Forget-Me-Not Bridal Headpiece
By Brookelynn Morris
The tiny blue flowers of the romantically named forget-me-not are the perfect bridal accessory. Cluster them together with a strand of pearls for a modern-fashioned take on a classic floral headband.
Making flowers for a wedding is all about time management. The bride’s flowers should be done as close to the time she needs them as possible. If you are doing this crown for yourself for your wedding, I am here to tell you, it can be done, but you have to really want to do it yourself. Perhaps having your crafty best friend make it for you is better than you staying up all night and putting it together pre-dawn.
Materials:
About 50 stems of forget-me-nots (If at all possible, get double the amount of flowers for the bride. In general, I purchase 1.5x the number of flowers I need for arrangements at a wedding, and I get 2x the amount of flowers for the bride. Flowers are quite perishable and you never know what could happen. Having more is always better than having less.)
Pearl necklace
Water
Floral preservative
1 short and 1 tall vase for sorting the flowers
Paddle wire, 22 gauge
Fine-gauge covered wire, light green
Floral tape, green
Fine-tipped scissors (I love Fiskars Floral Snips)
Miirror
Directions:
Step 1: Cut the short, fine stems of blossoms from the larger, thicker stem of the forget-me-nots. Remove most, if not all, of the leaves. Sort the flowers, discard any that are unsightly, and then put them into vases to be conditioned in the preservative.
Step 2: Use the mirror and determine how large the crown should be. If you are not making the garland for yourself, use the bride’s measurement. This particular headpiece will have pearls draped down over the forehead, so the crown of flowers needs to sit fairly high up on the head. Cut the paddle wire and bend it into a circle. Twist the ends of the wire together.
Step 3: Decide on the placement of the pearls. Place the wire circle on your head and hold the ends of the string of pearls up to the wire. Adjust how they fall across your forehead until you like how they sit. The necklace I used wrapped almost to the back of the crown.
Step 4: Attach the pearls to the wire. The necklace is taped to the wire circle with floral tape. Tear about 1" of tape and hold it against the wire and the end of the necklace. Pull the tape until it begins to stretch and then wrap it around the clasp and the wire and twist it tight. The tape will grip the wire if you twist the end tightly.
Step 5: Tape both ends of the necklace to their place on the wire. Place the whole headpiece on your head to make sure you like the placement of the pearls before moving on.
Step 6: Attach the flowers to the headpiece. Cut about 1' of covered wire for winding on the flowers. Take 6–8 small stems of flowers and stagger the blossoms, top to bottom, into a dense cluster. Start near the back of the circle. Hold the mini bouquet of flowers in your gently pinched fingers against the wire. Face the blossoms out. With your other hand, bend the covered wire around the cluster of stems.
Step 7: Twist the end of wire against the stems, and wrap the longer end twice around the flowers. Now gather another cluster into your fingers, and lay it along the stems of the second bunch. Make sure the blossoms themselves are close enough together to hide the first wire wraps. Take the long end of wire, and wrap it twice around the new cluster. Here’s a video for clarification:
Step 8: Continue layering clusters of flowers until the headpiece is covered. If the stems get bulky as you go, just trim them down with the scissors. Hide the stems of the last bunch under the blossoms of the first.
Now you’re ready to walk down the aisle!
Tips:
The flowers used in this project were all picked from my woodland garden, but you can order them from any florist. It is crucial that the flowers are well conditioned and chilled before you begin to work with them. There are slightly different rules for working with flowers in your home, instead of in a shop, but the steps are simple.
In order to best preserve the flowers for the duration of a wedding ceremony, use a floral preservative in the water. The solution is available at most craft and flower supply shops, and serves to keep blossoms their freshest, for as long as possible. Use about ½ teaspoon per vase.
If you have a fridge that is not used to store food — even a mini fridge with the shelves removed will work — clean it top to bottom with a diluted solution of hydrogen peroxide. Set the temperature to 50°, and use it to chill the flowers. If the only fridge available to you is in your kitchen filled with food, just set the flowers in the coolest, darkest place in your home. Fruits and vegetables produce gasses that will cause the flowers to over ripen, and the environment isn’t sterile enough for storing flowers.
About the Author:
Brookelynn Morris is a craft author and skateboarding flower lover living in Northern California. She is eagerly anticipating May 19th, which will mark the release of her first book, Feltique (Potter Craft), a complete guide to felt-making in all its forms.
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