How to Make an Everlasting Mini Wreath

Last year I took an everlasting wreath class at a local flower farm. It was my first time working with dried flowers and I was surprised by the colors and variety to choose from. Shortly after taking the class I went to a flower farm and cut many varieties of flowers to dry at home – strawflowers, gomphrena, celosia, amaranth, paper daisies, poppy pods, craspedia, dusty miller, etc. I also pick up small pine cones and pine branches while I am out walking my dogs. I made mini everlasting wreaths for each place setting for our family Thanksgiving meal and some extras to add to small gift bags for hostess gifts. They are a very cute and easy gift.

Important Note: If the back of the flower is somewhat flat (like strawflowers, gomphrena, paper daisies, poppy seed pods) then cut the stems completely off and add glue to the back of the flower. If there is a stem that is useful for weaving into the wreath (like amaranth, celosia, dusty miller, baby’s breath) just cut the stems short and glue those to the wreath or weave it into the grapevine. Nest flat laying flowers over the stems so they are hidden.

Materials for the Everlasting Mini Wreath

• Hot glue gun & glue sticks
• Pair of floral snips
• A toothpick
• A variety of dried flowers
• A 3″ or 4″ grapevine wreath

Step One: Place the grapevine wreath in front of you along with all of your materials. The first step is choosing your color palette or “theme” for your wreath. For example, if I am working on a winter wreath I may choose small pinecones, a dried pine branch, and white dried flowers. Or for fall I may choose orange, red, yellow and browns. For summer I like to go for bright and vibrant colors and for spring a more pastel palette. (See example photos below at the end of the post.) You don’t need to have a theme – just create a wreath with the flowers and elements you love!

Step Two: Once you have chosen the colors start creating your wreath. I like to begin with the larger elements like pine cones, dusty miller, celosia, bunny tails, etc. If the bigger elements have stems you can weave those into the grapevine wreath to hold them in place or use the hot glue.

Step Three: Start adding your other elements – add hot glue to the back of your flowers and hold them in place with a toothpick for 10-15 seconds. Add as many flowers as you would like until you think your wreath looks just right.

I like to keep my wreaths pretty simple and use 5-9 flowers in total. Don’t overthink your designs, just use dried flowers that you enjoy. You can also add a short piece of ribbon or twine if you want to hang your everlasting mini wreath on a gift bag, in a window, on a holiday tree, etc.

Here are some examples of my everlasting mini wreaths. Most importantly, have fun!