So you wanna make a wreath, huh? Well you're in luck! I made a little DIY tutorial on how to make a floral wreath made out of fresh flowers for a wedding or event.
It's pretty easy to make and you can use just about any flower your little heart desires as long as you properly process your foam and flowers.
First you need to figure out what you want your wreath to look like. You'll need between 30 to 40 flowers depending on the size of the head of the flower. Gerbera Daisies take up more space than say regular white daisies. You only need about a dozen peonies to make a nice wreath. So keep in mind the design you are after when choosing flowers.
I used Carnations, gerbera daisies, orange tiger Lilies, a few billy buttons, and a couple kermit mums and a few yellow alstromerias.
Step 1.
Buy a foam floral wreath from a floral store or flower market. I used the one with a tray glued on because it's easier to place an object in between without having to get a separate tray or worry about water possible dripping onto the linen.
If you want to make a hanging wreath for a door then you would buy one of these foam wreaths
without that center tray. Sav on Crafts has them but a local flower market always has them cheaper. I think I bought mine for about $7.
Step 2
You must submerge and saturate the floral foam in water and like all foam you must let it sink on its own. You MUST NOT push it down or else you may inadvertently create air pockets and when you go to stick your stem in , your flower will have no water source. You might end up with mysterious sections of your wreaths that are wilting fast. So since I have a tray attached, I flip it upside down and let it sink on its own and keep it there for about 5 minutes.
*Note* The water that I use I treat with floral food following the instructions on the package.
Step 3
I then pull it out and let the excess water drain and then let it rest for a few minutes before I get started.
Ok, I stopped to take the time to give you a tip. See how the carnation has a little "knub" for a lack of better word? Its like a knot that appears in carnations every 2 inches or so? Well if you cut it right at the knot, the flower will not get any water. You need to cut about that nub( or a bit below, in order for the stem to drink water)
Step 4
So start to cut the stems about 2 inches from the head. I start with a few so that I get the length right. Once you poke a stem into the foam, that's it. You can not pull it out and re-insert because it's not a sponge, it doesn't spring back. There will be a huge gaping hole that you cannot fill unless you stick in a bigger longer stem, but even then it's not right, so take your time. The idea is to start designing a pattern that you are happy with. I started with the darker carnations and spaced them out.
It's pretty easy to make and you can use just about any flower your little heart desires as long as you properly process your foam and flowers.
First you need to figure out what you want your wreath to look like. You'll need between 30 to 40 flowers depending on the size of the head of the flower. Gerbera Daisies take up more space than say regular white daisies. You only need about a dozen peonies to make a nice wreath. So keep in mind the design you are after when choosing flowers.
I used Carnations, gerbera daisies, orange tiger Lilies, a few billy buttons, and a couple kermit mums and a few yellow alstromerias.
Step 1.
Buy a foam floral wreath from a floral store or flower market. I used the one with a tray glued on because it's easier to place an object in between without having to get a separate tray or worry about water possible dripping onto the linen.
If you want to make a hanging wreath for a door then you would buy one of these foam wreaths
without that center tray. Sav on Crafts has them but a local flower market always has them cheaper. I think I bought mine for about $7.Step 2
You must submerge and saturate the floral foam in water and like all foam you must let it sink on its own. You MUST NOT push it down or else you may inadvertently create air pockets and when you go to stick your stem in , your flower will have no water source. You might end up with mysterious sections of your wreaths that are wilting fast. So since I have a tray attached, I flip it upside down and let it sink on its own and keep it there for about 5 minutes.
*Note* The water that I use I treat with floral food following the instructions on the package.
Step 3
I then pull it out and let the excess water drain and then let it rest for a few minutes before I get started.
Ok, I stopped to take the time to give you a tip. See how the carnation has a little "knub" for a lack of better word? Its like a knot that appears in carnations every 2 inches or so? Well if you cut it right at the knot, the flower will not get any water. You need to cut about that nub( or a bit below, in order for the stem to drink water)
Step 4
So start to cut the stems about 2 inches from the head. I start with a few so that I get the length right. Once you poke a stem into the foam, that's it. You can not pull it out and re-insert because it's not a sponge, it doesn't spring back. There will be a huge gaping hole that you cannot fill unless you stick in a bigger longer stem, but even then it's not right, so take your time. The idea is to start designing a pattern that you are happy with. I started with the darker carnations and spaced them out.
Then I filled in with more flowers.
Sorry about the flash, but here's a closeup of the spacing between each stem.
Here's a top view to show you how the inside will look, I always leave a space to be filled in later once I have the final piece that will be used and I can fill in the holes so that you can't see my mechanic(the method I use to construct my floral design). You never know what angle the photog will be taking pictures from so make sure you face flowers up and in leaving a space for whatever will go in the center. Here I used a small vase to stand in.
Here's the final picture before transport. I'm not feeling the mums too much in this one so for the wedding I pulled them out.
Here she is in action with the bride and grooms memorial candle on the sweetheart table.
This is another floral wreath I made for the wedding, for the sign in table. I used red spider daisies. About 35 of them went into this wreath. People kept asking me if they were real, haha, I got some "yeah right' looks about them. :)
I placed a vase with submerged daisies in them and used black rocks to weight the vase down so it wouldn't tip over in case someone bumped into the table. They were transported separately.
Here he is in action!
You can make these about two days before the event and then just shower them with water in the sink and drain a little water out. They should be fine and can last beautifully in this wreath for about a week as long as you continue to water every other day.
I hope you found this helpful! If you have any questions, ask away!
2 comments:
ey sweets! wanted to invite you in case you are interested to a contest we are having with several artists :) it's a handcraft contest :D you can see the guidelines here: http://www.giselejaquenod.com.ar/blog/2008/11/03/birdie-know-it-all-contest/
I promess it's worth it xD check the list of amazing prizes!!!
Thanks for the floral wreath tips! I am going to use them for my upcoming wedding in May. Quick question, if I make them 1 day prior to the wedding, should I store them in a cold, dark place, like a closet? Or in a frig? Thanks again!
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