Dried Flower Wreaths and You

Passover is a Jewish holiday celebration especially in the springtime either on March or April.  Passover celebrates the independence of the Jewish people from the slavery in Egypt. The word Passover comes from a Hebrew word “posach” which means, “ to pass over”. The most chief implication related to Passover involves the removal of the five grains from their homes.

Let us also be a part and parcel of the Jews in celebrating Passover. For that you will require the flowing materials:

•  Wire wreath frame or a coat hanger
• Spring flowers (dried daisies and dried lilies)
• Ribbon
• Wire cutters
• Floral tape
• Foliage

Before you begin your work visit the local craft store and get dried daisies. You can also dry the daisies by yourself using various drying procedure. Choose the color and type of the daisies that you require in making a dried spring wreath. The other colors of the ribbon and other decorative items should match with the wreath form.

Purchase all the materials from any local craft store. Gather all the materials of the wreath on a table before you start your work.

Now decide on the frame of the wreath. You can either use wire wreath frame or coat hanger. Twist the coat hanger to get the circular shape of the wreath. Leave the hook of the hanger that will help you hang the wreath anywhere you want.

Now wrap the wreath frame with floral wire. Start placing the daisies on the wreath. Before that take the foliage and place them on the frame of the wreath. As you place the leaves wrap them with floral wire. Make sure that the leaves face the same direction. Cover the foliage stems with floral tape. Now start placing the dried daisies on the wreath.

Cut the stems of the daisies at an angle of 45 degree. Lay the daisies on the wreath. Place the daisies and wrap them with floral wire.

While working with dried daisies carefully handle them as they may break. Wrap the ends of the daisies with floral wire. Cut the ribbons and make bows and attach it on the wreath using glue or wire. Now hang your wreath anywhere you wish.

Buttons are a fun and unique way to make wreaths for any occasion. They are easily available and kids find it highly enjoyable. Take a quick glance at the simple instructions below to make a crazy button wreath.

For this you will need few button bracelets and button animals along with a few common craft items.

For one button bracelet

You’ll need:

One piece of elastic cord

• About 10-12 inches long
• Several shank buttons
• Scissors

String a button onto the cord. Leave it about 3 inches from the end

And tie a knot to secure. Continue stringing on more buttons.

Tie each one on with a knot. As you approach the end of the cord,

Test the bracelet size around your wrist. Stop when the bracelet fits

Loosely around your wrist Knot the two ends together and you have

your bracelet. Trim the ends. Turn this into a key chain by adding

a key ring!

Tip:

If the elastic frays while stringing the beads…

Trim the edges or wrap some tape around the ends.

Button animals

Materials:

Buttons

Pipe cleaners

Permanent markers

Craft glue

Googly eyes

Craft beads

1. Gather buttons, pipe cleaners, permanent markers, craft glue, googly eyes, and craft beads.

2. Then encourage your child to make any creature he can imagine by threading the pipe cleaners through the buttonholes.

3. Get creative by linking multiple buttons and by molding the pipe cleaners into interesting shapes such as tails, antennae, legs, wings, and more. (Remember that you can twist together 2 pipe cleaners for extra length.)

4. Once a body’s done, add a mouth with a marker and glue on 2 (or 3 or 4!) eyes.

Now its time to make our crazy wreath with the button bracelets and button animals you have made.

For this, take a cardboard wreath base and cover it with red or yellow construction paper. Attach the button bracelets and the button animals alternately on the cardboard with hot glue. Leave a space of at least 2cm between each bracelet and animal. You may decorate the wreath further with signs and symbols particular to the festival you are celebrating; for instance, a cross of buttons for Christmas, a cutout of a turkey for Thanksgiving, decorative eggs for Easter and likewise.

The word communion is means as the act of sharing or holding in common. The devotees of Christ get together to remember the sacrifice of the lord. Jesus instituted this remembrance. He took bread as a symbol of his body. Jesus marked wine as a symbol of his blood. This was Jesus’ last super with his followers.

