My Creative Workbook

Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman

Tilt container with a spilling twigs armature

Place a fishbowl vase into a container so that it rests at an angle

Place a fishbowl vase into a container so that it rests at an angle

Adjusting this angle so that you get it just right is so important in this design. I explained a bit more in our weekly email so that you can look closely at what I mean. Make sure you are signed up to recieve the once a week email. The sign-up is below this post.

Add artificial snow and a few dew drop crystals to some winter twigs

Add artificial snow and a few dew drop crystals to some winter twigs

This keeps the water clear from dropping artificial snow flakes and makes it easy for you to apply. I have included Tutorials on how to do both below this post.

Glue the straightest of your snow covered twigs from the bottom of the vase to the edge

Glue the straightest of your snow covered twigs from the bottom of the vase to the edge.

Fill in the gaps by gluing in twigs to give you a secure surface to design with

Fill in the gaps by gluing in twigs to give you a secure surface to design with.

Be mindful of the size of gaps you leave so that you can rest flowers on the twigs to hold them above the water

Be mindful of the size of gaps you leave so that you can rest flowers on the twigs to hold them above the water.

Continue to glue in twigs so that it spills out of the container

Continue to glue in twigs so that it spills out of the container

Give the twig spill a splashy curve

Give the twig spill a splashy curve.

Glue in a few small water tubes

Glue in a few small water tubes.

See the Tutorial below for detailed instructions on how I make my own small water tubes.

Fill the fishbowl vase with water taking care not to spill the water

Fill the fishbowl vase with water taking care not to spill the water.

If you over fill the vase you can use the method below to suck out water and adjust the level. If you want to scale this design and craft something much bigger I sugest you use bottle pipette idea I show you how to make in my book on page 184. It works so well!

For more information about my book: The Effortless Floral Craftsman

Fill the water tubes with water

Fill the water tubes with water.

In my book I show you in detail how to make this syringe with tube but to get you started I have added a Tutorial below this post.

Place your flowers inside the vase

Place your flowers inside the vase. I used tweezers to position the delicate stems so that they rest deep in the water to hydrate the flowers.

And place flowers in the water tubes to spill down with the twigs

And place flowers in the water tubes to spill down with the twigs.

Glue in a few twigs to extend over the flowers so the it gives the impression of spilling out

Glue in a few twigs to extend over the flowers so the it gives the impression that the twigs and flowers are spilling out.

Finish the design with a few more dew drop crystals

Finish the design with a few more dew drop crystals.

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

Tutorials

4 January 2011 Drinking straw "test tubes"

When you need to keep a tiny stem hydrated this is just what you need.

3 January 2011 Syringe with tube

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

28 December 2016 Adding snow to twigs

Glue artificial snow to twigs

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.

29 January 2011 Melt plastic Soda Bottles into the "water" shapes

Heat makes the plastic distort creating fantastic shapes

24 July 2012 Blow away hot glue strands

When you glue a structure with hot glue there are always a few stray strands of glue stuck all over the design. Blow it away with a hairdryer.

31 December 2014 Stacked Table-Top Twig Heart

Stack and glue moss covered twigs into a heart shape

10 February 2016 Free Standing Twig and Wire Heart Armature

Bend wires and fill in the gabs with Stillingia twigs to make a delicate heart armature

8 February 2017 A Sprouting Spring Twig Heart

Carefully glue a twig armature to display the mini-miniature Darling orchids

8 July 2015 Overgrown Willow web inspired by a traditional Dream-catcher

I wanted my willow armature to hint of a web-like dreamcatcher that grows in the wild rather than being a precise replica of the traditional craft technique. But I did weave it...

11 May 2016 Twig snippet vase armature

Glue twig snippets to closely follow the shape of a glass vase

6 September 2011 Twig collar

Create a light and transparent collar-base for the large composite flower to nestle into.

6 February 2019 Winter White Twig Screen

Glue twigs to screen delicate flowers for a wintry design.

Favourite Flowers

Ornithogalum

The Afrikaans name is tjienkerientjee (named after the sound the stems make when rubbing together in the wind) Chincherinchee, wonder-flower (because they last so long),...

Related Designs

9 February 2022 Pouring

Place a small fishbowl vase at an angle to look like it is pouring out flowers and twigs.

23 February 2022 Plan Together

Leaning Muscari flowers in a snow covered twig armature.

9 March 2022 …. Aaaaaand tick!

Ever wonder how I decide what I share with you? A fun design ticking all the boxes.

29 June 2022 But for this… let’s not rush

A take your time and mindfully craft a pretty design to celebrate the summer solstice- it is officially summer here in Canada.

28 December 2022 Giving a nod

A scattering of winter decorating for wherever you might need it.

18 January 2023 Getting the Band Back Together Again

Glue a band of snow dusted twigs to create a delicate armature for winter treasures.

8 February 2023 Snow… drops

A late winter design for minimal floral styling.

8 March 2023 And now we wait

A bit of flower magic to get a few early blossoms to enjoy inside.

12 April 2023 The word we are looking for is… fun

A leaning twig armature with both the first signs of Spring and the last signs of winter.

31 January 2024 Surround and Sound

Half moon frosted glass chip edge for a winter themed design.

10 April 2024 (if only) I can see you

Tangle jasmine vines outside a vase for a transparent screen to display floral details on and around a sea horse vase to display floral details in.

13 November 2024 Fall-a-la-lah!

Transitioning into the Christmas season... gently

11 May 2016 Pour

Glue a twig vase and melt some plastic to create a tumbling design

24 July 2012 A little bit of Art and Soul

A twig structure with roses

31 December 2014 The sound of a kiss

Stack and glue twigs into a table top heart

10 February 2016 Be My Twig-Heart

Glue an upright twig heart for a freestanding Valentine's display

8 February 2017 It could hold

A fragile looking heart made from twigs that can hold a lot of orchids

25 December 2013 A gift for gifting

Christmas gift design

8 July 2015 How To Catch A Dream

Take inspiration from a traditional Dream-catcher design to create a floral armature

6 September 2011 When Autumn Fall

Autumn leaf composite flower

20 November 2012 there’s a feeling

Glue snippets of dried green stems and Green Trick Carnation to make tiny floral wings for Christmas

6 February 2019 Tread softly on winter

A delicate winter twig armature to show off the delicate beauty of these early spring coloured tulips.