These are beautiful and make a wonderful gift. I purchased a dried floral arrangement from my local craft store.

The arrangement I chose, consisted of flowers in various colors, eucalyptus, babies breath, sprigs of wheat and other grasses. These can also be made from silk flowers and foliage.

Begin by separating all the different types of flowers/foliage into piles. Make sure to make two equivalent piles. You will want each side to mimic the other. I always start by laying the longest pieces down first and layering from long to short, by piling the shorter pieces on top.

If you decide to use dried flowers, I suggest you cover your work surface with newspaper, for easy clean up. Choose a large enough area to work ( a kitchen table is ideal). I always lay my pieces out and arrange them several times, till I get the look I want, before I hot glue or wire them together. Clip any pieces that may be too long.

When working with dried flowers, I prefer to start with the eucalyptus, they tend to be longer and fuller, making them the perfect backing. Start by laying the eucalyptus stem to stem (end pieces touching) overlapping in the center. The amount that will overlap will vary, depending on the length you want your finished piece.

Once you have all the back pieces where you want them, attach them by using your hot glue gun or craft wire. Continue the same way with all your other pieces, gluing or wiring them together as you go. Once you are happy with the way your swag looks, glue a few loose flowers to the center. A wire can be twisted to the back, for hanging. Finish it off with a ribbon. I like to use raffia as ribbon with these projects.

You can also make a floral arrangement, giving the appearance of a bouquet. Once you have the flowers in the desired position, tie the stems together with raffia or bow and simply hang it on the wall by twisting a piece of wire to the back.
For a nice added touch, dab a little bit of scented oil on your flowers, your favorite perfume or room deodorizer will work also.

If you have decided to use silk flowers and foliage, the technique will stay the same. Craft wire will work best but a hot glue gun can also be used.

Supplies Needed:

• Dried flowers or silk flowers/foliage
• News paper (for work surface)
• Hot Glue gun
• Glue sticks
• Craft wire
• Raffia or ribbon
• Scented oil, perfume or room deodorizer (optional)

This is an easy fun project. You can make one of these wreath’s with just about anything.

This project requires a hot glue gun or craft wire, to attach the items to the wreath. I suggest a hot glue gun, not only to save time but wire can be obtrusive. These wreaths can be decorated with just about anything. They make a great personal gift as well.

I made one of these using a grape vine wreath but any wreath can be used. If you don’t have a wreath to use and you are like me and want to start on your project right away, you can cut a circular shape out of cardboard. I suggest you paint the cardboard to match your project, so any pieces that may show through will be less conspicuous.Another way to achieve the wreath shape, is by bending a coat hanger. Coat hangers will work but may be a bit more difficult to work with because you won’t have much surface.

Before adding any items to your wreath, I suggest you adhere a piece of wire on the back for hanging. It will be a lot easier to add the wire before hand. For grapevine or any other pre made wreath or coat hanger, you can simply twist the wire on to the back. For cardboard cut out wreaths, you can hot glue the wire to the back or punch holes into the cardboard and thread the wire through. You may want to place your items on the wreath before you glue it, to make sure they are where you want them.

Start by gluing the items to your wreath. If using a pre made wreath, you can glue on as much or as little as you want. Any cloth or flat items can be layered. You can make patterns by grouping like items or colors together. Using a grapevine wreath, I glued several wine corks to it, in various places. I have also made one of these wreaths by applying dried flowers to it. To apply dried flowers to a wreath, start by cutting your flowers to length. I began gluing the flowers randomly to the wreath, adding enough to fill in all the empty spots.

Here are some ideas of items to add to or make with your wreath… wine corks (a great gift for a wine lover), Small children’s toys (small bags of insects,butterflies or other animals can be found at any Walmart for a very small price), baby bottles or pacifiers (makes a great shower gift), golf balls and tees(great gift for the golfer), empty spice jars, uncooked colored pasta (either would be a great addition to any kitchen), cranberries, dried flowers, silk flowers, sea shells, to name a few. As long as the items you chose aren’t too heavy or too big, the possibilities for this project are endless.

I suggest, if you are using dried flowers for the project, cover your work area with newspaper.

Supplies Needed:

• Wreath
• Hot glue gun or craft wire
• Plenty of Glue sticks
• Small items to adorn the wreath
• Piece of wire (for hanging)
• Newspaper (if using dried flowers)
• Dried Flowers