Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman
How to lay a little bit low
- 25 March 2020
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Note: This week is officially my book’s first birthday. And while it feels strange to talk about celebrating something in a time like this… it occurred to me that maybe I should... maybe this is exactly the time for me to find something to celebrate. I am so aware of everything that is going on around me. Of how it affects Marius and Me. Our work families. Our families. Our friends. Our community, country and everyone all around, I find myself in my design room typing up this design post. Once we have made the commitment to stay inside and flatten the curve I was wondering what is the best way I can serve. And it occurred to me: There's something to be said for continuing sharing beauty with each other... and getting back into at least some of our normal routines to contribute towards a sense of consistency to reduce the number of variables we are all exposed to. For showing up.
From my side that means sharing my new design and connecting with you here on the My Creative Workbook website... as I do every Wednesday.
So… as always… just take a moment and... Enjoy!
How I plan to celebrate:
Be a little bit more gentle,
A little more quiet,
Get on with things just a little bit more,
(notice a little less of other’s faults, point out a little less severely when I disagree with how they cope, be a little bit slower to complain… and shut down 100% of the little arguments that comes my way)
Make a little bit more of my stuff and share a little more of my value,
Respect space just that little bit more
And choose to see the humour even if there is only a little bit to be found,
Learn a little bit more to get a little bit better.
… not all at once, of course… just a little bit.
A special thank you to everyone who has supported me by purchasing my book in its first year. If you are a maker of stuff… even more so a maker of stuff that is important to you, you know how much the support means.
If you were looking forward to book-birthday-March to buy a book... and are a little disappointed because you don't really want to order a book to be delivered you can always buy the e-book version (for your Kindle Fire or on the free Kindle apps for iPad, PC or Mac. ) instead and save an extra CDN$ 51.18 (-46%) right now from
Amazon and start reading today. The content is exactly the same as in the hardcover book.
And a thank you to you... for this moment for us to celebrate.
Stay safe. Stay inside... and share something beautiful.
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Tutorials
Yay everyone! I found the absolute best way to preserve passion fruit flowers. Here it is: how to dry flowers using Silica Gel.
Use all three methods to dry hydrangeas to get three very different textures to use in design work.
Butterfly hair clips are the perfect little claws to help you hold tiny items in place while you wait for glue to dry
This is a convenient way to keep flowers perfectly upright while you wait for glue to dry.
I use edible mushrooms in my designs. To preserve them I press a tiny stake into the base and let them air-dry.
Remove the pulp from leaves so that only the vain framework remain
A perfect way to use a Lathyrus vine after all it flowered
You can use any type of paper to make flowers. I use tissue paper, Crêpe paper, cardboard, newsprint and coffee filters (new and used) to make sweet peas, carnations, paper...
Hold a dried hydrangea flower in the palm of your hand to smooth out the folds
Hang a twig and wood mobile at your weeding as a direction board
Favourite Flowers
Hydrangea, when cultivated as a cut flower rather as a plant it is often revered to as Hortensia
Related Designs
My article and a floral panel design featured in DIY Weddings Magazine
Soft minimal... this is exactly the kind of design I place in our apartment. Use a few fall treasures picked up on a walk and add a copper leaf to up the effort and love you add...
I have always been fascinated, as a designer, by the idea that there is a point when extremes or direct contrasts flip into its opposite.
My article and wedding direction board design featured in DIY Weddings Magazine