My Creative Workbook

Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman

Stretching leaves and foliage into a ringlet curl

Design note: using this technique makes the surface you stretched slightly more shiny so do not use it on foliage with a powdery surface such as iris foliage. Also some grasses cut when you rub over the saw-tooth edge of the blade so be careful.

Stretching a blade of grass

Most leaves and foliage can be slightly manipulated to curve or curl by carefully stretching it

Cushion the blade of grass with the pad of your thumb

Cushion the blade of grass with the pad of your thumb where you want it to curl

Gently pinch the blade between your fingers and pull it through

Gently pinch the blade between your fingers and pull it through to slowly stretch is

Be careful not to rip the grass

Slowly build up the amount you stretch the grass

Slowly build up the amount you stretch the grass from a gentle curve...

To a ringlet curl

To a ringlet curl

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

Tutorials

19 February 2013 Manipulating stems: Snapping at an angle, Bending, Spiraling, Curling and Straightening

Most stems, twigs and even sturdier branches can be bend into shapes. It takes practice and more than a bit of patience. The main idea is to slowly manipulate the branch without...

30 August 2011 Curving Calla Lilies

Follow the flower's natural curve but you can also curve only sections to create an elegant crescent or a curve at the tip of the stem

28 May 2013 Curling Rattan

Curl and twill rattan tendrils

5 September 2012 Curling Kyogi Paper

Kyogi paper can be curled if you work with it wet.

10 August 2011 Curl Allium stems while conditioning

Allium stems twist and turn and follow sunlight

23 March 2012 Curl Equisetum shoots into a snail shell spiral

Equisetum is hollow and jointed resembling miniature bamboo but it can be shaped into spirals by wiring the shoots

17 July 2012 Guacamole Green Coiled Grass Chameleon

My Chameleon is mono-botanical. Made from coiled grass

Related Designs

15 April 2015 Bowled Over

Weave a sphere armature to complement delicate oncidium orchiods

20 May 2015 Up on

Tie a bundle of grass as a floral mechanic

3 June 2015 A watcha call it

Weave a sphere armature

1 June 2016 The ties that Bind

Bind a lily to create a trumpet shape as it opens

22 June 2016 Perfection

Spiral grass to create a nest for the lady slipper orchids

7 December 2016 Oh! So clever

My article and Bridal basket design featured in DIY Weddings Magazine

25 January 2017 What is in a basket of spectacular?

Weave a basket with dangling edges for a single orchid display

1 February 2017 Not yet Spring, Spring but a spring

Coil wire and grass to create a spring

22 February 2017 Perfect!

Tulips are so perfect just as they are all that is needed is to simply drape their graceful leaves around the flowers

5 April 2017 Easter Bonnet

Weave a delicate Pillbox hat

11 April 2017 Well… we did it again!

Blossoms and chocolates for Easter

10 May 2017 About a line

Skewer and line up leaves to create an armature

21 June 2017 Playing Favourites

A quick and easy Kenzan design

19 July 2017 Meraki

A grass armature for one perfect slipper orchid

26 July 2017 Beat the summer heat

Tangle some wire to set flowers in water

9 August 2017 Hat tip

Tip a mortarboard inspired top at an angle for a glass design

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.

7 March 2018 Twist of its own

... a quick an easy design. Curl a few flax leaves to frame orchids

25 July 2018 Lemon Aid

Use a lemon as a stopper to keep floral material in place

20 February 2019 Inna...

Stack bowls to keep your flower stems in place.

27 February 2019 It’s a trap!

Weave a trap to keep your floral details suspended in a square container.

3 April 2019 Blossoming like a Caterpillar

Crafting caterpillars from blossoms

24 April 2019 Put aside

Urgh… my glass cake stand broke leaving me with a still beautiful, but now mismatched and extremely inspirational lid...

1 May 2019 Can you see the tiny hint of Sunshine on the tips of the grass?

I left the grass to mature so that the tips mirror the sun bleached yellow of the orchids.

5 June 2019 Add up!

Stacking green stems to create an armature for short stemmed flowers.

10 July 2019 These are my favourite summer things:

A submerged design... perfect for summertime designing... and enjoying!

14 August 2019 For a longer lasting Summer

A creative way to keep foliage hydrated for a cool, water filled summer design.

21 August 2019 All in one pod

Fold open a lily bud to conceal a clever little BoutStix floral magnet for an unusual corsage.

23 October 2019 As pumpkins do this time of year

Hanging pumpkins and tiny vases to create a Autumn mobile floral design.

15 January 2020 This way we connect

Weave a connected panel to frame a single orchid.

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.

12 February 2020 Parallel Hang Ups

While waiting for the blossoms to open... why not weave in a touch of Valentine's Day love?

18 March 2020 Aerial Odyssey

A closer look at my design at Canada Blooms and The Toronto Flower Show last week. The show was cancelled right after we staged the designs due to COVID-19 concerns.

8 April 2020 Don’t put all your Baskets in one Egg

A bit of a wrong way round pretty Easter design. Put the basket weave inside the egg instead of putting the eggs in a basket.

22 April 2020 Yes… but what would she put in it?

Some floral fashion inspiration: weave a pretty clutch purse

23 December 2020 Have yourself a Merry Cellulose Fibre Christmas: wired snowball pom pom for a woven grass Christmas tree

...ok not really that fancy- it’s made from paper pulp. Some cardboard to wrap the string around… really. In the spirit of 2020- I am inspired by the endless stream of cardboard...

31 March 2021 Criss-crossed

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

21 July 2021 High-Strung

String up a tiny hammock for a dreamy summer vacation design

29 September 2021 Creative Direction

Hang the arum lilies from the edge of a container to support all the other floral details.

26 January 2022 Carry On

As sturdy as it is delicate basket made from off-cut stems and grass.

16 February 2022 Hang on, love

A hanging heart design to celebrate love this Valentine's Day.

23 March 2022 Chockablock!

Luxuriously filled design... filled with flowers... filled with grass. But most fun, for us as designers filled with hidden techniques

15 June 2022 Take a swing at it

A cooling design for early summer days with swinging ripped grass and more than enough water for thirsty hydrangeas.

20 July 2022 The tiniest drop

A radiating summer design that waves in the slightest of breezes.

27 July 2022 Wrong on the right, for a right

A glued snipped to create a cooling cone for dangling orchids

31 August 2022 Bud… bud… bud… they were feeling so… very blue

When life hands you dyed flowers you make... well creatively speaking it turned out to be not such a bad thing after all!

5 April 2023 Where do you even start looking?

Easter egg... egg for Easter eggs

12 April 2023 The word we are looking for is… fun

A leaning twig armature with both the first signs of Spring and the last signs of winter.

12 July 2023 Standing in frond

Standing your delicate flower stems in a fern frond.

23 August 2023 Note to Self

An easy to weave natural grid for summer floral arrangements.