My Creative Workbook

Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman

Tap in a Twig Support

Choose your container carefully. This technique puts a lot of strain on the vase and if it is not sturdy it will crack or break.

Cut fresh pussy willow twigs to fit snugly in a narrow container

Cut fresh pussy willow twigs to fit snugly in a narrow container.

Measure each twig as you go along to make sure it wedges securely in the position you want it in

Measure each twig as you go along to make sure it wedges securely in the position you want it in.

For half of my container I placed the twigs in a parallel pattern

For about half of my container I placed the twigs in a parallel pattern

For the rest of the container I placed the twigs to look like they were randomly scattered in the container

For the rest of the container I placed the twigs to look like they were randomly scattered in the container.

Place the tulip stems so that they are supported by the twigs

Place the tulip stems so that they are supported by the twigs to gracefully drape over the container.

Adjust the position of the twigs by tapping it into position with a dowel and hammer

Adjust the position of the twigs by tapping it into position with a dowel and hammer...

Be careful to just tap the twigs.

Be careful to just tap the twigs lightly so that they do not pop out of position or crack the container.

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

Tutorials

11 May 2011 Slow down tulip growth, after the stems have been severed from the bulbs

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...

17 July 2012 Prevent scratches, rust and water stains on display surfaces

This is a great, non permanent way to protect surfaces from damage

6 September 2017 Contained rose twig stack

Glue the twigs in a container to easily follow the round shape

28 January 2015 Well Rooted Sprouting Willow Weave

Weave a sprouting armature

11 February 2015 Stripping foliage from weaving stems

Remove foliage from stems to weave with

27 January 2016 Sprouting willow armature

Carefully manipulate and bend green willow stems to place in water to sprout as an armature for tulips to mature and open

10 May 2017 Skewered Eucalyptus leaf line-up armature

Thread leaves through wire

Favourite Flowers

Tulipa

Tulip

Related Designs

4 April 2018 Grow on it

Wedge twigs into a vase to create a grid.

13 February 2019 Pick Love

Craft a willow heart to display 12 red roses to celebrate Valentine's Day.

5 June 2019 Add up!

Stacking green stems to create an armature for short stemmed flowers.

1 April 2020 Hang in there!

Keeping this tulip upright requires less magic and more hot glue skills... but it looks magical never the less.

5 August 2020 Spare a Moment

A tranquil design that just takes a moment to do... when you need to take a moment to... breathe.

20 January 2021 Hope Bubble

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.

24 March 2021 To two too!

A Spring Tulip celebration design... with a special message

7 July 2021 Do and Don'ts

One of my trusty tried and tested techniques. When the going gets hot... float your flowers!

19 January 2022 Thaw

It's Tulip Season! Perfect for that "it's still winter ... but is that something green I see...?" mood designs.

1 June 2022 Found it!

A very secure thorn branch armature to hold overgrown Tulips in place

1 February 2023 Why When

An old tulip trick in a new way to keep the flowers fanned out

12 July 2023 Standing in frond

Standing your delicate flower stems in a fern frond.

9 August 2023 Look at me… doing math!

Adding our own "bit" to our floral design work.

17 July 2012 So far so green

The only thing I needed to make these avocado green arums perfect was a small admirer...

17 April 2013 Hide-and-go-peek

Create a soft light by making a leaf cocoon for a flameless candle

6 September 2017 One of those difficult questions

Glue a bunch of twigs inside a container to create a round stack

28 January 2015 In a State of Flow

weave some willow to use as an armature

27 January 2016 Well, I'll be

Manipulate fresh willow stems to create a sprouting armature for long tulip stems

10 May 2017 About a line

Skewer and line up leaves to create an armature