My Creative Workbook

Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman

Weave green strips of willow bark into a nest

Strip the green bark from willow sticks

Strip the green bark from willow sticks

See the Tutorial below for detailed instructions on how to strip bark from willow

Set strips of willow bark down horizontally on a flat working surface

Set strips of willow bark down horizontally on a flat working surface

Weave a strip of bark through the strips on the working surface

Weave a strip of bark through the strips on the working surface. I am using a basic under and over weaving pattern.

See the Tutorial below for more detailed instructions on how to weave with foliage

Weave in a second strip

Weave in a second strip

and a third strip of willow bark

... and a third strip of willow bark

Continue to add strips of fresh bark until you run out of weaving space

Continue to add strips of fresh bark until you run out of weaving space

Set the willow strips in a round bowl.

Set the willow strips in a round bowl.

The bowl should be only slightly larger than the willow weave

The bowl should be only slightly larger than the willow weave

Set another bowl over the weave inside the larger bowl to press it into the dome shape

Set another bowl over the weave inside the larger bowl to press it into the dome shape

Set it aside for the bark to dry into the shape

Set it aside for the bark to dry into the shape

As the bark dries it will curl and shrink

As the bark dries it will darken in colour, curl and shrink

Lift the small bowl from the willow nest.

Lift the small bowl from the willow nest.

The willow bark now follows the dome contours of the bowl

The willow bark now follows the dome contours of the bowl

Woven willow bark nest ready to design with

Woven willow bark nest ready to design with

Set the nest over the neck of a small vase

Set the nest over the neck of a small vase

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

Tutorials

11 February 2015 Stripping foliage from weaving stems

Remove foliage from stems to weave with

8 June 2016 Stripping bark from willow sticks

Strip the green bark from the stems to expose the smooth wood

8 June 2011 Foliage Weaving

For this tutorial I focus on a simple weave pattern that does not require you to soften or prepare the leaves to be more durable or flexible. This is the starting point in...

5 July 2011 Tie an Iris leaf tassel

A tassel (also called a tuft) consist of: A suspending cord, the body, a fringed or ornamental skirt

20 April 2016 Free standing Willow twig armature with a hidden water source

Cut a few willow twigs to split to create legs for the armature

1 February 2012 Weaving a diagonal green grass basket

Once you figure out how to do the corners weaving a diagonal shape is actually not that hard to do.

30 October 2012 Midelino Harvest Moon Basket

This is a great flat and open basket to take outside when “harvesting” your fall leaves, pods and flowers. Who knows, you might even find a ghost pumpkin or three…

4 September 2013 Weave a heart shaped basket

An easy to assemble open weave basket

11 December 2013 Dried twig dome

Mix glue and twigs to create a twig armature for a Winter Christmas design

17 September 2014 Bark Bowl

Glue bark onto a bowl to create a dome shape

Favourite Flowers

Salix matsudana "Tortuosa"

Curly Willow, Chinese Willow, Tortured Willow, Globe Willow, Dragon's Claw, Hankow Willow

Related Designs

15 June 2016 One tug

Weave willow bark strips into a nest and weave a bird from flax

30 May 2018 You see... here is the Thing:

Glue a grass snippet grid for shallow container design

3 April 2011 One Singular Sensation

Three Lilies plaited to create a sensational, singular flower "growing" out of a Equisetum dome filled with Rainbow Oasis pebbles.

5 July 2011 Iris Tuft Tassel

Throughout their dangling history tiny to robust tassels were universally used as a finishing feature in fabric decoration and symbols of standing in religious order and nobility...

21 July 2011 Tradition and Technique, Technique and Tradition

When you need inspiration for a design problem study a Traditional Craft- you will be amazed!

10 August 2011 Pleated Pleasure

Pleats are accordion like folds of equal width in alternating opposite directions in any kind of fabric. I absolutely love the tight buds of Allium and they represent the...

16 August 2011 Cherry twig cocoon

Japanese aesthetic, wabi-sabi, acknowledges three simple truths:nothing lasts, nothing is done, and nothing is perfect.

1 February 2012 Steeling yourself against stealing creativity

I wrote this article for Wedding Business Success (an online meeting place for the wedding industry) exploring a positive way of looking at creativity and... stealing!

16 May 2012 On the first warm day in May

A ripped flax, Ranunculus and Mikado Reed drop shaped nest

30 October 2012 Frightis Botrytis!

Weave a Midelino cane coil harvest basket to display ghost pumpkins and frightful woolly "botrytis" in. Have a fun Halloween everyone!

29 May 2013 The day came

Weave a tiny rattan basket

4 September 2013 Been there, Seen that

My article and woven heart basket design featured in the third anniversary issue of DIY Weddings Magazine

19 February 2014 Come on Over

Weave an open foliage flower frog

17 September 2014 Still

My bark bowl design and tutorial featured in the Centrepiece Wedding Magazine