My Creative Workbook

Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman

Love Spell

Happy Valentine's Day!

Love Spell floral art design

"How

Weave a willow wand

do you

Cymbidium orchids on a willow wand

spell…

Cymbidium orchids, eucalyptus capsules and willow

'love'?" -Piglet

Cymbidium orchids, eucalyptus capsules woven into a willow wand

"You

Pink boat orchid

don't spell it…

Heart shaped woven willow wand

you

Cymbidium willow wand.

feel it." -Pooh

Quote by A.A. Milne. author of Winnie-the-Pooh

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

Tutorials

11 February 2015 Willow Heart Wand

11 February 2015 Stripping foliage from weaving stems

Remove foliage from stems to weave with

4 January 2011 Drinking straw "test tubes"

When you need to keep a tiny stem hydrated this is just what you need.

18 January 2012 Butterfly hairclip claws to hold twigs in place while glue dries

Butterfly hair clips are the perfect little claws to help you hold tiny items in place while you wait for glue to dry

30 August 2011 Removing Oasis Floral Adhesive glue spills

The finish of every design should be flawless. Make sure there are no bits of glue visible in your design by carefully removing all traces of spills.

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...

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...

Favourite Flowers

Cymbidium

Cymbidium, Boat Orchid

Salix matsudana "Tortuosa"

Curly Willow, Chinese Willow, Tortured Willow, Globe Willow, Dragon's Claw, Hankow Willow

Related Designs

27 January 2016 Well, I'll be

Manipulate fresh willow stems to create a sprouting armature for long tulip stems

10 February 2016 Be My Twig-Heart

Glue an upright twig heart for a freestanding Valentine's display

3 August 2016 Practice

Weave a willow bird nest

8 February 2017 It could hold

A fragile looking heart made from twigs that can hold a lot of orchids

11 April 2017 Well… we did it again!

Blossoms and chocolates for Easter

4 October 2017 Whipped up in the autumn breeze

Give a loosely woven wreath legs to stand on to hover lightly around a pumpkin

25 October 2017 When the pretty eyeballs you back!

Barely there skeleton blossoms with Eucalyptus eyes for my Halloween design... Oh! and a Willow Paddle, which probably should have been the main Tutorial... but... well...

22 November 2017 How do squirrels Cache a tree?

Hoard a few acorns in the fork of a twig to show off a single oncidium orchid.

10 January 2018 Let some magic find you

My article and floral wand design featured in DIY Weddings Magazine

31 January 2018 Rock, don't Roll

Balance the heavy Protea flower head to lean against a rock.

14 February 2018 Two Are

Equisetum Valentine's hearts

14 March 2018 Old, new trends

My article and willow birdcage design for wedding rings featured in DIY Weddings Magazine.

23 May 2018 In Summer!

A contemporary cascade of rosary vine and dried petals.

5 September 2018 Wreath Vine Season!

Weave tiny wreaths on the stems of Wisteria vines

28 November 2018 Crafting

The second design I did for my book launch demonstration looking at aspects that influences my effortless style of designing.

13 February 2019 Pick Love

Craft a willow heart to display 12 red roses to celebrate Valentine's Day.

12 February 2020 Parallel Hang Ups

While waiting for the blossoms to open... why not weave in a touch of Valentine's Day love?

10 February 2021 My valenVine

An... everything is moving... design. The tulips are growing and the small vine filled vase is bopping around in the water. And if you lean them against each other just right it...

16 February 2022 Hang on, love

A hanging heart design to celebrate love this Valentine's Day.

15 February 2023 If you frame it that way…

A blossom frame to display the prettiest anthurium of the whole bunch!

19 April 2023 Short Cut

A tiny carry basket to gather the shortest stems from your cutting garden... with a place for water and your cutters.

28 June 2023 Catch and Release

Ah... yes summer time designing. Anyone else seeing more insects hiding between the petals this year?

14 February 2024 Spoiler Alert: It’s You

A birch bark heart for Valentine's Day

6 March 2024 A Stay Open

Grow a willow birdcage... with a bit of a Spring flower support to get it started.