California-Inspired Wreath

A few weeks back, I visited the Hollyflora studio with a plan to make a fall wreath to hang on my newly painted yellow door. While sifting through seasonal berries and copper-hued leaves, I spotted a bunch of awesome pink flowers and couldn’t take my eye off of them. Holly quickly identified them as coral protea. “Can we make a wreath out of those?!,” I asked in a slightly crazed voice. This is how a fall wreath story morphed into a CA-inspired wreath story, or a follow your passion and grab whatever plants and flowers are prettiest to you kind of story. Photos by the brilliant Jeana Sohn above and a tutorial below. Feel free to substitute the plant materials but keep in mind that certain things will dry and/or last longer than others.

HBT: Holls, can you show us how to make a wreath?
Holly: Let me just grab my apron…

Materials:
Clippers
Wreath form
Paddle wire
Eucalyptus gunnii
Willow eucalyptus
Coral protea
Oak leaves

Method:
It’s good to conceptualize the wreath before you get started. Anchor your wire on the wreath form. Take a bundle of your materials and place them on the form, wrap the wire around the wreath and form several times and pull tight. Continue around the form, every third or fourth bundle tie a knot in the wire so it doesn’t slip. We like to create visual focal points of center. Make sure there is a wire loop in the back for easy installation. – in the words of Holly Vesecky