Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman
Velvet Magnolia Leaf Christmas Tree
- 20 December 2023
- click to send Christine a smile
Place a magnolia leaf on a flat working surface... I placed mine fuzzy side down and stem tip facing up.
Place a skewer on the tip of the leaf and start to roll it....
When about half of the leaf is rolled up place the next leaf and continue to roll...
To keep the roll from just rolling flat I added a bit of volume to the design to create a ruffled rose petal effect that will give you the perfect pockets to fill with flowers once you glue the leaves into a tree.
Keep the roll on the working surface to help you keep it all together and add another leaf...
... until you have a large enough leaf roll to design with.
Slip the Magnolia leaf roll into a display vase.
And let the Magnolia leaves settle to fill the vase to dry.
It looks so pretty as it... if you want to enjoy the leaf rose while waiting for the leaves to dry into shape I have a fun design Tutorial for you below. Simply add a few berries...
Lift the dried leaf rose out of the vase...
Glue the inner most curled leaves on top of a sturdy paper tube.
Lift out the next set of curled leaves and glue it with hot glue just below the first.
Move down the tube and glue in leaves.
Alternate leaving gaps to the sides to give the tree that Christmas tree shape.
Design Note: If the leaf shape comes undone it is going to be difficult to put it back together. Keep the dried leaf shape and neatly together as possible by working from the inside out. Simply lift the innermost few leaves and glue it into the tree shape.
Hold up your leaves and have a look from all sides so that you widen the tree shape all the way around
Glue the leaves in to lightly sit around the edge of the leaf tree so that you craft a light and neat shape.
This week in our email I show you closely what I mean with "glue lightly". If you are not yet receiving my Wednesday morning (Vancouver time) email you can sign up below this post. I send out the email to you the moment the design is ready to view. Each week with a bit of a closer look at something that I found interesting about the design. This is also a great way for us to connect. Oh yes... I answer all the emails. So if you have a question or a comment or want to say hi, I would love to hear from you.
Once you have the basic shape set the tree down on your working surface and add leaves to cover the bottom so that it looks finished off if you look up into it.
Strictly not necessary, I know but the tree stands tall and you will be tempted to view it from below. This tiny added touch makes it pretty from all angles.
If you are also the kind of designer who likes to do a bit more than you have to... you will enjoy my book. Turn to page 369 for a bit more details.
For more information about my book:
The Effortless Floral Craftsman
Now for the fun part... to decorate our magnolia tree.
Set the tree on a display container to make it easier to work on. I found it fits perfectly into the opening of a glass bottle. But I will show you more about that in a moment.
Things are going to get messy for a moment so if you are using the container below for display as well cover it to keep it clean.
First we add a dusting of snow. Paint the edges of the magnolia leaves with thinned wood glue...
And sprinkle artificial snow to stick on the wet glue.
See the Tutorial below for more detailed instructions on how to add artificial snow.
Set the tree aside for the glue and snow to dry.
Once dry enough I am adding in my stars and dew drop crystals.
You can find a Tutorial below for more detailed instructions on how I add my crystals. You will notice that I am adding only a section of the tiny star crystals. I am also adding long strands of star fairy lights and created a panel of tiny starts to sit behind it on the tree. Again... it's those tiny details, right?
Strip some bark from a branch with your knife...
Paint the cardboard tube with wood glue...
And smooth the birch bark over the cardboard.
You can also create a veneer with different types of bark. See the Tutorials below. But make sure whatever you use will be thin enough so that the tree can still fit in the display vase or bottle.
Place your display bottle on a tray or wooden log and paint with glue and sprinkle with artificial snow...
Build up the snow surface so that you have a puffy amount of snow top create a pretty scene below the tree.
Once you have a good amount of snow stuck to the base add a few dew drip crystals.
Glue Kalanchoe flowers into the gaps...
And add in a few of the succulent flower buds to finish off the floral clusters.
Remove the cover from the display container and set it on the base...
Glue in a few strands of tillandsia...
My last step is to add a few star details... See the Tutorial below for detailed instructions.
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Tutorials
Long lasting berries, magnolia leaves and succulent (kalanchoe) flowers that can remain without any water or maintenance for... well... all the way to Christmas!
It's sometimes difficult to place a tiny crystal or bead exactly where you want it.
Use a cardboard shape to craft a simple wire Christmas star
Cover a cardboard shape in cotton and bark to create a floral armature
A pretty way to warm up your living space with the luxurious velvet texture you find on the underside of Magnolia leaves.
Craft an ethereal Christmas tree from Eucalyptus leaves, twigs and sparkling snow flake crystals.
Not only will your home smell wonderful while crafting this design you will also have a ethereal and long lasting design to enjoy.
Cover a wreath frame with bark strips and fluffed out cotton
Using all those cardboard boxes to craft a bark covered "log" design for getting a head start on Christmas decorating.
Kalanchoe flowers last weeks without a water source and is the perfect way to dress up a bark and silver bell sleigh
Favourite Flowers
Christmas Kalanchoe, Kalanchöe or Kalanchoë
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