Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman
Threaded rosette foliage frog… with a kick
- 15 May 2024
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For this design I cut some Heuchera (Coral Bells) foliage to thread together to make an compact rosette
... they slot into each other so beautifully!
Roll the Heuchera leaf into a cone by curling in the corner...
Secure the leaf with a drop of floral glue.
Place some glue on the remaining side of the leaf...
Smooth the glue down to secure it into the cone shape.
Look into the cone to find the natural gap left next to the stem. Thread one leaf cone through another.
Continue threading the leaves through one another.
Design note: do not worry too much about the placement of the leaves at this point. It can still be adjusted. Focus on carefully threading the leaves without ripping it or damaging it. I found it easier to work if the leaves are far apart so that I can see where to add the next leaf.
Thread through the Bletilla striata Orchid stem.
Start to adjust the leaves into a rosette...
Work from the top down twisting the leaves to radiate out like rose petals.
This week in our email I show you a time (and frustration free) trick I used to keep track of the leaf positions while I craft the rest of the design. I send out an email every Wednesday morning (Vancouver time) the moment the design is ready with an insight that I thought might be interesting for us to look into before viewing the design. If you are not yet receiving your email you can sign up below this post. This is also a great way for us to connect. If you have questions or a comment or want to say hi, reply to the email. I answer all emails... although some weeks it takes me all week to get to everyone.
Thread a burgundy stemmed clematis vine through the rosette just below the top leaves so that it flares out the rosette.
Fill your narrow-ish display container with water to place the rosette in.
To make sure the orchid remains in position move it to the side and just work with the foliage stems. Curve the Heuchera leaf rosette stems and slip them into the display container.
See the Tutorials below for more examples of how I use this technique to keep design details in place.
Reach into the container and press the cut end of the stems down below the water so that it firmly kicks against the sides of the container keeping the foliage rosette wedged into position. Once the foliage rosette is securely wedged into position it will support the tall orchid stem and the other design details.
Add in another clematis vine using the curved stems to anchor it in place.
Reflex the lower Heuchera leaves to open the rosette up...
Book readers turn to page 304 where I tell you all about manipulating leaves, petals and foliage.
For more information about my book:
The Effortless Floral Craftsman
And to get you started you can also find a Tutorial for reflexing tulip petals (very similar technique) below this post.
And create a pretty and natural rose shape.
And I finished my design with a few dew drop crystals.
For more information on how to add the crystals to your design see the Tutorial below.
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Tutorials
It's sometimes difficult to place a tiny crystal or bead exactly where you want it.
Great way to use all the autumn leaves you collect on walks during the season. Slowly build up the leaf rosette and let the leaves dry before adding a few more.
Fold and peg banana leaves into pockets so that they float freely on water. This is inspired by a traditional banana leaf craft used to cook rice in.
This looks spectacular but it is the easiest composite flower to make
Create a little grid that fits the stems exactly to position them above and below water in a large container.
Curl and pin a few leaves into a tube to create an armature for those "left over" freesiabuds.
Quick and easy design... perfect for something tiny to celebrate spring.... everywhere!
Plant material float about in water. To keep it in place it is best to wedge it slightly to touch the sides of the container.
Take all the usual ingredients for a budvase design- a flower, a leafy green something and roll it into something unusual to display.
Create a tiny visual tunnel to focus attention.
A zero waste and sustainable floral design solution to keep your flowers exactly where you want them without using floral foam.
Hide the water source in a rolled leaf
Stack snippets of grass on a wire frame to make a floating pyramid armature
Release the soothing effect of the aroma and vapors from the Eucalyptus leaves my slightly crushing it while making roses
Long stemmed autumn leave tubes as a floral armature
Long, long, long lasting display that will even root in place with a few adjustments.
An armature to display a lovely surprise orchid that developed on the long spike just after the other flowers started to fade.
Related Designs
Beautiful Bletilla striata (Chinese Ground Orchid) deserves it's own elaborate frilly skirt display.
Create a little bit of space to keep a few thin stemmed floral treasures upright in your design
A mindful summer craft using banana leaves to create a floating arrangement.
Using fresh twigs to bind a little twig platform to suspend the beautiful orchids from.
Easy support for a single flower... and knot a special secret admirer just to keep it company.
A tiny budvase design that rearranges basic ingredients, such as a single leaf and an orchid to create a new design concept.
An enclosed design that invites the onlooker to lean in closer to explore the pretty orchid.
An all out effective way of keeping a flower stem in the exact spot you want it to be in a clear water vase design.
I would definitely describe my own personal style as minimalist classic... but with an edgy twist.
Skewer Dracaena leaves into a roll that supports a tiny water source for the Oncidium orchids
Sometimes you find such a beautiful plant that you just can't bring yourself to cut it. This design explores using the entire plant, pot and all, in a design
This was the third design I did in my "I found it this way" floral art demonstration
My Spring/Easter design and the introduction article about my floral journey written by the editor, Nina Tucknott in the latest issue of Flora Magazine.
This orchid developed at the very end of a long stem... right as the rest of the flowers started to die back so I made a special armature to display the cut stem.