The first communion is one of the holiest and the most important occasion in the Roman Catholic’s life. We observe communion, as it was the lord who told us to follow it forever. While observing the communion we remember the Christ and all that he has done for us. We remember his life and death and resurrection.

Why not try making communion wreath with berries? For that you will need the following materials:

• Floral wire
• Floral tape
• Silk berries
• Red hypericum berries
• Green hypericum berries

Before you begin your work you will need to form the wreath base with floral wire. Take the floral wire according to the shape of the head. Cut the floral wire at first then measure the accurate length that you need to make the wreath.

After taking the fringe of the head tie a knot when the two ends of the floral wire wreath base meet. Twist the two floral wire tightly as you are going to use berries in the wreath base. Now cover the entire wreath base with floral tape.

Wrap the wreath base with floral tape and secure the tape with glue. Cover the tape in such a way that the floral wire is not visible. Remember to overlap the ends of the floral tape to conceal the wire. At the end of the floral tape you can make a small bow.

Now start with the wreath materials. Make a bunch of all the different kinds of berries you are using. Attach the silk berries, red hypericum berries and the green hypericum berries in a bunch. Secure the end of the bunch with floral wire. Twist the ends of the wire to secure the berries.

Then take the silk berries, red hypericum berries, green hypericum berries and place them anywhere you wish. While placing the berries remember to secure them with floral wire. Each time you use floral wire, cover the wire with floral tape.

At the back of the wreath tie the berries bunch with floral wire. Twist the floral wire around the wreath base. Make the bunch hang. Do not leave any gap in between the berries.

“A wedding anniversary is the celebration of love, trust, partnership, tolerance and tenacity. The order varies for any given year”

. -Paul Sweeney

A wedding anniversary is an occasion to celebrate the date on which a wedding took place. On this day people celebrate the joys and pains they have borne together as a couple. Every anniversary serves to fortify the marital vows of sincere love and faithfulness. The anniversary gives them an opportunity to share their happiness with their friends and family. These celebrations are usually quite grand and we remember it for a long time.

Gifts form an integral part of wedding anniversaries. Jewelry, dresses, clocks are all gifts, which couples have been gifting each other since the advent of this tradition. Times have changed and so has the gifting patterns of man. But one gift, which has withstood the onslaught of time, is flowers. Man has been depending on flowers to express his deepest emotions since time immemorial. Each flower has a symbol and significance of its own

We use different flowers to celebrate each succeeding year of our marriage. Not only fresh flowers, even artificial ones, like those made of silk are hot favorites among couples of today. People gift flowers in the form of bouquets, accents, centerpieces and wreaths.

Anniversary comes once a year, so pull out all stops and turn it into the most memorable event of her life. You can make a breathtaking dried wreath yourself by following the simple steps given below.

Collect the following materials:

• Heart shaped grapevine wreath base
• Preserved salal
• Preserved eucalyptus
• Burgundy silk roses
• Preserved statice, fern, lavender, celosia, rice flowers
• Preserved Australian daisies
• Yarrow, Globe Amaranth
• Moss
• Bear grass
• Sheer mauve ribbon
• Florist wire
• Hot glue

Instructions:

1. Make several bunches with the flowers and foliage and tie with florist wire. Cover the wire with bear grass. You can include a particular type of flower exclusively in each bunch. Using different foliage for different bunches will give an interesting look to the wreath. Do not use up all the flowers and foliage, as you will need some later.
2. Tear the moss into roughly edged pieces and attach them to the wreath base with hot glue.
3. Attach some of the salal and eucalyptus leaves randomly with glue on the wreath.

4. Place each bunch on the moss-covered wreath and secure it with florist wire. In similar manner, cover the whole wreath with all the bunches, overlapping them a bit to give a dense look. Take a step back and check whether there is any gap in the wreath. If so, cover it up with flowers and foliage.

