Looking for a crafty way to add spring beauty to your space? DIY this modern hoop wreath

This time of year isn't the prettiest in Anchorage. The season can be summed up in just a couple of adjectives — brown and dusty. Everyone is itching for warmth and color.

Recently, event planner Erin Velander of Blomma Designs — a local event company that incorporates handmade elements and Alaska materials into their designs — asked if I would bring my floral skills to her studio and teach her how to bring some color and life into the drabness that is Anchorage spring. Velander wanted me to teach her an inexpensive project that was not only elegant, but also was something a beginner could accomplish.

Wreaths are a traditional way to show off flowers and greenery but I wanted to make something more minimal (i.e., affordable). Unusual floral hangings are all the rage in the wedding world these days. After a little craft-store research I decided to teach Velander how to make a hanging floral hoop.

Rather than using a typical wire wreath base I opted for a large, wooden quilter's hoop, which is much like a gigantic embroidery hoop. Typically, the base for a wreath is unattractive and must be covered entirely with greenery or flowers. The hoop, however, has its own aesthetic and I wanted it to be a part of the design. Not only does it create a beautiful asymmetry in the finished product, it also means less foliage and less money to create — perfect for anyone looking to add a little cheer to their springtime décor.

This tutorial will teach you the basics of arranging greenery and flowers on a wreath form and how to wire flowers, a technique that's invaluable to florists. Select long-lasting flowers for your hoop. Carnations, chrysanthemums, daisies, asters and spray roses are all great examples. When in doubt, head to your local grocery store flower department. The types of flowers usually sold at grocery stores are long-lasting varieties.

Your wreath should stay fresh for several days but it also looks lovely once dried, especially with flowers that are bright pink and white. As for greenery, eucalyptus and ferns are both great. Grocery stores usually sell a bundle of mixed greens — those would do well, too. If you're looking to kick it up a notch, head over to Alaska Wholesale Flower Market or Cedars Wholesale Floral Imports. They both sell to nonflorists (Cedars only takes cash), and they have lots of variety. They can also advise you on what flowers do best out of water.

This tutorial calls for a large quilting hoop, which is actually made of two hoops. The materials listed are enough to make two wreaths.

Materials

• One 23-inch quilting hoop (these are available online. This tutorial would also work with a smaller hoop)

• Green floral wire (available at crafts stores or Wal-Mart)

• Green floral tape (available at crafts stores)

• wire cutters

• floral snips (regular scissors will work too)

• 1 bunch plumosa fern

• 1 bunch minipittosporum

• 1 bunch white wax flower (baby's breath is a good substitute)

• 1 bunch scarlet minicarnations

• 1 bunch lavender button mums

• monofilament or fishing line

Step 1: Remove the outer part of the quilting hoop and set aside for a second hoop, if you'd like.

Step 2: Start with wiring on the plumosa fern. Determine where you want your arrangement to lie on the hoop. The plumosa will set the parameters of that shape. Snip a piece of fern and hold it to the hoop with one hand while tightly wrapping the wire around the hoop with the other hand. You can either cut a length of wire and wrap it or keep the wire on the paddle. I prefer the latter because I can pull the wire tightly around the greens when the paddle is attached.

Wire the plumosa with stems pointing toward the top and then pointing toward the bottom of the hoop. Fill the space in between with more fern. There is no hard or fast rule to arranging the fern. It kind of has a mind of its own so let it do its thing — just look out for hidden thorns!

Step 3: Start wiring in bits of minipittosporum. Cut a spray of this greenery, leaving a 3-inch stem. Nestle the sprig in the plumosa so the stems are hidden. Arrange in the same direction as the plumosa.

Step 4: Start wiring in the wax flower. Create little clusters of wax flower so the blooms face outward instead up only upward. Secure with a little florist tape. Wire in place as you did the greens, tucking the stems between the greenery so they are hidden.

Now it's important to hold up the hoop to see that the wax flower isn't running too parallel to the hoop. The flowers should be facing outward toward you. If they are looking too flat then just wire more clusters of wax flower in so they face more outward.

Step 5: Now to wire the minicarnations: Cut a carnation leaving a 2-inch stem.
Take a 4-inch length of wire and fold it in half to create a kink in the center. Poke one end of the wire through the base of the carnation where it looks like there are little green petals. Push the wire through until you reach the kink in the middle. Lay the wire on both sides of the stem and wrap tightly with floral tape. Now your carnation can bend to your will. If the wire you have is too light of a gauge, then poke another wire through the stem perpendicular to the first and wrap again.

To wire the button mums, just fold a piece of wire in half, hold it up against the stem of the flower and tightly wrap with floral tape starting from the base of the stem to the bottom of the stem.

Wire about 10 or so flowers. You can create a larger-looking carnation by putting three or four carnations together and binding them with floral tape. This can then be used as a focal point for your hoop.

Step 6: Determine where you want the focal point of your hoop to be. This is where you should wire in your biggest bloom. Secure your bloom in place as you did the greenery. Since the blooms are wired you can turn the bloom to face outward once you've wired it to the hoop.

Step 7: Once your focal flower is in place begin wiring in other blooms from the outside in toward the focal point, tucking in stems beneath what's already wired to the hoop.

Step 8: Take another look at your hoop held out in front of you and determine whether there are any gaps that need to be filled. At this point you can start tucking in bits of plumosa, wax flower and pittosporum without needing to wire them. They can be poked through the wire that's already on the hoop.

Step 9: Now it's time to hang your hoop. Cut two lengths of monofilament and tie them to two points at the top of the hoop. Since the hoop is weighted it probably won't hang correctly if you only tie one string to the middle. With two pieces of string you can find the best balance when hanging it.

Step 10: Hang your hoop and admire your beautiful work for many days. These flowers dry nicely so the hoop should look wonderful for a long time.

If you want to wrap your entire hoop with foliage, start wiring clusters at the top making sure the foliage points upward as you wire them in. Cover the ends of each cluster with a new cluster of greenery and work your way down and around to the other side of the hoop.

Natasha Price is a florist and blogger in Anchorage. View more of her tutorials at alaskaknitnat.com.

[Make a holiday wreath out of an old hanger and bits of nature from your backyard]