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 Make
A Stunning Dried Hydrangea Wreath
By Valerie Garner
Dried hydrangea wreaths are so beautiful and versatile in
a home, and a lot of fun to make as well.
You can either purchase already dried hydrangea flowers from
your local craft store, or you can dry your own. The biggest
trick when drying your own is the timing of when you pick
the flowers. It is best to pick them right before you anticipate
your first fall frost. If you pick them mid-summer, they just
will not dry correctly.
You can either hang them upside down in a darkened room to
dry, or you can set them in a vase upright, even adding a
tiny bit of water in the bottom of the vase, although even
that is optional. As long as they are picked at the correct
time, it�s difficult to fail with them. It�s fun if you can,
to pick several blooms from different bushes, as it will provide
a nice variety of colors to the wreath. After they are dried,
pick off any dead / discolored brown blooms.
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Now, pick the type of base you want to use for a wreath.
My personal favorites are either Styrofoam or grapevine
type wreath bases.
Take some floral wire and wrap it around the wreath,
then form a loop of the wire to hang from the wall,
and then wrap the wreath again.
You might try hanging it from the wall at this point
to make sure it lies correctly, and then make any needed
adjustments while the wreath is bare.
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To do a Styrofoam wreath, use a low melt point hot glue
gun. Separate each bloom into smaller florets. Hot glue each
floret into the wreath base, actually poking the stem down
into the Styrofoam base. With each bloom, space it out over
the surface of the wreath, for example; a floret at the top,
next left side, bottom, then right side, then inside the circle
of the wreath, and outside of the wreath. Continue to do this
with each bloom until you fill it.
Balance is what you are looking for. Balance in shape, you
don�t want any sticking out way above the others, you don�t
want one side of the wreath to be fuller than the other. Try
stepping back and looking at a distance and just think �balance
of shape�.
The second area to look for is balance of color. This is the
purpose of doing each bloom all over, then filling in, so
you achieve that balance of color. Give another once over
to check on that.
Now, this wreath is either finished, or you can add perhaps
add small sprigs of dried baby�s breath to it. Really depends
on the look you want. Sometimes the simplicity of only the
hydrangeas is stunning.
For a grapevine wreath, it�s the same principal but a different
look. You can tie a bow on the wreath if you want (if you
do, do so before adding flowers), or ribbon. I like to leave
bare spaces on these to be able to see the grapevine portion
as well. Again, look for balance. You can also add dried roses
to it or any other type of dried flowers or grasses too. You
can get really creative with these and come up with very different
looks. Experiment to your heart�s content.
Many times people expect dried floral arrangements to last
forever, and are disappointed when they start looking bad
after a few years. This is a misconception. Expect them to
look good for about a year, that�s really about all they were
meant to last.
If they are in direct sunlight it will be a much shorter time.
However, the next year, feel free to strip the old flowers
off, and make another with the same base for another year�s
worth of a gorgeous hand made wreath!
About the Author:
By Valerie Garner-Mother, grandmother and candlemaker / owner
of Joyful Designs
in Soy. She loves to write on a variety of topics
with a warm, and engaging style. http://www.joyfuldesignsinsoy.com
Source: www.isnare.com
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