5. Cut the flower heads of the roses and decorate the wreath by attaching with hot glue.

6. Make a bow with the sheer ribbon and attach on one side of the wreath.

You may add a note expressing your undying love for your spouse.

Beach parties are the best way to have fun and party with our friends. Make use of artificial decorative items to make a beach party wreath.

There are different ways of making beach party wreath with decorative items. For that you will need the following materials:

• Straw wreath base
• Hot glue
• Floral wire
• Colorful ribbons
• Dried daffodils and roses
• Foliage
• Toy fishes
• Floral green tape
• Wreath hanger
• Scissors

To begin with collect trimming from the garden. Get some foliage that like magnolia, oak, cushion bush, fern and bay laurel for making the wreath. Now cut the stems of the dried flowers in such a way that you have six inch long piece to work with.

For making a beach party wreath you can use dried daffodils, and dried roses. Take the straw wreath base and wrap the entire base with floral wire. Wrap the wreath with ribbons so that the floral wire is unseen. After the wreath base is covered place the foliage then set the dried flowers. Choose various stems of 6” foliage and set them jointly in a group. The cut ends of the foliage will face the same direction.

Now place the dried flowers on the top of the bundle. Try to work in three rows. Remember that the wreath base should not look empty from any side.  Set the dried flowers bundle on the top where the floral wire is connected. Grip the floral wire in the correct place and wrap the floral wire around the bundle. Wrap the wire twice and pull it tight. This will secure the materials to fall from the wreath.

Collect another bundle of foliage and dried flowers and put in a proper way. Continue placing the bundle lying on top of one another and wire them to complete the circle. Raise the first bundle and push the last one under it. Turn the floral wire tightly and tie a knot at the end of the wire. Cut the left off wire with scissors.

Now take the toy fishes to attach them on the wreath base. Pass small inches of floral wire through the small toy fishes. Attach the toy fishes all over the wreath base with floral wire. Make a large bow and attach it at the top of the wreath base. At last use floral wire to secure the wreath hanger. Attach the wreath hanger at the back of the wreath.

Now hang the beach party wreath with toy fishes all over the wreath base.

Independence day is the day on which a country gets its freedom. On July 4^th the United States of America celebrate their independence day. We all love to make wreaths as well as decorate your home with them. Remember the sacrifices made by the great heroes of our country. We hardly remember to show our tribute to them.

Try making a patriotic wreath for Independence Day then you will need the following materials:

• Styrofoam wreath base
• Dried delphinium
• Dried roses
• Low temperature glue
• Pictures of all the national heroes
• Ribbons (red, blue, white)
• Glitters
• Small American flag
• Pink acrylic paint

At first take the Styrofoam wreath base. Soak the Styrofoam wreath base for 20 minutes. Keep the foam wreath base apart to let it dry. Paint the foam wreath base with pink acrylic paint. Again leave the foam wreath base to dry.

Now take the pictures of all the national heroes and start placing them from the top of the wreath base. Remember to leave gaps in between the pictures. Apply glue at the back of each picture and attach them to the wreath base.

Cover the outer and inner wreath base with dried roses. Make small holes in the Styrofoam wreath base to place the flowers in the wreath base. Pour few drops of glue in the holes. Place the dried roses in the holes. Press the dried flowers for some time. Be careful, as the flowers that you are using are dry.

Fill the gaps in between the pictures with dried delphinium. Place the dried flowers following the same procedure. Use hair spray in the dried flowers to keep them in a good condition. At the center of the wreath add a small American flag.

Use pins to secure the flag at the center of the wreath. Make a large bow with red, blue and white ribbons and attach it at the top of the wreath. Secure the bow with glue. Add glitters to make your wreath look decorative. Remember that the tail of the bow should not cover the flag.

Hang the patriotic wreath at your front door to attract your guests.  Now sing the national anthem of your country land and offer your tribute.

