Willow and Rose heart armature

13 February 2019
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Temporarily secure two willow stems with butterfly clips.

Press a pliable willow stem between the clasps of the clip.

Wind the willow stem around the first two stems making sure to catch the end of the winding stem to secure.

Wind the stem tightly over its own end and down the two willow stems

Remove the clips and continue to wind the stem tightly around its own stem-end and down the two willow stems

Knot the end of the winding stem.

Shape the two willow twigs to create a heart.

And wrap the willow to secure...

... to create your basic heart outline.

Weave a few stems around this shape to make it strong enough to carry the miniature roses.

Weave in more stems to colour in the heart shape.

Craft the heart flat on a working surface so that it remains neatly shaped. If it bends out of shape while weaving set it back on the working surface and press it flat.

Place a willow twig, at an angle, in a container.

Cut two sturdy willow twigs to wedge into the glass container to keep the upright twig in place.

For more details see the Tutorial below.

Place the heart shape on the twig. Hold it with clips so that you can, at this stage, adjust it to get it to lean just so.

Replace the clips with cable ties.

Glue in the water tubes to keep the roses hydrated.

See the Tutorial below for detailed instructions on how I make water tubes from drinking straws.

Fill the water tubes and add the fresh roses to the design.

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Tutorials

19 February 2013 Manipulating stems: Snapping at an angle, Bending, Spiraling, Curling and Straightening

Most stems, twigs and even sturdier branches can be bend into shapes. It takes practice and more than a bit of patience. The main idea is to slowly manipulate the branch without...

22 May 2012 Bite and snap a sturdy twig

Break the sturdy twig on the scribe line.

4 January 2011 Drinking straw "test tubes"

When you need to keep a tiny stem hydrated this is just what you need. If you can't find a suitable drinking straw... I also have an upgrade: tiny food grade pipe water tubes.