simple DIY flowers: simple holiday wreath

this year i decided that i wanted something other that the ordinary evergreen wreath for my front door.  i decided to make my own, but i wanted something simple and quick.  i chose an already constructed grapevine wreath (which is really inexpensive) and then added a some greenery (cypress and silver dollar eucalyptus) and some color (craspedia, thistle and pepperberry).  the cool thing about the grapevine wreaths is that you can you just shove the plant material into the vines instead of having to wire it in.  some of the materials that i used were dried (craspedia and pepperberry) and others were fresh but i knew that that they would look nice when dried (cypress, thistle, eucalyptus).  

i added the greens first.



then i sprinkled in the berries and flowers.

i chose to just cover the top half of the wreath because i liked the look of the bare vines on the bottom.  then i tied a fuchsia ribbon on top to hang it from.  you really could use any dried greenery and flowers (or fresh that will look good dried), as long as the stems are strong enough to push into the vines.  

and that was it - a quick, easy and unique option for the front door (or anywhere) :-) 

xo,

c

simple DIY flowers: dried craspedia bowl arrangement

as much as i am obviously a big proponent of fresh flowers, it can be nice to have some arrangements around that are longer lasting (especially this time of year).  i've been experimenting with some dried botanicals lately and i like using types that look similar to their fresh versions.  one of the dried florals that i like are craspedia (billy balls).  dried craspedia retain their shape and their bright yellow color really well and are easy to work with.  i purchased these online but you may be able to find some at your local craft store.  another option that would work well is blue globe thistle.  i'm a big fan of arranging flowers in bowls and this arrangement would be great on a coffee table (where i put mine) or a bedside table.  

i found this small acacia wood bowl at jamali garden - which is a great resource.  but you could use any small bowl that you'd like.  first i glue gunned a dry foam half ball (there are different sizes depending on the size of your bowl) to the bowl.  then i stuffed a bit of spanish moss around the sides of the half ball to fill in the gap.

next, i trimmed the flowers and made a ring around the edge of the bowl.

i then filled in the center with more spanish moss and continued making rings of flowers (keeping them as tight as possible) until i had filled in the entire arrangement.  

and that was it.  quick, easy, and long-lasting.  try her out!

xo, c