If you swoon for the moon and can’t stop fanning over flora, then celebrate the spring equinox—the day honoring Ostara, the Germanic goddess of spring and the dawn—on March 20 with this DIY wreath. The moon symbolizes female energy, fertility, and change, while spring is a time of renewal, abundance, and flowers, flowers, flowers. And since these beauties are fake, this dope wreath springs eternal.
What You’ll Need
- Floral wire
- A mix of faux flowers (of various sizes), vines, and leaves
- Hot glue gun
- Long nose pliers
- 14” grapevine wreath (wire wreath covered in dried grapevine stems, available at most craft stores)
- Gardening shears
- Strong wire cutters
Instructions
1. Cut the wreath in half, using gardening shears to cut the vines, and strong wire cutters to snip the small wires wrapped around the wreath and the very thick wire inside. Take one of the wreath halves and spread the ends apart from each other to make the shape more crescent-shaped. Trim the ends into points using the shears. (A) You may need to wrap floral wire around some areas to keep the grapevine secure.
2. Lay out your mix of flowers and greenery. We used two large flowers, a couple of stems of leaves, one stem of dripping vines, and a few bunches of various other flowers. Keep in mind that flowers with longer stems are easier to work with and that you want to have enough extra leaves for filler. Before securing anything, decide on your design by laying your materials on the grapevine. (Stems are bendable so shape them to follow the curve of the wreath if needed.) Start with your larger pieces (B), and work out from there. We created a focal point with our large flowers, but your wreath could have a uniform look, too. Test the placement of any hanging pieces (like our spray of yellow blooms), by holding the wreath up to see how they fall. Take a reference photo of your final design.
3. Start by securing the materials on the ends of the wreath. Hot glue the end of each stem and jam it into the tip of the wreath (C); let dry. Next, use floral wire and hot glue to secure any larger pieces, then continue securing your main layer of flowers around the crescent. For long-stemmed items, hold in place and wrap a piece of floral wire around the stem and the wreath; twist the ends of the wire together at the back of the wreath with long nose pliers and press flat to secure. (D) Do this in several places along the length of the stem. Or attach pieces with floral wire that you secure by wrapping around the wreath’s outer wire where possible. If a piece has no stem, wrapping it with wire would be too visible, or you want a flower to lie a specific way, hot glue it in place. As you work, hold the wreath up periodically to see how things are lying and lightly shake to make sure nothing falls off. Once your base layer is secure, fill it in with smaller flowers and leaves. Lastly, hot glue leaves to the wreath to fill in any gaps and cover any visible wire.
4. Once your flowers and greenery are secure, flip the wreath over. To hang it, create a loop by cutting about four inches of the wire wrapped around the other wreath half. Bend it into a half circle and secure it to the top of the crescent by threading the ends under the wire wrapped around the wreath. Use pliers to twist the wires together on each side to secure. (E)
By Callie Watts
Top photo: Amy Elizabeth
Progress photos: Camilo Salas
This article originally appeared in the Spring 2021 print edition of BUST Magazine. Subscribe today!
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