Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman
This time of year is best for starting a moss garden. It needs to be cool and wet. Lichen and moss becomes dormant when it is too hot and dry.
I call this “lace” because I use pins to guide the wire sections together- almost like you do when making lace.
Cut short sections of twigs to glue into an Angel shape
Here are the two secrets to assembling a well balanced hanging sculpture: First: Let gravity do the work. Do not fight it. And Secondly: Start from the bottom of your design and work your way up. Each piece has a balance point. Find that and connect it to the piece above
The BoutStix Floral Magnets “stick” is the backbone of the design, strengthening the narrow heart shape and adding support and balance.
A Posy made of Gypsophila flowers can look flat. I use a dried Hydrangea or Agapanthus flower head as a flower frog to puff it out
Gently bend and secure the Alstroemeria flower head into the twig design
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 copper wire into the weave
Acetate is the clear plastic mostly used for packaging design. It is thicker than cellophane and holds its shape much better.
Drape an acetate garland around the pumpkin, on the wires, to create a halo
Splitting the chopsticks or a wooden branch, such as a willow twig creates a natural (and glue-less!) clamp.
I glued wooden slats into a frame and then wove flax string to create the floral parasol