A Saturday well spent!
I knew Brian was going to be out of town this weekend so I thought it would be the perfect excuse to spend my Saturday crafting up something fun. I wanted to do a quick and easy project and since we finally got sod last week, I thought it would be nice to freshen up our front door as well! I love how easy wreaths are, you can’t really mess them up because as long as you’re starting with a good floral base, all of the parts are easily changed around until you get the look you’re going for.
Choosing Florals
This time around, I wanted a color scheme that was more seasonally transitional than wreaths that I’ve made in the past. We are currently almost half way through July and fall will be here before we know it! With that in mind, I decided to go with colors that I know would pop when placed on my red front door and left the summer lemons and other seasonal elements like cotton buds out.
Foolproof Floral Equation
Whether I’m arranging flowers for a centerpiece or creating a wreath like I did today, theres a simple, foolproof equation that I use to select the materials for the project that I’m working on.
I start by selecting an anchor that will be the main “pop” of focus for the project. For this arrangement, I chose large fluffy white flowers that have a sunny yellow center as the anchor.
I then pick a textural element or two that complements the anchor. I loved the movement of these fun floral balls and added in a longer bud to change it up and add interest. Because they are all in the same yellow, they play nicely off of the center of the flowers.
Next, I pick an accent. I picked up these sweet blue berry bunches to tie in the blue striped ribbon that I knew I wanted to use for a bow. If I’m doing something that has a theme, the accent is is usually where I’ll add that element – think pinecones in the winter!
Lastly, I select my greenery. I really liked how the muted green of the lambs ear allowed for the the other colors to shine. I think it helped to ground the other elements and really helped pull everything together. I tend to go with the opposite size of whatever leaves that are already attached to the florals I’m working with. Adding varied sizes throughout each element of the equation adds texture and depth to the over all look.
Supplies For Wreath
- A wreath form – I used a grapevine wreath form because they’re extremely easy to attach your elements to. The plain brown of the vines also allows my florals to pop!
- Your florals – remember the Fool Proof Florals equation from above! Anchor, Texture, Accent and Greenery.
- Wire cutters – I used a wire cutter and stripper combo – use what you have on hand.
- Floral wire.
- Neednose pliers.
Trimming Down & Placement
Start by trimming down your floral elements if you need to. I like to separate all of the big chunks so that I can vary the pieces throughout the arrangement. I then loosely place the decorations on the wreath form, starting with the greenery pieces, to see where I would like things to flow. After I get the over all shape down, I layer in the texture pieces leaving my anchor items to be closest to the center where I will later place the bow. Once the anchors are in, I use the accent items to help fill in any gaps. I will usually rearrange things a few times to get it just right. Thats why I think wreaths are so much fun to make. If you don’t care for how things are looking, it’s super easy to move things around until they do! When things start to look how I want them, I then stick the stem end of the florals through the wreath form so that they poke through the back of the wreath.
Securing the Florals
The back of my wreath is where i secure all of the elements. Sticking the stems through to the back of the form allows me to then tack them down, attaching them to the wreath with little bits of floral wire. I use the needle nose pliers to really tighten the wires and stems down. The pliers fit where my fingers cannot which also helps to hide where everything is fastened. No ones sees the stems or wire when the wreath is hanging and I feel like this makes things extra secure.he added bonus of using the wire to attach things is that it also makes it really easy to swap things out or make adjustments later if you would like.
Finishing Touches
In addition to the florals, I decided to add a bow using the same ribbon I have on another door in our home. I simply tied the bow and used the same process with the wire to attach it to the wreath, slipping the wire first through the knot and then through the form to the back of the wreath where the stems are. I love that while both wreaths are different, the same cute striped ribbon ties them together!
Your Turn!
I hope this post helped to get your creative juices going. Wreaths and florals are some of my favorite things to turn to when I’m getting the crafty itch. They are easy to work with, have very little mess and endless possibilities! I’d love to see what you create. Be sure to tag me @Elizabeth.Fullerton on Instagram.
See you soon, friend!
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