Hydrangeas are among the most popular shrubs in West Sound, and they make beautiful wreaths. Floral wreaths can cost as much as $50, but if you have your own hydrangeas, you can make a wreath for less than $6.
Early fall is the time to cut hydrangea flowers when their petals feel papery and they begin to take on softer hues. One mature hydrangea can produce enough flowers to make a couple of wreaths.
You can find a variety of wreath forms for floral wreaths in craft stores. This post will explain how to make hydrangea wreaths using straw and grapevine forms.
Using a Straw Form
Materials you need:
- Dried hydrangea flowers with about 1 inch of stem left on them
- Garden clippers
- A straw wreath form
- One or two packages of u-shaped craft pins (one package should be enough for a 12-inch form)
- Dried-flower preserving spray
- Large ribbon, craft wire or door wreath hanger
Lay out the materials on your work surface and spread out the hydrangea flowers so you can see their size and color. Place a flower on the outer edge of the straw frame and secure it with a u-shaped pin at the base of the flower, catching the top of the stem.
Continue securing flowers to the wreath form, moving from the outside to the inside until the wreath is as full as you want it to be, checking for visual balance as you go.
Use your clippers to shorten the stems and trim the flowers as needed.
Using a Grapevine Form
Materials you need:
- Dried hydrangea flowers with a few inches of stem left on them
(more stem than you need for the straw form) - Garden clippers
- A wire wreath form
- Craft wire
- Wire cutters
- Hot-glue sticks and glue gun
- Large ribbon, wire or door wreath hanger
Lay out the materials on your work surface and set up your hot glue gun. Spread out the flowers so you can see their size and color.
Starting at the outer edge of the wreath form, place flowers one at a time on the form and poke their stems through it. Secure the stems to the back of the form with craft wire or hot glue.
Continue placing flowers on the form until you have covered as much of it as you want. Check for visual balance as you go, adding or removing flowers and trimming them as needed.
Design tips
- Consider using some brown or beige flowers in your wreath.
- Different varieties of hydrangeas will produce flowers of varying color and size. Experiment with mixing and matching them.
- One side of the wreath does not have to be a mirror image of the other side to have balance. Using a variety of colors and flower sizes will achieve a more aesthetic look.
Finishing your wreath
When your wreath is finished, spray a floral preservative over the flowers to help retain their color. Wrap a piece of craft wire or ribbon around the top of the wreath and hang the wreath from a nail or door wreath hanger.
If using a grapevine wreath, you can just hang it directly on a nail without a wire.
Websites and videos that give more information and demonstrations on wreath making:
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