What You Need:
– Wire – $2 each (22 and 26 gauge)
– Wire cutters – $4
– Scissors – $2
– Ribbon – $0.50
(you can go bold, or choose one that matches your hair color)
– Flowers – $1 to $5
(you can use these same directions on real ones, but for the sake of money and longevity, we used and advise fake flowers)
Step One
This is the wire all your flowers will be attached to. There are a few ways you can determine how long you want it to be.
1. Measure the 22 gauge wire (the thicker one) around your head. Wrap around two to three times. Before you cut, you’re going to want to make sure the crown is a little bigger than your head because it shrinks every time you twist the flowers around it.
2. Starting from behind one ear, hold the wire and wrap it around the front of your head where you think the crown would sit most comfortably. With your fingers, hold the wire where you will cut it. If your wire is a little longer than what you measure after you cut it, that’s fine because part of the ends will be twisted and tied with the ribbon that will size the rest of your crown.
Step Two
Make the cut. We tried scissors, but wire cutters are ideal. You can get them at any hardware or craft store for around $3 to $4. Twist the end of the wire around the main body of the crown leaving a loop at each end to attach your connector or ribbon to. Make sure that you do not leave any sharp edges sticking out. If you’re nervous about these, use the ribbon to wrap around it and keep it hidden.
Step Three
Time to prep your flowers. You can make your crown with any size flowers. This is also when you decide whether or not you want the leaves to be included on the crown. We suggest holding your selections along your crown’s body to see what looks right, how they fit together and what order you want to go in if you’re using more than one kind of flower.
Step Four
Hold your first flower closest to the crown’s body. Begin to twist the stem around the crown, and wrap the 26 gauge wire around both the stem and body, which will hold it in place. This is why we do not want the stems to be very long. Again, make sure not to leave any sharp edges. Repeat until you have the look that you desire, but make sure you take your time to look at what you’ve done. You can put as little or as many flowers as you want; do whatever you think looks good.
Step Six (Optional)
After we finished making the crowns, they still looked like they needed something extra. We decided to go for more of a Sleeping Beauty look, taking two color ribbons that complement the colors of the flowers, wrapping them around the crown’s body. However, you probably won’t run in to this problem if you have a very full crown.
Step Seven
Channel your inner princess, and rock this awesome flower crown next time you’re at the beach, a concert or a festival.
Kaela Bernardino can be reached at kaela.bernardino@spartans.ut.edu
Brianna Kwasnik can be reached at brianna.kwasnik@spartans.ut.edu