My Creative Workbook

Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman

“Ok wow”

What would happen if…?

Sweet pea tendrils in a floral design

I don’t...

Using rocks in a flower arrangement

stop...

Creative and unusual flower designs

until...

Stacking rocks as a flower design mechanic

I...

Minimalist floral design

say...

Designing with nature as therapy

“Ok… wow”

Design note: take a moment to appreciate your own creations. If you MUST criticize, judge how to improve and learn from, do so later.
For now just enjoy the beauty.

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

Tutorials

25 June 2019 Stacking grass covered pebbles

Pebbles are a great way to weigh down or keep your floral material in place. Here's a way to dress them up a bit

8 June 2011 Foliage Weaving

For this tutorial I focus on a simple weave pattern that does not require you to soften or prepare the leaves to be more durable or flexible. This is the starting point in...

13 March 2019 Interweave an enchanted gift basket

A bit of a planned-messy woven basket that is sturdy enough to carry small items.

20 December 2011 Weaving a gift box with a lid from palm leaves

A great all natural gift decorating alternative

1 October 2012 Weaving a ball shaped Dew-drop Catcher from grass

Weave a sphere from grass

14 January 2015 Weaving Slippers from Foliage

Weave slip on shoes from palm leaves

12 August 2015 Messy edged basket

Weave a loose basket to display flowers

29 May 2019 Taking a break when weaving with grass

When weaving a more labour intensive design you might want to/have to break for a few hours. This is the best way to keep the project from dying out too quickly.

29 May 2019 Weaving and Interweaving for contrast

My block design is shaped around a Styrofoam block. It is bulky but lightweight and a great way to reuse packaging.

Favourite Flowers

Lathyrus

Sweet pea

Related Designs

29 January 2020 Peekaboo

A light and airy (no floral foam but still long lasting) floral design for those days that you are really, really looking for signs of Spring.

26 February 2020 To top it all off

This is a great "space-keeper" design. The tulip will continue to grow into the vase height as they open... but until then the grass platform part of the design diverts your...

31 March 2021 Criss-crossed

Hide an egg inside a interwoven nest for a dainty Easter decoration design.

6 July 2022 Let’s play ball

Weave a spherical support to place long stemmed flowers into a bud vase.

26 October 2022 Arachnis Phobicus

A fun woven spider for Halloween decorating

25 October 2023 Go on Autumn… glow!

Mixing permanent and fresh design ingredients to celebrate just how clever the glow of Autumn is.

13 March 2019 How to avoid your wedding treasures from becoming “after the event trash”

My article and grass wedding basket design.

20 December 2011 Our finest gifts we bring,

A small, all natural gift box woven from palm

1 October 2012 How to catch a dew drop:

Weave a sphere from grass to catch a precious and exquisite and perfect glistening early autumn dew drop

16 July 2014 Unraveling fast

Weaving foliage to create a lush water scene

14 January 2015 Take a load off

Weave slippers from foliage

12 August 2015 Catch of the Day

Weave a loose basket to display a single flower... or three

5 April 2017 Easter Bonnet

Weave a delicate Pillbox hat

29 May 2019 Creative Competition

This week I am so excited to share my article and design that was published in the recent issue of the Floral Art Society of New Zealand's Academy Magazine for NZ qualified...