Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman
Willow Spring
- 24 February 2016
- click to send Christine a smile
- and more
I use a few willow tips that I wire into a garland to make the spiral. See the Tutorial below for detailed instructions.
Find the middle point of a willow twig garland.
Mark the middle point temporarily with florist tape.
The one half of the garland is wrapped clockwise and the other counter clockwise
Pin this garland to a sheet of Styrofoam with a hairpin wire. Let the end of the garland point away from the Styrofoam and slowly start to manipulate the fresh willow tip garland to spiral out, working your way to the middle point.
See the Tutorial below for more information on how to Manipulate twigs
Slowly spiral the garland and pin it into position. Make sure not to snap or sharply bend the twigs
Pin the other end to a second sheet of Styrofoam
And spiral the willow twig garland back in
Place the two Styroofoam sheets on top of each other and set aside for the twigs to dry
Remove the hairpins carefully
And uncoil the spring
Unpin the other half
Glue in a few grape vine tendrils
The spring is ready to design with
Sign up for my weekly newsletter
Every week I add a new design with related tutorials. Be sure to subscribe to receive an email notification with design inspiration.
Tutorials
The cage spirals to form a basket that wrap around the plump ripe berries (or you can slip in a flower) to hang as connections between the twigs.
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...
Create a textured wreath with Chrysanthemums and rolled up Autumn leaves
I build up the spheres by weaving willow wreaths and then use those to shape the ball
Favourite Flowers
Curly Willow, Chinese Willow, Tortured Willow, Globe Willow, Dragon's Claw, Hankow Willow
Related Designs
Left over flowers and off-cuts are ideal to transform into a quick floral crown or necklace. This is the absolute easiest design, yet!
A tumbling fall leaf design making use of the autumn leaves that are already falling to the ground.
Whipped up to be light in the Spring breeze wreath design.
Whether it’s a solid foot for floating flowers, the tips of new growth or the curve of a dried twig your design needs help to stay upright.
That incredible moment when you realize that one good idea for your design really is enough...
Autumn bud vase collar made from gladiolus foliage.
My design entered for evaluation at the Floral Trends Design Group meeting in South Africa
Braiding and plaiting and knotting hair is a huge trend in hairdressing at the moment. Intricate little plaits are draped over long flowing hair to add complexity and quirk. ...
Designing adventurous Contemporary Floral centerpieces Article in the Canadian Florist Magazine.
Take inspiration from a traditional Dream-catcher design to create a floral armature