to use a pin to position the crystals.

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

Tutorials

8 July 2015 Using a pin to place tiny dew drop crystals

It's sometimes difficult to place a tiny crystal or bead exactly where you want it.

22 August 2018 Vein Veil For Freesias

Cut a slight veil to frame your flowers with

16 August 2017 Criss-cross Monstera lace-up

Glue short sections of rosary vine into the natural gaps in the Monstera deliciosa leaf

13 January 2016 Stacked Grass Pyramid Armature

Stack snippets of grass on a wire frame to make a floating pyramid armature

4 February 2015 Fold over a tropical leaf cocoon

Fold and glue a Monstera deliciosa (delicious monster) leaf

27 June 2018 Foliage tube armature for long stemmed freesia buds

Curl and pin a few leaves into a tube to create an armature for those "left over" freesiabuds.

13 March 2019 Interweave an enchanted gift basket

A bit of a planned-messy woven basket that is sturdy enough to carry small items.

Favourite Flowers

Rosa

Rose

Related Designs

26 May 2021 From all sides

An all on one side design to admire roses from all sides.

20 April 2022 Oh this? Yes! it is new

New growth... too cute to resist!

22 August 2018 FreestyleFreesia

Dutch floral designer Pim van den Akker, from Flower Factor invited me to participate in a FloraHolland initiative promoting the versatility of Freesias entitled ...

22 August 2018 Freestyle Freesia design video for Flower Factor

Freestyle Freesia design video for Flower Factor

16 August 2017 Making Ends Meet

Criss-cross corset style connect the gaps in a Monstera deliciosa leaf

7 June 2011 Floating Boat Orchid

The name Cymbidium or boat Orchid is derived from the Greek word Kumbos meaning "hole or cavity", referring to the hollowness in the base of the lip of the flowers.

13 January 2016 Once Upon A Time

Stack and glue a Grass Pyramid Armature

26 September 2018 Cover Story

The design for the cover of my book, the effortless floral craftsman, crafted from Fiddlehead Fern and Red Lipstick Hanging Heliconia.

25 September 2018 Book cover design: the effortless floral craftsman, a floral crafter’s guide to crafting with nature

In my book I describe “effortless designing” as what happens when we have done our preparations, learned and practiced our techniques and are now crafting our work. We can forget...

4 February 2015 collywobbles!

Fold foliage butterflies

27 June 2018 Look deep

Curl foliage to use as a natural armature for delicate buds.

13 March 2019 How to avoid your wedding treasures from becoming “after the event trash”

My article and grass wedding basket design.

1 July 2020 Oh yes, The Hornet of Tranquility

A minimal... but then with a tiny bug detail... design that is perfect for warm summer designing.