My Creative Workbook

Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman

Red, Redder, Reddest!

My article and red net flower girl basket design featured in the in the Red! issue of
DIY Weddings Magazine

Creating drama on a budged can be oh so tricky! Normally we associate dramatic designs with lush, luxurious even elaborate use of multitudes of flowers, all of which can be prohibitively expensive. Drawing from colour theory, that desired touch of affordable drama is possible by simply using a dramatic colour, such as red.

Red flower girl net basket floal art design

Colour theory is one of the most powerful tools of any designer. Colour can set a mood, send a message, and even inspire emotion.

Any design, no matter how budget friendly or simplistic, can be transformed into a dramatic and unforgettable style statement with the deliberate use of colour

A dramatic design must have a focal point, or emphasized design element. For floral designs, it usually makes sense to highlight the beautiful flowers as focal point. Choosing red flowers will attract the most attention, resulting in a truly dramatic design.

Kalanchoe and hazel twig wreath

The surroundings and placement should also be considered along with anything you might want to add into the design.

Limit the visual distractions by making sure your most important elements, the flowers, are, and remain, the focal point. There should be a balance between the bold statement element (in this design the red flowers) and the environment. Again, colour theory comes to the rescue.

Red Kalanchoe flower girl net basket

The ratio of colours must be considered when adding other, non-focal, design elements

Ensure that the dominant colour constitutes 60% of the design, and limit secondary colours to 30% with only 10% as accent colours.

Hang the basket from ribbon

Keep in mind that the tiny bit of accent colour will attract the most attention.

Red net flower girl basket

Red has always been interpreted as a passionate, energizing, warm and vibrant colour that grabs the attention without even trying

Placing a monochromatic red design in an all-white space is not only dramatic but also seen as luxurious, and will make every flower stand out against its surroundings.

DIY Weddings Magazine Red Issue

Thank you DIY Weddings Magazine for inviting me to be part of your beautiful Red! issue. It is filled with creative inspiration. Have a look at the on-line magazine.

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

Tutorials

4 December 2013 Flower Girl Red Net Basket

Weave a twig wreath for an easy net basket

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...

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.

12 September 2012 Infinity fold for storing ribbon

Neatly roll you ribbon to store flat in a drawer

Favourite Flowers

Kalanchoe

Christmas Kalanchoe, Kalanchöe or Kalanchoë

Related Designs

16 December 2015 Christmas Waves

Twist a Kalanchoe and Ivy vine Christmas tree mobile

4 May 2016 Ring-a-round

Open a vine wreath to create a spiral twig armature around a glass container

23 August 2017 Almost is still not quite

Weave just a hint of the Autumn to come

4 October 2017 Whipped up in the autumn breeze

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

10 January 2018 Let some magic find you

My article and floral wand design featured in DIY Weddings Magazine

9 January 2019 Magical Craftsmanship

My article and winter white Tulle bridal basket design featured in DIY Weddings Magazine.

4 December 2019 A Very Merry eucalyptus-collar-candle Christmas!

An easy and naturally fragrant winter white candle decoration to bring nature into your house this Christmas.

28 July 2021 Linked This Way

A fun way to elevate a few bud vases into a display.

1 December 2021 It’s the most… it’s the most... Hap-Hapiest Patina Christmas of all!

This is the second of my Christmas 2021 series of designs. This year in the form of a mini workshop… my Christmas present to you. Craft a three twig sphere snow man to proudly...

12 January 2022 All That Potential

Softly glowing winter twigs for a minimal display

23 November 2022 Ways to Merry a Christmas

A little bit of effort... that will last for weeks design to hang about the whole Festive Season.

1 March 2023 … ish

An early... ish Spring basket glued from blossom twigs