My Creative Workbook

Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman

Bamboo scaffold armature

Cut 4 thick pieces om bamboo

Cut 4 thick pieces om bamboo

Cut 8 thinner pieces of bamboo.

Cut 8 thinner pieces of bamboo.

Cut 16 pieces of very thin bamboo

Cut 16 pieces of very thin bamboo

Lay two bamboo pieces on a working surface and place a thinner piece across the top

Lay two bamboo pieces on a working surface and place a thinner piece across the top

Latch the bamboo together with bind wire.

Latch the bamboo together with bind wire.

Latch the other side.

Latch the other side.

Do the same with the remaining two bamboo pieces.

Do the same with the remaining two bamboo pieces.

Place the one bamboo section on top of the other

Place the one bamboo section on top of the other

Separate the two sections of bamboo with two thinner pieces and latch

Separate the two sections of bamboo with two thinner pieces and latch

Place a bamboo piece at one side and latch

Turn the bamboo armature and place a bamboo piece at one side that is still open and latch

Turn the armature again and latch the last unconnected side

Turn the armature again and latch the last unconnected side

Stand the armature upright

Stand the armature upright. Adjust the legs to make sure it is very secure

The top grid:

Cross 4 sections of bamboo.

Cross 4 sections of bamboo.

Latch the corners

Latch the corners

Just latch the bind wire in a figure eight and twist to secure

Just latch the bind wire in a figure eight and twist to secure

Dont try to be too precise, all the wire pieces are going to be covered

Don't try to be too precise, all the wire pieces are going to be covered

Grid for the top of the scaffold armature.

Grid for the top of the scaffold armature.

Lay the grid over the top

Lay the grid over the top

Latch it to the armature.

Latch the grid to the armature.

Try to latch all the connection points.

Try to latch all the connection points.

This grid carries the weight of the flowers and should be very secure

This grid carries the weight of the flowers and should be very secure

Set the armature upright

Set the armature upright and latch any loose pieces

I wanted a more rustic look for my armature and added a few side pieces.

I wanted a more rustic look for my armature and added a few side pieces. These are not structural but rather decorative. I just glued them in and will latch them with grass later

Cut all the wires short

Cut all the wires short

Rip a few blades of grass or flax (see the Tutorial below for detailed instructions on ripping foliage) to cover all the wires and bind the connection pieces with

Wrap the grass over all the wire

Wrap the grass to cover all the wire latchings

Take extra care to latch the decorative side pieces with grass

Take extra care to latch the decorative side pieces with grass

When you get to the end of the blade of grass knot it in on itself or glue it in place

When you get to the end of the blade of grass knot it in on itself or glue it in place

Bamboo scaffold armature ready to design with

Bamboo scaffold armature ready to design with

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

Tutorials

14 January 2011 Ripping Flax

Flax can be ripped into fibres creating long and versatile strips

Related Designs

28 May 2014 Be Silent And Listen

Lash a few bamboo pieces together to create a scaffold armature

10 August 2016 Saved up

Cut lengths of bamboo to place in a shallow container as a flower frog

14 June 2017 Things are looking up!

My article and Bamboo Lantern design featured in DIY Weddings Magazine

5 July 2017 Just A Bit

Glue a bit of grass snippets to suspend over the design

3 January 2018 Happy Coincidence!

Some designs really do just make themselves. I received this tiny vase for Christmas from Marius (thank you, Marius!) and while cleaning out my design room I found this little...

6 February 2019 Tread softly on winter

A delicate winter twig armature to show off the delicate beauty of these early spring coloured tulips.

22 January 2020 Spacer

Armatures are great (budget friendly) spacers for creating large floral designs without using an enormous amount of your resources.