If you haven’t picked it up yet…I have a thing for wreaths. Anytime I get to make a wreath for a wedding it is the highlight of the job for me. Over the years I have shared quite a few on here. Some of my favourites were the light and airy spring wreath made with eucalyptus, the foraged fall wreath, and a winter grapevine wreath (the perfect base to decorate for any season).  Well here we are back at spring and this year I have two…yes TWO, spring wreath designs to share with you. And believe me, they couldn’t be more different from each other.

If I’m being honest with you, today’s wreath is fairly outside of my normal wheelhouse. I’d be lying if I denied that as a florist I turn my nose up at artificial flowers *just a little*…ok, or a lot. But, as I’ve gotten older I have come to appreciate that everything truly does have it’s place and this wreath is no exception to that.

I’ve wanted to make a nice spring wreath for Dan’s mom for a few months now. Dan’s mom is a busy lady – she works a lot and loves to travel so she isn’t home all the time. Because of this I wanted to make sure that the wreath would be long lasting so she (and Dan’s dad…can’t forget about him!) could enjoy it for a few weeks or even months (and ideally keep it for a couple of years too!). She also loves bright and vibrant flowers so when I put these two important factors together making an artificial floral wreath just made the most sense.

I set off to Michael’s to collect the flowers and supplies.

What you need:

• A styrofoam wreath form
• Various Artificial Flowers
• A Glue Gun (optional)

Most craft stores sell styrofoam wreath forms at an inexpensive price that are made for artificial flowers. However, I had a left over Oasis form that is intended for real flowers. Since I don’t make fresh floral wreaths on a form all that often I figured I might as well use it!

How to Make an Artificial Wreath

Well, the easy thing about artificial is that you can remove the entire aspect of flower care and focus entirely on the design. I was determined to make this artificial wreath beautiful and I certainly didn’t want it to look like something you could pick up at any ol’ craft store. To do this I approached making the artificial wreath in just the same way as I would if it were real. I focused on: complimentary flower colours and types, asymmetrical composition, and creating with dimension – nothing too flat.

Once I got over the initial internal battle about using artificial flowers (ok, now I’m just being dramatic…ha!), it was fun selecting the flowers and holding all the stems next to each other to see what worked well together. Honestly, some of them are amazingly realistic! Like with real flowers I wanted a combination of flowers with larger blooms, medium sized flowers, delicate small flowers, and plenty of greenery. A diversity in size of blooms and textures will make your wreath interesting and pleasing to the eye. Additionally, choose colours that you feel work well together – with artificial there really are endless colour scheme options. Like with real flowers, ensure that you get enough flowers to cover your entire wreath frame – the large bloomed flowers and greenery will give you the best coverage so get as many of those as you need to cover the base entirely. Treat your medium flowers and delicate small ones as extras (they add a ton to the look but not much to the actual bulk coverage).

Once you have selected your product, you are ready to make your wreath! 

How to Make an Artificial Wreath

Cut the stems of your artificial flowers short enough that the stem can be inserted into your wreath form and the flower will sit close the form itself. I used a glue gun to make sure the stems were well secured in the stem hole. If you will be placing your wreath outside where it will be exposed to wind I definitely suggest this. Ultimately, beyond this you can place your flowers however you feel they look best!

I find this is a good order for placement:

1. Place your largest flowers first to set the balance
2. Place your Greenery for optimal coverage
3. Place your medium flowers next to fill any gaps
4. Fill in with your littlest blooms

Designer Tip: Don’t place anything too symmetrically. Even though you are using artificial flowers embrace the natural feel that draws all of us to flowers in the first place. Nothing in nature is too symmetrical or perfect.

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