Birthdays are a time of celebration. No one can ever forget his or her birthday. Sometimes when you are likely to forget your birthday your friends and relatives wishes you, it is a time when you feel overjoyed. The phrase “happy birthday to you” reminds us of the yummy birthday cake, candles, balloons and gifts.

A birthday anniversary looks vague without the decoration of wreaths. If your friend’s birth anniversary is on the month of April then use daisy in making the wreath. A daisy is a symbol of delightful happiness. It is the most beautiful flower that signifies innocence.

Let us try making a daisy wreath for birthday. For making a daisy wreath for birthday you need the following supplies:

• 3 to 4 dozen dried daisy flowers
• 18” grapevine wreath
• Wire cutter
• Glue gun
• Glue sticks
• Fresh daisy flowers
• Floral wire
• Double wire wreath form.

First let us try making a dried daisy anniversary wreath. For making it you need to have an 18” grapevine wreath. Then wrap the entire grapevine wreath with floral wire. 

Pluck the fresh daisies from the garden and dry them well. Carefully handle the dried daisies when you are using them in making the wreath.

Take the dried daisy flowers and cut each flower with stem from the bush. Use wire cutter to cut the flowers. You also have to trim off the leaves from the stem. Trim each stem to about 4” in length using the wire cutter.

Then stick the stems in the grapevine wreath. Secure each stem to the wreath under the daisy flowers using glue. You have to cover the total border of the wreath to conceal the grapevine wreath. Be careful that only the daisy flowers are visible on the wreath.

Now hang the birthday wreath of daisy for decoration. The dried daisy birth anniversary wreath will last forever as it is enduring.

But if you want to make a fresh daisy birth anniversary wreath then you need to follow another procedure. For that gather a 3 to 4 dozens of fresh daisy flowers from your garden or buy them from the local florist.

Now place a bunch of daisies down on the top of the double wire wreath form. If there is greenery attached to bunch then leave them as they are.

Make use of floral wire to tie the bunch together and then secure it to the wire form. Carry on with the same process until the total wreath form is covered with bunches of daisies. While inserting the daisies remember to place them on top of the other. At last tie a bow to the wreath.

Fall season wreath

How to Decorate An Autumn Vine Wreath

Bring in the glories of fall this year with a decorative fresh n dried flower wreath. All you will have to do is to buy a vine wreath easily found in the market and decorate it with the following materials:

9 to 10” wreath base

3 artificial or dried red maple leaves

3 sprigs of yellow and orange maple leaves.

3 to 5 smaller yellow and green maple leaf sprigs

3 small mum flowers (dark orange)

5 artificial sunflowers (about 1 –1/2” diameter)

3 to 7 dried roses, strawflowers (yellow or red)

Dried red rose petals

Mini pinecones

Miniature twig or cane baskets

Raffia

1. At first decide the correct placement for your flowers. Make sure that the position is quite pleasing. Use hot glue to attach three maple leaves in the lower semi-circle and three on the upper semi-circle of the wreath base.

2. Make 3 small bunches of the orange mum flowers and tie with raffia. Secure the bunches with florist wire and attach to the wreath at equal intervals.

3. Make 3 bunches of sunflowers and attach in similar manner.

4. Make 3-4 bunches of roses and strawflowers and attach to the remaining blank spaces of the wreath.

5. Glue small flowers in the tiny baskets( the flower heads must pop out) and hang them from the wreath .You may decorate the wreath further with gourds and the grapes. If there are any gaps seen in the wreath base then fill them with dried roses, dried flowers, small pinecones.

At last take few pieces of raffia and cut into strips. Twist them in equal halves; make use of your fingers to wind the raffia. Apply glue and fasten the raffia at the bottom center of the wreath. Take a look at the decorative autumn vine wreath and hang it according to your choice.

“Life is eternal and love is immortal; and death is only a horizon and a horizon is nothing save, the limit of our sight.” ~ Rossiter W. Raymond.

