Now that Summer is almost officially over, it’s time to embrace the change of season, bring out our cosy knitwear and get ready for Autumn. With each new season, the idea of decorating our front door, porchway or window display is becoming more and more popular. Whether it’s fairy lights at Christmas, pumpkins at Halloween or a bloom of spring flowers, we love to dress up our doorways to celebrate an upcoming event or time of year.
A decorative wreath is one of the most popular ways to achieve this – and not just at Christmas time! You can now get wreaths made up of pastel coloured spring flowers, bright summer blooms or the golden leaves of Autumn.
We’re going to show you how to DIY your own Autumn wreath, using artificial flowers and leaves (using real foliage is nice but not very practical), with the added touch of rhinestone sparkle.
Attaching rhinestones to flowers
Attaching crystals or rhinestones to the petals or leaves is an effective way of bringing a touch of elegance to a bunch of flowers. We see it often in bridal bouquets, with clear diamante crystals adorning a bouquet of white roses, or Light Siam on red Valentine’s Day roses. We wanted to take this a step further by adding some fun colours to our Autumn wreath, hoping they’ll catch the last few rays of sun.
Step 1. We purchased a plain twig wreath and some artificial flowers and leaves, inspired by the colours of Autumn, from Hobbycraft. The foliage included sprigs of red/green leaves, golden orange leaves, two pink flowers and some white berries.
Step 2. We then picked out some Preciosa non hotfix crystals in matching colours – Vintage Rose, Apricot, Olivine, Whie Opal and Gold Quartz. When the colours came together, we loved the combination so much that we decided to create the Fall Florals Mix, which can be used for all sorts of craft and nail art projects.
Step 3. We then started to embellish the red/green leaves. To do this, we used gem tac glue squeezed through a precision syringe, and a crystal Katana pick up tool. Simply squeeze tiny dots of glue onto the leaf – we did around 5 per leaf. Then using the Katana, pick up your rhinestone, shiny side facing upwards, and place it onto the glue dot. We used the Apricot crystals for the red part of the leaf, then changed to Olivine for the green part.
The colour changing effect of the leaf is really enhanced by adding the different coloured crystals. Once the glue is dry, it will turn clear, so don’t worry if it seeps slightly at the edges.
Step 4. We used the same method on the pink flowers, gluing on one Vintage Rose crystal per petal. If you have smaller rhinestones, you can use a few on each petal – this will catch the light and sparkle more.
We then repeated this process for all of the leaves and flowers, using Gold Quartz crystals for the gold/orange stems and White Opal for the berries.
Step 5. Your artificial foliage usually comes bound together with wire which allows you to manipulate it into any shape. This will be helpful when it comes to assembling the wreath. Poke the wire stems into the wreath and twist them until it is held in place – there should be no need for glue, tape or string to hold it together. We started by adding all the leaves first as a base, then went over the top with the flowers and berries, but you can choose how to position yours. Don’t afraid to be creative with the layout!
Step 6. Once you are happy with how it looks, you can tie a piece of brown twine to the top allowing you to hang it on your front door.
We love how the wreath turned out, the rhinestones shimmer in the light and pick up the Autumn colours around them.
This project is easy and cheap to try at home, and makes a fun activity to do with children too! Using artificial flowers means the wreath will last all season – until it’s time to replace it with a Christmas wreath! For more fun project ideas, head over to our blog where you will also find our Ultimate Guides and latest news for the crystal world.