The end of spring, the beginning of summer, and flowers are blooming everywhere. Go beyond the kitchen table vase and entwine their beauty into everyday life with wearable floral arrangements.
There are so many different options here, starting with materials. You can use thread or jewelry wire. In most cases a thin gauge wire works best. *note, with wire (counter intuitively) the larger the number the thinner/smaller the gauge.
Thread works well if you want a more dangly earring. You can thread several blossoms together and the thread allows for more movement and sway. Just bear in mind that with thread, flowers will tend to hang straight down – if you want the face of the bloom to point outward it will be easier to use the wire; which can be bent and will hold its shape.
If making earrings you’ll also need earring hooks. If making a necklace a chain will be handy and elegant, but if you don’t have one on hand you can always just use the thread and, of course, you can always string the flowers all the way around the thread, aka… the lei 🙂
An important thing to keep in mind, different flowers will have varying degrees of longevity once cut. Orchids tend to last a long time and rosebuds will usually last longer than roses already in full bloom. Another important variable is the climate of your surroundings. Severe heat will wilt/do a number on flowers very quickly. This could be especially important if you’ll be attending an outdoor event in the summer, perhaps a 4th of July picnic or a wedding. Depending on circumstances and personal preferences you might prefer to create floral vase jewelry. There are different options for materials here as well.
Plastic floral water tubes work perfect and they come in different sizes. Or, you could get little elegant glass vials; which come not only in different sizes but also in different pretty shapes. Just wrap the jewelry wire around the tube or glass vial rim to connect it to the earring hooks or necklace chain.
Once you have all the materials figured out just step outside and pick the flowers you want to wear (or even the leaves. The tips of ferns look really lovely.)
Stroll through your garden and enjoy all the possibilities.
Once you’ve snipped your bloom of choice just thread the wire or thread through either the stem or the center of the flower depending on the look you want.
Then attach it to your necklace chain, or earring hooks, or skip the threading and simply place the flowers in your jewelry vases.
One of my favorite options is a rosebud in a necklace vase. Throughout the day it begins to open up, and every time you look down, you see (and smell) it blooming.
