Just Paint It: Ten Tips for Making a Floral Wreath

This week my blogger friends and I were invited by Floracraft to decorate Styrofoam wreaths. Each of us our sharing our tutorials on Google+ Hangouts on Air (HoA). Here’s the full schedule.

Being an ex-florist, I knew I wanted to do something with flowers. I rarely get to do much floral design and I really miss it. I didn’t buy a single thing. And the flowers & ribbon were from The Dollar Tree. The Styrofoam wreath was furnished by Floracraft.

Here’s my video, full of all kinds of tips. Both design tips as well as money-saving. Below I’ve also included tips in a photo tutorial, so you don’t have to listen to me rattle on and on if you don’t want to.

Floral Arranging Tools

For nearly any floral design I use these tools:

wire cutters
scissors
wire (20 gauge is good for all-around)
floral tape
low temp glue gun

Tips For Making a Floral Wreath

Alrighty, here are my tips I learned from making hundreds, if not thousands, of wreaths over the years. Seriously.

“Novelties” are anything that aren’t flowers or foliage. I had these garden gloves from the dollar store. Since they certainly aren’t going to get any use in my non-existent garden, I thought they’d be cute in the wreath. So would mini clay pots, little garden signs, seed packets . . . you get the idea.

Now, I try to use wire because I tend to remake wreaths from season to season. Hot glue is certainly easier and quicker but it also tears up your wreath if you remove the object and it’s not as durable as wire.

Rather than a big ol’ bow I like creating a focal point by clustering a group of items. In this case, the garden gloves and a wood birdie.

Have you heard to always use flowers in 3’s or odd numbers? Yeah, well, forget that. I mean, you can use odd numbers but you don’t have to, as long as you use triangles for your design.

Here’s the theory – the eye searches for patterns such as symmetry, symmetry that would be created if you used two or four flowers of the same variety. Once the eye sees a pattern it moves on. So, to capture interest, designers use triangles, which keeps the eye engaged in the design. An easy way to do that is with odd numbers of flowers. Or . . . you can just place things in triangular patterns, accomplish the same goal and actually make your design even more appealing and interesting. At least, in my opinion. And my floral teacher’s.

Oh, and by the way, this triangular theory works in other types of design too, not just floral. We did the same thing in merchandising and displays, with the goal being to keep customers interested in the display. Try it in your home with some vignettes. It’s fun stuff.

The hydrangeas were nice and full but I only had two so I snagged a few blossoms from underneath, added a piece of wire and taped it up. It’s a great way to ‘multiply’ your floral product.

I find it’s much easier to maintain design balance if I insert all ‘like’ flowers together and then move on to another type. It just helps me to “see” the patterns I’m creating with each variety.

Whether you buy flowers at the dollar store, the craft store, or a high end florist, you get a lot more bang for your buck if you buy a “bush” – multiple stems connected together. But you have to clip the bush apart so you control the design, rather than having a huge clump of flowers.

Not to mention using bushes saves money.

Especially when using artificial flowers, mixing varieties gives a much better overall look.

I love using different ribbons. Lots and lots of ribbon. But ribbon isn’t cheap. So I cut little pieces, add a stem of wire, tape it up and then I can have all kinds of ribbon without breaking the bank.

You can even use these “cheater loops” to create a florist bow, if you want.