My Creative Workbook

Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman

Rock Rest for a heavy Protea Flower Head

Rest a rock or pebble on a display surface

Rest a rock or pebble on a display surface.

Rest the big protea flower head on the pebble

Place the stem in a large water tube and rest the big Protea flower head on the pebble. Find the natural balance point. Turn the stem and see where it naturally rests.

Add a few rosary vines by slipping it into the flower

Add a few rosary vines by slipping it into the flower.

Glue hydrangea florets onto thin twigs to create a stem.

Glue hydrangea florets onto thin twigs to create a stem.

See the Tutorial below for detailed instructions on how to dry Hydrangeas
See the Tutorial below for detailed instructions on how to glue stems onto dried hydrangea florets

Place the Hydrangea florets into the flower head

Place the Hydrangea florets into the flower head. Use tweezers to reach deep into the flower without disturbing the other floral details.

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

Tutorials

30 May 2012 Drying Hydrangeas: Fast, Flat or Natural

Use all three methods to dry hydrangeas to get three very different textures to use in design work.

10 July 2012 Longer stems for dried flowers

Give dried hydrangeas (or other dried flowers) a longer stem to make it easier to work with.

8 July 2015 Overgrown Willow web inspired by a traditional Dream-catcher

I wanted my willow armature to hint of a web-like dreamcatcher that grows in the wild rather than being a precise replica of the traditional craft technique. But I did weave it...

10 July 2012 Smooth dried hydrangea flowers in the palm of your hand

Hold a dried hydrangea flower in the palm of your hand to smooth out the folds

8 August 2012 Stringing wool and Spanish moss

Create veil of wool and Spanish moss

3 July 2013 Messy summer floral nest

Wrap and weave and twirl and dangle foliage to create a spiral nest

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.

10 July 2012 Stabilizing sticks for dried or fresh flowers

Create a full design without the weight by stabilizing the flowers with glued sticks. This is a great alternative to floral foam.

31 July 2012 Delicate twig and rosary vine garland

Spiral stems around a Ceropegia woodii or Rosary vine.

7 August 2013 Cherry twig rainbow arch

Glue a few twigs to arch over a upturned container

22 November 2017 Acorn fork

Wire and glue a few acorns into the fork of a twig to create an Autumn armature

11 February 2015 Willow Heart Wand

30 August 2017 Standing a water tube at an angle in lumber

Create a minimal design by placing a single flower on a platform

30 March 2016 Construction Lumber and Dowel Spike Armature

Drill holes in a piece of lumber and insert dowel sticks to create an armature

26 June 2012 Driftwood precariously perched on the edge of a pebble

Wire and glue the driftwood at an angle to balance on a pebble

Favourite Flowers

Protea

Protea (but each variety also has a common name)

Ceropegia woodii

Rosary vine, Chain of Hearts, Collar of hearts and String of hearts

Hydrangea

Hydrangea, when cultivated as a cut flower rather as a plant it is often revered to as Hortensia

Related Designs

31 January 2018 Rock, don't Roll

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

8 May 2019 It takes more than one person to invent a trumpet!

Filling a trumpet flower cup... with more flowers!

31 July 2019 Jitters!

Zig-zag grass details add a bit of tension to the design

2 September 2020 Last full Moon of summer

All natural design using the design elements as mechanics.

21 October 2020 When it gets chilly

Use the heart of a sunflower as a platform to place your autumn floral details on.

13 January 2021 It's in there

Complete the picture by drawing a lily flower with delicate vines.

10 August 2022 Space holder

Creating a bit of space in a summer design to allow for the plant material to naturally fall as it wants.

9 April 2011 Vanilla

Vanilla Design for the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens, Cape Town, South Africa

8 July 2015 How To Catch A Dream

Take inspiration from a traditional Dream-catcher design to create a floral armature

8 August 2012 Stringing in the rain

A veil of green wool, Spanish moss and dried hydrangeas hang over white lilies

3 July 2013 Of trust… and belief… and stars…

Weave and wrap and twirl and knot a summer floral nest

10 July 2012 Sticktoitness

Glue a heart shaped design made from bark and wood.

7 August 2013 Over the Blue

Glue a twig rainbow to sit over a vase

27 August 2012 Just Right! Floral Art demonstration: Too Hard!

My second design in my demonstration at the BC Floral Art Society meeting

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.

11 February 2015 Love Spell

Weave willow to create a heart shaped wand design

30 August 2017 If

Place a water tube at an angle in lumber so that the Zantedeschia float just above the base to show off the delicate grass snippets scattered up the stem

26 June 2012 Diamond Jubilee Waterfall

To commemorate Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee and the 20th Anniversary of Friends of Government House Gardens Society a Horticultural event was hosted in the gardens and...