Using sisal and wood glue to make a rigid and versatile foundation for floral art armatures

• 22 March 2017
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Pour wood glue in a bowl and thin with warm water

The mixture can easily be stained with water based paint or natural dye such as berries and sap

See the Tutorial below for detailed instructions on how to use natural dye

Unravel sisal fibers from the string (see the Tutorial below)

Soak the sisal in the glue mixture

For this Tutorial I used a balloon and a large exercise ball as a shape. You can also use other shapes covered with plastic wrap.

Set the balloon on a small bowl so that it doesn't roll around while you work

Cover the balloon with the glue soaked sisal

For an easy way to release the air without popping the balloon see the Tutorial below

Variations:

Cover the shape with long strands running down the shape

Set aside to dry completely before releasing the air from the ball.

You can use a hairdryer to speed up the drying process

Remove the ball, and design with the sisal shape

Or:

Cover just the top most part of the shape with sisal

To create a disk shaped armature

Or:

Cover a band around the circumference of the shape

To create a "barely there" wreath armature

Or:

Cover a wedge of the shape

To create a boat shaped armature