Floral Wreath Workshop

Last Saturday I had the pleasure of attending a hands-on Scandinavian-inspired floral wreath making ("Every woman a goddess") workshop offered by Catherine Dale of the Land Conservancy (TLC), held at the Eagles Estate in Burnaby.

My mom first heard about the workshop, and brought along her mom who is visiting from the Okanagan. I brought along my daughter, so we ended up with all 4 generations of us ladies, which is already a special moment in itself. Then add to this moment some bright flowers and berries, mix it with good company (Catherine and I are old friends - although I would have to qualify that neither of us are actually old - who hadn't seen each other for a number of years), and then place this in the setting of a restored historical house on 1 1/3 acres on the upper side of scenic Deer Lake, and the result was almost magical. (Click any of the photos for a closer view.)


Here we are, all 4 generations, sporting our floral arrangements.


My daughter is fortunate to have a great-nana (now 89 years old). I hope the Lord grants me the opportunity to one day meet some of my great-grandchildren. (Although I had only 2 children myself, I already tell mine that one day I am hoping for lots of grandchildren!)


Doesn't my Nana look like a Queen with her floral crown? Very distinguished indeed.


My grandma decided to make a larger wreath, so hers became a flower necklace for the photos.


I got this photo with my daughter at home, before we hung up our wreaths to dry. The flowers were quite wet when we started our wreaths (it had been raining for a few days already), and perhaps it was a bit early in the season for the hydrangeas, so the crowns are looking pretty curled and wrinkly, but the ivy still looks fresh. I suppose one could use silica gel and dry any flowers. We'll see, but there may be some life still left in it.

For anyone inspired by these photos, the technique was actually fairly simple. We started with a length of common ivy, wrapped maybe twice around (try it on for size if you are aiming for a crown), and scotch-taped together. Then we used a spool of black sewing thread, tied and knotted to start, then wrapped around and around to secure each bunch of flowers or berries, in turn. For a fuller arrangement, you could go around twice (although we didn't). To end it, cut the thread and tie and knot (it's a bit awkward with only one end of the thread), and then separately take another piece of thread and tie and knot it again securely.

The flowers Catherine gathered included a few colours of hydrangeas, mini roses, lavender, mountain ash berries, and tansy (pretty yellow, but not sweet smelling). My mini roses are much past their prime this year, but I'm already wondering about an all-rose flower crown next season, if I can find the time.

Thanks to Catherine for an enjoyable Saturday morning, and for a great floral craft experience. We look forward to the next workshop! Here we are, with Catherine: