Daisy Hair Wreath Tutorial

Today a friend asked me how I had made daisy wreaths for my now sister-in-law's wedding party. Upon searching the internet, I could not find a visual tutorial to refer her to, so here's what I put together (pardon the terrible graphics skills).



Materials:
>Floral Wire - cut to 1 inch longer than final length desired for circlet crown (I cut length ~22" for adults - do NOT use normal paper scissors to cut wire, use wire cutters, often built-in to needle-nose pliers or even bend back and forth repeatedly until wire breaks)
>Floral Tape
>Daisies (I used real, but artificial would make a better keepsake)
>Ribbons (I used ~3yds)
>Pliers
>Scissors


Procedure:
Determine the 'halfway' point on your wire. This will end up at the front of the head, so you'll want to place your flowers accordingly. (So you won't be looking at a bunch of flower bottoms!)

Trim the stems to 2" on each flower before using it - if you are using real flowers, remember to cut stems diagonally under water. Place at the halfway point, with bloom facing the halfway point.
Begin wrapping with floral tape. Remember that you must stretch the floral tape slightly to make it sticky. Since this is the start, overlap the first rotation, then work down the stem an inch or so (don't go all the way to the end of the stem). Do NOT sever floral tape, try to make it down the entire side with one piece - it will look cleaner.


Place the second bloom along the wire, facing the back of the first. I did mine about an inch behind the first, as I didn't want them smushing each other. Continue stretching and wrapping with floral tape, incorporating the second bloom.


Continue adding blooms and wrapping them in until your stems are 1/2 inch from the end of the wire.
Start in the middle and work down the other side in the same fashion, again stopping when your stems are ~1/2" from the end of your wire.
Bend the last 1/2" of each side to form a 'hook'. You may want to use a pliers for this, wire can be pokey.


Hook the ends together to complete your circlet. You may want to flatten or twist the hooks with a pliers once joined so they stay together better.


If the gap looks large, add another bloom or two, pointing them in the appropriate direction. Wrap any added blooms and the back connection with floral tape.


Tie on ribbons as desired to cover/fill the back gap. I used 3 ribbons (noting that decor looks best in odd numbers) cut to ~ 1 yd each - simply tied in half over the back.


If you're doing this with live flowers, place wreath in 1 gallon zip-up bag (inflate a little by blowing into it) overnight, lying flat in the refrigerator. I would not recommend making more than 1 day ahead of time with live blooms.

Affix wreath to hair with a few bobby pins for security.

This is a shot of how wonderful my sister-in-law looked on her wedding day. :-) Her wreath had blue/purple 'Love in the Mist' blooms interspersed with the daisies.