Silk Summer Wreath..

I've just finished my summer wreath Earlier this week I found the most gorgeous website selling silk flowers. One item that I fell in love with was a summer wreath, using the most beautiful flowers. I would have dearly loved to have bought it, but at £40 I thought it was just too much, and I didn't have £40 to spend anyway.

I love flower arranging and I tend to have things like florists wire, stem wrap, and rose wire in the house, so thought I would make myself a wreath to look as similar as possible to the one I'd seen. You can easily buy all manner of florists accoutrements from good garden centres and craft shops. [Stem Wrap] is a slightly sticky stretchy tape that is twisted around wire to cover it and/or hold flowers in place. It comes in a variety of colours. The warmth from your hands helps it to stick.

I took photos as I went along, but before I continue, I will show you the photo of the wreath that I liked and wanted to copy. I think it is just beautiful. I started planning the wreath on Thursdsay. To begin, I took a metal wreath base that I have had for years. I gave it a good scrub and then painted it creamy white to freshen it up. (Not vital to paint it as it would be covered with flowers, but I wanted to paint it!) On Friday, I rummaged in the garage for lots of silk foliage that I've kept over the years, then, taking my green stem wrap, I started attaching it to the wreath base.   It's a good idea to do as much of adding foliage as you can before you even think about adding flowers. Basically, this is the boring part. If you try to do the foliage when you have the pretty flowers nearby, then if you are anything like me, you'll be tempted to try using the flowers first and fill in the gaps with leaves afterwards. Best to do it the other way around. Leaves, then flowers to fill the gaps.
This morning, before doing the weekly food shop, we popped into a fantastic shop that sells excellent silk flowers at (in my opinion) fair and decent prices (I also got the mug in the photo from there too!). I took a print out of the wreath that I'd seen so I could buy similar flowers.
Once home, I cut the flowers from the long wire stems and gathered on the table. Then I was able to start attaching the flowers.   Take your time, and add flowers where you like them and build it up to look full. The idea is to have a nice full round shape, not something packed so tightly full it looks like a hula hoop! It's also best to avoid adding the same flowers in a symetrical manner, it should look a bit 'higgledy piggledy' to give it more of a natural feel.

One thing I always tell myself when I make anything (especially when it's for me) is that if it isn't perfect it doesn't matter. As long as I like it, and looks how I want it to look then that will do for me.
I've no idea where I will put the wreath yet, but it will be somewhere prominent, so I can see it each day.

And the cost?! Ah, let me tell you. It was under £13 in total. But, that is bearing in mind that I already had the wire and the wrap, if I added that in too the cost would have been slightly over £15. Much better than £40!

I was going to call this diary post 'Smug & Stupid'. Smug because I was feeling rather pleased with myself for recreating the look of the wreath, stupid because I am a nitwit of the highest order. You can see from the top photo that I had perched the wreath on a pink box. I showed you the box the other day, it's in my cupboard in the dining room and I said it was empty. Hmm. When I photographed the wreath just leaning on the mantelpiece it flattened the bottom of the wreath too much and looked odd. I thought 'I know, I'll use my little pink chocolate box to raise it up slightly'. I trotted off and got it, but could feel something moving about inside. Thinking I must have stashed something interesting in there I opened the lid and found these... *gasp* Not one, but TWO pink champagne chocolates! I must have been saving them and forgotten about them and now they are horribly out of date. Distraught!