Swag Running or Arch
- Cut many uniformly shaped branches or boughs of foliage that are 18″ to 20″. Connect them by wiring.
- Wrap them loosely in gleaming ribbon.
- At the top corners of the door, screw on cup hooks.
- Floral wire can be used to create hanging loops for the swag.
- Make berry garlands to wrap the ribbon with.
How are hydrangea garlands made?
Making this Festive Hydrangea Garland: Steps
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- Hydrangeas should be cut into smaller bunches. Iron wire should be wrapped around the Hydrangea stem.
- Roses and Ozothamnus should also be added. Make sure to encircle each stem with the iron wire.
- You can now hang your festive hydrangea garland! Enjoy!
Prepare the Flowers
Although it may seem contradictory to use water to dry flowers, hydrangeas benefit from a gentle desiccation process that keeps their color and shape (even the stems end up sturdier when dried this way).
Using a pair of pruning shears, cut each blossom on the angled side, leaving a stem length of between 12 and 18 inches. Take off every leaf from the stalk.
Place the Cut Flowers in Water
After that, arrange your freshly cut flowers in a vase, fill it about halfway with water, and set it aside in a cool location away from the sun. Keep in mind that hydrangea dry best when given room to “breathe,” so take care not to overcrowd your vase with stems.
Allow the vase’s water to totally dry out. After this procedure, which typically lasts two to three weeks, your hydrangeas should feel dry to the touch and the stems should simply snap off. They are now prepared for use.
Use Your Dried Hydrangeas
Your dried hydrangeas can be displayed in a variety of artistic ways. Although they look lovely on their own in a vase, you can also incorporate them into seasonal wreaths or use them in window boxes with other dried flowers. Getting hitched in the autumn? Even your bridal floral arrangements can incorporate them.
Build out wreath with dried hydrangeas
I started by gathering all of my dried hydrangeas and putting them together into a wreath. I attached the flowers on a grapevine wreath that I purchased from a craft store as the base. I made two hydrangea wreaths from of my large collection of dried hydrangea blossoms: one large wreath from blue hydrangea blooms and one mini wreath from green Annabelle hydrangea blooms. All those flowers were produced in one season because once hydrangeas are established, they are incredibly fruitful.
It wasn’t difficult at all to attach the dried hydrangea blossoms to the grapevine foundation. Simply forcing the stems through the vines typically keeps them in place rather well. In addition to plugging in the dried flowers, I also pruned some excessively protruding little vine bits to safeguard the dried flowers.
After approximately filling in each of the hydrangea flower heads one by one to complete the circle, I filled in any significant vacant spaces to ensure enough covering. I use some hot glue to attach the flower stems to the grapevine wreath that don’t stay there very well.
If you like, you may wrap them in florist wire like in this post, but I was too lazy to do that and I knew I would leave it hanging on the wall when the project was finished. Whether or whether your grapevine wreath can hold the stems well and how much they’ll be handled once finished will determine how much you want to secure the flowers.
Spray dried hydrangea wreath with flower dye
After that, I colored the hydrangeas using a floral spray. The floral spray is a clear flower dye that gives flowers a very natural-looking appearance. The majority of flowers fade with time, therefore I used this spray to keep my wreath’s color consistent for a very long period while also enhancing the original flower and making it somewhat more brilliant.
I used the hue hydrangea blue, which is ideal for the flower I chose. Since the base color of my Annabelle wreath was lime green, I also used fresh green flower dye.
Fill in accent flowers
The next step is to add filler flowers, which is also why I didn’t mind if my first layer of hydrangea blossoms had a few minor gaps. I used billy balls and strawflowers from my yard to make this wreath. I wouldn’t even bother spraying either flower because they are known for having an endless lifespan.
After the hydrangea layer, I simply drizzle them evenly over the wreath, aiming to fill up any holes I may have. I use a hot glue gun to add a bead of glue to the end of some of the flowers’ extremely thin stems before inserting them into the wreath. In this manner, I was able to fasten them to the wreath without risking damage by pressing them in too firmly.
My advice for making a DIY flower wreath that looks good is to work your way down in size, so I started with the hydrangeas before switching to strawflowers and then craspedia. Another piece of advice is to change the quantity of several flower varieties. As an illustration, I used twice as many strawflowers as craspedia. The wreath will have more depth and interest if done this manner.
Applying a coat of UV protectant spray can prevent the flowers’ color from fading if you intend to hang your DIY wreath in a location with strong light. Although it is optional, this step can be useful if you want your dried flowers to maintain their brilliant color.
Due to the size of the green wreath with preserved Annabelle hydrangeas, I only utilized billy balls as accent flowers. Once I’ve preserved additional blooms, I might trickle in some little blossoms in the future.
Attach ribbon or string for hanging
I simply tie a rope to the back of the wreath once the flower-building portion is complete so I can hang it in my house! The use of a ribbon is yet another adorable concept. It strikes me as a fantastic idea to give this wreath more color and texture.
Mine is in the hallway leading to my living room. I believe it complements my gold mirror frame rather well.
That concludes the instructions for making this dried hydrangea wreath. I’m very happy with the way this project turned out, and every time I pass by it, it makes me feel better. I hope you get some fantastic dried hydrangea decorating ideas from this post!