My Creative Workbook

Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman

Bark covered heart

This Design Tutorial is featured on The Conna Flower and Garden Club (Ireland) website. It is part of their Floral Art Lessons program that demonstrates new techniques, ideas and principles of Flower Arranging by International Designers.

Draw a large heart shape on the cardboard.

Draw a large heart shape on the cardboard. Cut the heart out.

Break the strips by running it through your fingers.

Cut strips of cardboard to glue to the outline of the heart to make a box shape. To make it easy to bend the cardboard to follow the heart shape run it through your fingers. This collapses the inside "honey comb" of the cardboard that gives it shape.

Glue the cardboard with hot glue.

Glue the strips to the heart shape with hot glue

Follow the outline of the heart.

Follow the outline all around the shape

Fold the cardboard to create a sharp v at the top.jpg

Score the cardboard to make a neat fold to create a sharp v at the top.

The thick cardboard folds easily.

Continue to glue the edge

Perfect cardboard heart.

Join the bottom for a perfect cardboard heart.

Add a second strip at an angle.

To give the shape the look of wood, add a second strip at an angle.

Glue the second strip all the way around.

Glue the second strip all the way around.

Follow the top part of the heart.

Follow the top part of the heart.

Close the bottom part of the heart.

Close the bottom part of the heart.

Break the sharp edges by bending the cardboard in your hand.

Break the sharp edges by bending the cardboard in your hand.

Glue reeds into the design to form a grid.

Glue reeds into the heart to form a grid for your design

Cross the reeds.

Cross the reeds to give the design strength

Mikado reed grid.

Mikado reed grid.

Now for the messy part!

Peel the bark from a log with a knife.

Peel the bark from a log with a knife.

Paint the bark with wood glue.

Paint the bark with wood glue.

It is just like building a puzzle.

Fit the pieces of bark all around the heart. Start at the edge and move around with the wood grain. It is almost like building a puzzle.

Hold the wet glue in place with butterfly hair clips.

Hold the wet glue in place with butterfly hair clips and continue to add bark.

When the top frame is done set aside to dry.

When the top frame is done set aside to dry.

Start a second row using the first to hold everything in place.

Start a second row using the first to hold everything in place.

Let the glue dry before designing in the heart shape.

When the entire heart shape is covered with bark set it aside to let the glue dry before designing

Remember to remove all the clips.

Place a copper mesh in the structure to keep the flowers in place.

Instead of the reed grid you can also place a wire mesh in the shape to keep the plant material in place

Press the sharp ends of the test tubes through the cardboard

Or press the sharp ends of the test tubes through the cardboard

Stick twigs to the cardboard to glue in dried flower material.

and then glue twigs to the cardboard to add in dried flower material

Flipbook by the Conna Flower Club (Ireland) of my design .

Thank you Conna Flower and Garden Club for featuring my design tutorial.

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

Tutorials

31 March 2011 Bark covered Wreath

Keep in mind that in order to make a realistic looking fantasy design element, such as the wreath, you must focus on how this item would grow in nature.

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

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