My Creative Workbook

Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman

Stripping foliage from weaving stems

Before weaving you want to remove all the foliage from the willow stems. This is the fastest way. Wear gloves if you need to strip many stems to protect your hands

Cup your hand lightly over the stem that you want to strip.

Cup your hand lightly over the stem that you want to strip and move from the tip of the stem down to gently remove all the leaves and side shoots

The delicate stems bend down and simply snaps of cleanly

The delicate stems bend down and simply snaps off cleanly

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Favourite Flowers

Salix matsudana "Tortuosa"

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

Related Designs

11 February 2015 Love Spell

Weave willow to create a heart shaped wand design

11 April 2011 Glass

A small pane of glass connects the top and the bottom of the design

1 November 2011 On The Street Where You Live

A floral design snapshot of what it looks like when walking down the streets of Vancouver this week.

25 January 2012 Three Drops of Floral Chocolate

The design drips down in three tiers each celebrating life, love and connection.

8 March 2007 In the Summer Time Floral Art Demonstration

This was my first Floral Art Demonstration as a member of the South African Flower Union and the World Association of Flower Arrangers

4 April 2011 "A New Age" Child's Midnight Meander (Avatar)

A New Age Child's Midnight Meander

13 April 2011 Harnessing the Wind

7 October 2011 Thanksgiving Harvest

Thanksgiving pumpkin with Chinese lanterns and spiral blossoms

5 June 2012 Flower Girl’s Butterfly Net and Ring Bearer Bug Box

Two fairy tale design details that will capture the imagination of even the youngest members of your wedding party. A tiny bug box to carry your rings in for the ring bearer and...

28 January 2015 In a State of Flow

weave some willow to use as an armature

1 April 2011 The Plant Material used in the Demonstration

I wanted my design to feature mostly growing plants- creating a natural display on the supernatural wreath.

4 December 2012 'Tis the Season

My article looking at contrasts and 6 winter lantern designs featured in the DIY Wedding Magazine

20 January 2011 The last Vine Wreath

Every designer knows how to stretch their supplies. We use and re-use our dried plant material until our fellow designers feel like hiding it from us. I formed such an...

27 January 2016 Well, I'll be

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

23 March 2016 Celebrate!

A closer look at my design at the 20th anniversary of Canada Blooms and The Toronto Flower Show

20 April 2016 That Will Be

Freestanding willow twig armature design

4 May 2016 Ring-a-round

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

15 June 2016 One tug

Weave willow bark strips into a nest and weave a bird from flax

3 August 2016 Practice

Weave a willow bird nest

7 September 2016 You are all invited!

My article and Willow Crown design featured in DIY Weddings Magazine

19 October 2016 There are Octobers

Autumn wreath

4 January 2017 New Year's Wreath

Decorate an artificial wreath with fresh flowers and frosted twigs

18 January 2017 Look at you!

Tie twigs to shape a hanging armature

11 April 2017 Well… we did it again!

Blossoms and chocolates for Easter

3 May 2017 Oh just...

Braid a few twigs to dance around your flowers

24 May 2017 Link

weave a few wreaths to link

27 September 2017 As tendrils tend to do

Curl a wreath with tendrils to create a twig-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...

1 November 2017 A Round

Create a delicate design that rests lightly on the edge of a container

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.

4 April 2018 Grow on it

Wedge twigs into a vase to create a grid.

18 April 2018 Swing Vine

Weave a delicate vine swing to nestle a small vase with spring flowers in

5 September 2018 Wreath Vine Season!

Weave tiny wreaths on the stems of Wisteria vines

14 November 2018 For just this moment… let’s take a break

Simplicity to showcase the perfection of the Lisianthus buds

28 November 2018 Crafting

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

2 January 2019 One New Year’s Wish

Wire a sparkling tinsel garland to dress up a single, elegant Arum lily.

13 February 2019 Pick Love

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

17 July 2019 … and... a bit more... effort… to make it special

Instead of just placing a handful of twigs and two stems of sweet peas in a vase... why not...?

11 September 2019 Transition into Fall

A sustainable, absolutely no waste floral design using willow to suspend your flower head in your arrangement.

11 March 2020 On-Spring-dium

A almost impossibly delicate oncidium (dancing lady) orchid wreath.

13 May 2020 be MINDFUL of the invisible stuff you add

Left over flowers and off-cuts are ideal to transform into a quick floral crown or necklace. This is the absolute easiest design, yet!

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.

24 June 2020 End Up

Connect small wreaths to create a pretty summer armature to arrange your flowers on.

5 August 2020 Spare a Moment

A tranquil design that just takes a moment to do... when you need to take a moment to... breathe.

7 October 2020 Let’s circle around to this one

Create a floral circlet to rest the little pumpkin on... but above the water line.

4 November 2020 Because that is just how I roll

A tumbling fall leaf design making use of the autumn leaves that are already falling to the ground.

7 April 2021 First we learn HOW to design… and then we learn how only WE design.

Whipped up to be light in the Spring breeze wreath design.

12 May 2021 It’s up there

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.

9 June 2021 Making Waves

A quick and easy to do cascade design for summer.

28 July 2021 Linked This Way

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

3 November 2021 Coppepeppepepper wreath

Wire dried pepper berries to a wreath with super fancy flat wire (okay... it's the humble wire from a copper pot scrubber but it still looks fancy!)

22 June 2022 You Say Tomato I Say Tomato

Tiny tomato vine design to celebrate Summer.

7 September 2022 Of the shades to come

This design requires a bit of prep-time so it is perfect to make while waiting for the first autumn leaf to appear…

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.

24 May 2023 everywhere IS nature

A lush wreath that remains green so that you can design once... and cut and cut and place your violas to make sure you have flowers all season long.

28 June 2023 Catch and Release

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

9 August 2023 Look at me… doing math!

Adding our own "bit" to our floral design work.

24 January 2024 I mean… really!?!

Using fresh twigs to bind a little twig platform to suspend the beautiful orchids from.

6 March 2024 A Stay Open

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