In the above lines the author has rightly said that death is a horizon. Death is inevitable, Man is mortal. It is the only truth of life. No one can escape from the cruel hands of death. No one can deny the fact that one who comes dies one day. Death is a reality that comes to everyone. When someone leaves the world his family deeply suffers the loss of the deceased. The best way to convey your sympathy and tribute for the deceased is by offering wreath. Wreaths are a symbol of rebirth. A dried condolence wreath is a way to express your sympathy for the mourning family.

It looks better if you make your own condolence wreath instead of buying it from the market. Homemade condolence wreath marks a personal touch to the wreath.

Try making a dried condolence wreath with carnation, for that you will need the following materials:

• Styrofoam wreath base
• Vines
• Floral wire
• Floral green tape
• Dried yellow carnation
• White chrysanthemum
• Low temperature glue
• Photograph of the deceased

Before you begin making the condolence wreath dry the flowers well. Pluck the fresh flowers either from your garden in the early morning or from the nearby florist. See that there is no moisture left in the flowers. Now follow any process to dry the flowers.

It is better to press your flowers for drying. Take the flowers and cut them from their heads. Leave 3” from the floral head and cut it. Place the flowers in between two absorbent paper and place heavy books on top of the flowers. Leave the flowers undisturbed for 2 weeks.

When the flowers dry properly get ready with the wreath.  Soak the Styrofoam wreath frame in water for few minutes. Allow the wreath base to dry. Pierce small holes in the foam wreath frame. Before that wrap the Styrofoam wreath frame with vines all over.

Secure the vines in the wreath frame with floral wire. Tie a knot at the end of the wire and cut it with wire cutters. Now set the dried carnation in the holes. Apply glue inside the holes. Press the dried flowers gently in the holes of the foam base.

Then set the white chrysanthemum in the Styrofoam wreath frame. Secure them using white flowers. See that there are no gaps in the wreath frame.  At last in the center of the wreath attach the deceased photo so that it becomes a memory for the deceased family.

Visit the deceased family with the condolence wreath or you can even deliver it to the correct address.

God give me work, till my life shall end
And life, till my work is done.
~Epitaph of Winifred Holtby

May day is a great day when we can show our tribute to the workmen of our country. It is time to express our gratitude. The labors take up all the hard work and pain for us. We often get time to express our gratitude to those workmen who always works for us. We should try to repay them their toil. Try making a decorative May Day wreath this year.

The materials that you require for making a decorative may day wreath is as follows:

• Red, whiter and blue construction paper
• Star shape cookie cutters
• Pencil
• Scissors
• Dinner plate
• Cardboard
• Glue
• Buttons, ribbons and glitters
• Coat hanger
• Masking tape
• Dried flowers

Trace different shape of stars on the red, blue and white construction paper. Cut them in proper shape. The number of stars that you need will depend upon the size of the stars that you are making.  But it would be better if you plan for around 15 to 20 stars.

Try making two different shaped stars so that you can add variety to your May Day wreath. Place the dinner plate on the cardboard and trace around the outer edge of the plate. Remove the diner plate and cut the circle on the cardboard.

Place another small dinner plate at the center of the cardboard. Cut out the circular shape of the wreath. Your cardboard will now show the shape of the wreath frame. Now its time to place the stars on the wreath frame.

Remember to overlap the stars on the wreath frame. If you are using two different size stars then set the smaller one on top of the larger one. If you are satisfied with the arrangement of the stars then remove the stars. Apply glue at the back of the stars and attach it to the wreath frame.

Leave small gaps in the wreath frame to attach some dried flowers. Apply glue at the base of the dried flowers and fill the gaps of the wreath frame. Push the dried flowers smoothly to the wreath frame.

At the center of the wreath you can attach a sticker “ happy may day”. Decorate the stars with glitters and buttons. Make a large bow and attach it at the top of the wreath with glue. Use a mask tape and attach it as the hanger of the wreath.