DIY Wedding Accessories: Vintage Floral Crown

Hi, this is Sasha, of the Gilded Bee store and of I am the Bee blog, here today to share one of my breathtaking do-it-yourself (DIY) wedding projects.

To make this piece, you will need the materials shown above:
* asst. vintage and reproduction millinery flowers and leaves
* 26 inches 20 gauge steel wire
* 36-48 inches 28 gauge steel wire
* round nose pliers
* wire cutters
* florist/craft tape
* 3-4 yards vintage rayon seam binding, silk or satin ribbon (no wider that 1/2″),
divided into 1-3 foot length, and 6 inch lengths
* 12 inches velvet ribbon
* hot glue and a hot glue gun
* fray check (for ends of ribbon)

Total cost of materials: $20

This project took about 2 hours to make and the difficulty of this project is from medium to experienced. However, it can be made harder or easier, depending on the choice and quantity of embellishments, but for this post I’ll go with medium.

Step 1:
Adjust the wire length to fit (if desired, the frame can be made smaller for children).
Bend the ends of the wire to form loops, and interlock the ends.

Step 2:
Tighten the loops, and twist the ends away from the loops, around the frame.

Step 3:
Trim off any excess wire from the ends.

Step 4:
Wrap the twisted wire with florist/craft tape (to prevent the ends from sticking through, and to provide the ribbon something to grip).

Step 5:
Using a dot of hot glue, tack the end of your 36″ piece of seam binding to the taped area.

Step 6:
Wrap the seam binding around the wire, keeping it close to the wire (so it doesn’t shift around).

Step 7:
Fold 1/4″ of the ribbons end over, and tack with a little dot of glue (this will help prevent fraying) then tack the end, with any raw edge on the inside, to the frame.

Step 8:
Divide your flowers and leaves into small bunches. Take a length of wire and loop it around the stems, pulling it snug.

Step 9:
Wrap the ends of the wire away from the flower heads, down the stems.

Step 10:
With a dot of glue, tack the end of one of the 6″ pieces of seam binding, wrap around the stems, tack with another dot of glue at the end of the stems.

Step 11:
Repeat with the rest of the bundles of flowers and leaves.

Step 12:
Use your fingers to arch the stem of the bundle a little, to conform to the shape of the frame, then, with a little bead of glue, tack the bundle to the frame.

Step 13:
Starting at the base of the flower/leaf bundle head, tack one of the 6″ lengths of seam binding and wrap around the stem, working away from the flowers.

Step: 14:
Repeat steps 12, 13, with the remaining flower and leaf bundles.

Step 15:
Tie little pieces of velvet ribbon to form simple bows.  Seal the cut ends of the ribbon with a little bit of fray check.

Viola! The finished piece.

Sasha not only creatively creates hair pieces like this DIY project but she also is an avid papercrafter, printer, sewist, photographer, and lover of vintage.  She started The Gilded Bee in 2008 so that she could share her creations, and once they were received with an enthusiastic response, she has continued creating ingenious creations such as delicate paper flower bouquets.  These adorable bouquets will actually be a part of our contest launching this weekend, August 15th, so stay tuned to get a chance at winning customized bouquets for your own special event!