My Creative Workbook

Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman

Weaving grass to create a delicate mesh cup armature

I wanted a really delicate, see-through armature to frame my tiny chocolate cosmos flowers so I wove grass in panels around the vine shape.

See the Tutorial below for more detailed instructions on how to create an open vine cup shaped armature

Cut a vine wreath into snippets to create a cup shaped armature. See the Tutorial below for more detailed instructions on how I made this one

Knot the grass to the vine

Knot the grass to the vine

Wrap the grass around the opening between the vine in a zig zag pattern

Wrap the grass around the opening between the vine in a zig zag pattern

Secure the grass to the vine with a drop of glue

Secure the grass to the vine with a drop of glue and hold it in place with a butterfly clip

Continue to fill in the gaps between the vines by wrapping grass around it

Continue to fill in the gaps between the vines by wrapping grass around it. Keep it light and airy so that it doesn't overwhelm the delicate flowers later

Keep the clips in place for the glue to dry completely

Keep the clips in place for the glue to dry completely

See the Tutorial below for more detailed instructions on how I use butterfly hair clips to keep floral details in place while glue dries

Wrap the grass tightly so that it remains in place as it dries

Wrap the grass tightly so that it remains in place as it dries

And knot at both ends to secure

And knot at both ends to secure

Add as last drop of glue on every knot to make sure it is secure

Add as last drop of glue on every knot to make sure it is secure

Cup armature ready to design with

Cup armature ready to design with

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

Tutorials

21 September 2016 "I found it this way" demonstration Floral art Structures: Twig Tangles

For my "I found it this way" Floral Art demonstration at The Capilano Flower Arranging club, I began all four of my designs with basic armatures made of Twig Tangles and we...

26 July 2011 Wire Tendrils

Curl the wire at irregular intervals to create a natural wire tendril similar to that of a passion fruit plant

1 November 2011 Weaving a twig wreath

For my design I wanted the wreath to look wind blown so I added a few loosely woven twigs into the weave. I also wanted to emphasize the autumn colours so I added a twirling...

14 January 2013 Midelino Cane Coil Globe Cup

Weave a loose, round floral art armature

Related Designs

16 November 2016 All things Autumn (by which I mean all things chocolate): Snipped into Sections

This was the second design I did in my "All things Autumn (by which I mean all things chocolate)" floral art demonstration

9 November 2016 All things Autumn (by which I mean all things chocolate) floral art demonstration at the BC Floral Art Society

A design demonstration looking at preparing for competition designs: thinking bigger

9 November 2016 All things Autumn (by which I mean all things chocolate): Loosen Up

This was the first design I did in my "All things Autumn (by which I mean all things chocolate)" floral art demonstration

29 January 2011 Ground Breaking

Water stream breaking through ground in an autumn forest.

8 April 2011 Large Open Weave Twig Basket

Easter Basket used in the Durbanville Flower Club Easter Parade Demonstration

20 January 2011 The last Vine Wreath

Every designer knows how to stretch their supplies. We use and re-use our dried plant material until our fellow designers feel like hiding it from us. I formed such an...

10 April 2011 Feeling Funky

I wove vine wreaths to form a pyramid, one just slightly larger than the next. In the natural cavities between the wreaths I placed the roses and lisianthus in plastic covered...

11 April 2011 Veiled Sunshine:50th Anniversary of the South African Orchid Society at the Cape Town Convention Centre.

Bright and sunny cymbidium orchids and roses, lilies, lisianthus and pincushions

14 January 2013 It's High Time for Tea: from craft to art, taking a delicious floral journey with weaving techniques

This was the first two designs for my Floral Art and craft demonstration at The Capilano Flower Arranging club

2 March 2016 Beginning

Glue a Midelino Cane Coil Globe Cup to display beautiful Gloriosa lilies

10 April 2013 Unthinkably good things

Oncidium orchids hiding in a woven grass cup. This Design Tutorial is featured on The Conna Flower and Garden Club (Ireland) website. It is part of their Floral Art Lessons...