craftgrrl | A New Tradition in My Family

About four years ago my great aunt passed away. My mother was heartbroken (she was like a mother to my mother) and so wasn't emotionally able to go to the florist to order flowers. Being the craft grrl that I am I decided to make my own funeral wreath for her. It came out beautifully, with roses, bachelor buttons, baby's breath and a few other flowers. I used a eucalyptus wreath to put it altogether and amazingly the flowers all preserved beautifully as well. My parents now hang the wreath over their bed. It reminds my mom of my great aunt, and me, every night when she goes to bed. Photo of the dried wreath hanging on the wall here

My Papa (grandfather) passed away on October 12th. Though the manliest, straightest man I ever knew, he loved the color pink and all things related to cuteness. (Hearts and flowers and little dogs and such! *grin*) My mom turned to me this time to make the wreath of her own choice, rather than necessity. I felt so honored!

After a HORRIBLE experience at Jo-Ann's I ended up at Michael's, picking up the heart shaped wreath for about $14. I kept the shape of the wreath a secret from everyone.. but they loved it in the end! :) I took my mom and my sister with me to the store to get the flowers. My mom picked up the two dozen roses from Costco (I didn't use them all), and the rest of the flowers came from a nice HUGE market we have here in Shoreline called Central Market.

Side View

Front View

To make I simple cut each of the flowers' stems to approximately 6 inches. I then tucked the stems, starting from the center, into the eucalyptus fronds, grabbing them from the back when the poked through and pulling them taught. Hanging on the wall holds the stems to the back of the wreath until they dry, and once dry they stay of their own volition. For flowers with weaker stems I cut them shorter and wove them between fronds to lock them in better.

My mom says I have to make a wreath for each person in my family now! They seem to hold up really well (the one round, dried one is over 4 years old) with proper care, and my mom just LOVES the flowery decorating style and keeping memorials to her passed loved ones.

Hope this wasn't too morbid for ya'll. I loved my Papa a lot and meant it as a tribute to the love me gave me all my life!