My Creative Workbook

Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman

Keep pod shaped flowers in bud for longer

Sometimes you want to keep flowers in tight bud for as long as possible to suit your design

Keep closed pod shaped flowers in bud for longer.

Dip or paint the lily bud in egg white to prevent it from opening. This will also work with tulips

Keep tulips in tight bud for longer

Simply run a brush dipped in egg white along the edges of the petal and condition as normal.

Dip the closed bud in the egg white to keep its shape for longer

If its a tiny bud you can simply dip it in egg white.

Once the egg white dries it is completely invisible.

After a few days some of the flowers might show strain trying to open or you might want to let them open naturally, simply rinse the flowers in warm water (or a cotton bud dipped in warm water) to remove the egg white and it will continue to open again.

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

Favourite Flowers

Lilium

Lily

Tulipa

Tulip

Related Designs

11 May 2011 It's Tulip Time!

Tulips continue to grow once the stem is severed from the bulb. More often than not you can use this growth to create an ever changing design. But sometimes you want that tulip...

25 February 2011 A Rock by any other Name...

It's not really what we call things that matter but what they are made of- in this design, it's made of all three types of Oasis and wool.

19 February 2011 Crossing Boundaries

Twig waterfall creates the boundary between the "under" and the "over" of the design. Tutorial: How to cover test tubes with Rainbow Oasis

8 February 2011 Prickly Oasis

Create the two or more coloured details with Rainbow Oasis.

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

This was my last two designs for my It's High Time for Tea Floral Craft and Art Demonstration at The Capilano Flower Arranging Club meeting

13 March 2013 Than you have to

Weave blades of grass to create a cover for a glass vase

22 January 2014 How do you do?

Snow and twigs winter design

16 April 2014 Never saw such a lovely day...

Weave a palm thorn garland to decorate for Easter

30 April 2014 Scattered

Scatter some dried grass to make a floral armature

1 June 2016 The ties that Bind

Bind a lily to create a trumpet shape as it opens

2 November 2016 Pick your poison

A Fun Halloween design with "poisonous mushrooms" tucked between the moss and petals

13 September 2017 Around again

Tape a grid at the edge of a container

15 November 2017 Alchemy

Gently stand leaves upright in a Kenzan

7 February 2018 Up around the bend

Bend Equisetum into curves to wire into an open wreath shape

19 September 2018 Before I show you my book- let me show you my book

… and why we call this the special craftsmanship edition

20 March 2019 It’s all ===> right

Hang a dangling eggshell in a Spring blossom design.

12 June 2019 Almost... all over!

Loop a grass veil over a lily stem to create a minimalist summer design.

24 July 2019 Up to much?

Dress up a single lily stem with a few blades of grass.

21 August 2019 All in one pod

Fold open a lily bud to conceal a clever little BoutStix floral magnet for an unusual corsage.

10 June 2020 All Out

An all out effective way of keeping a flower stem in the exact spot you want it to be in a clear water vase design.

5 January 2022 Slow Glow

A slow but glowing start to the New Year and the new design season

31 August 2022 Bud… bud… bud… they were feeling so… very blue

When life hands you dyed flowers you make... well creatively speaking it turned out to be not such a bad thing after all!