I’ve really been looking forward to Christmas especially what we’ve gone through this year. If you’re planning to make your own Christmas wreath, here are my tips and techniques to create one with a modern twist.
Make Your own ChrisTmas Wreath
What I used:
A metal hoop, 22.5 cm in diameter (something similar)
Fir sprigs (if you have sensitive skin, you might like to use gloves when handling fir)
Alternative foliage suggestion: gum leaves or eucalyptus
Grevillea foliage
Berzelia
Leucadendron Jubilee Crown
Dried orange slices (I dried my own and followed these instructions)
Cinnamon stick
(note: for this style of wreath, you only need enough materials to cover 1/3 of the metal hoop circumference.)
Tools / Equipment:
Floral/garden scissors or secateurs
Wire cutters
Pliers (optional)
Paddle wire, 26 gauge (something similar)
Cold glue (you can also use hot glue but use it on thicker stems, nothing delicate)
Twine
Floral tape
Ribbon/raffia/fishing line to hang your wreath
Instructions for Making your Christmas wreath
Select the materials you would like to use for your Christmas wreath. Choose either dried materials or fresh materials that will dry well.
Use your garden scissors to cut your floral materials into sprigs. Mine were about 10 cm in length.
Select a variety of florals and cluster them in bundles with your paddle wire.
Make sure you wrap the wire around the bundle tightly a few times. Fresh florals will shrink as they dry out.
(For this wreath size, I only needed a couple of bundles.)
Place the stems of your first bundle on the base of the hoop.
Loop the paddle wire around bundle and the hoop, leaving a short end of wire.
Twist both the uncut wire and short end of the wire together around the stems and hoop tightly a couple of times.
And then wrap the short end of the wire and stems a couple more times with the uncut paddle wire. This will secure the first bundle onto the hoop.
Tip: Using pliers will help to make the wire twist tighter.
When securing each bundle to the hoop, wrap wire tightly around the bundle stems a few times. Do not cut the wire until you complete attaching the bundles.
After securing your last floral bundle, make a loop and knot the wire. Repeat.
If you have any loose ends of wire, tuck them into the materials so they don’t poke out.
At the focal point of the wreath I like to use floral tape to hide the wires. It also forms a base for me to glue on my focal pieces.
For my focal point, I decided to use some dried orange slices, cinnamon and berzelia.
With one of the orange slices, I made a loop with twine and inserted it through the centre of the orange slice.
I also added a cinnamon stick and some fir through the loop. And then pulled both ends of the twine behind the orange slice to tighten.
I secured these elements to the hoop with a knot.
Oh by the way, did I mention I just love the combined scents of the dried orange slices and cinnamon? And I’m not even a fan of cinnamon on most days.
As a finishing touch, I glued some pieces to the back of the wreath. This is not essential but I like a neat look.
You can also glue in any extra floral pieces onto the wreath, particular where you find gaps when you hold the hoop up and look at it from different angles.
To hang your wreath, you can either use ribbon, raffia or fishing line. Or place the wreath straight unto a 3M hook.
There you have it, you’ve made your very own modern Christmas wreath in under 60 minutes. Hope you had fun making it as much as I did!
But if you’d rather have a floral designer create a custom one for you instead, please contact us without delay. We require minimum notice of 72 hours prior to delivery.
You can also order Christmas florals for your home or as gifts to be delivered around Sydney. Get in touch today!
Free delivery for Hills District – Baulkham Hills, Beaumont Hills, Bella Vista, Castle Hill, Dural, Cherrybrook, Glenhaven, Kellyville, Pennant Hills, West Pennant Hills.
Last order for 2020 – 19 December.
