As preparations for Mitch and Caroline's wedding were coming to an end last year, the future Mrs. May had one last request – something glamorous to add to her up-do once the veil came off.
Fitting with the flow of the wedding, as the ceremony gave way to the reception the veil would give way to a festive flower crown, formed from the same paper flowers we created for the centerpieces.
Photography by Elissa R Photography
Our crown features miniature paper flowers and a touch of greenery, with ribbons hanging down the back. See below for a tutorial on how I made the tiara!
If you're trying to make this yourself, be ready to get really nimble with those fingers. All of the parts are small, so a lot of patience is required. My recommendation would be to first start learning to make paper flowers. Once you make some true-to-size blooms, you’ll understand the technique, which will make constructing the miniature flowers that much easier.
STEP 1: Go Shopping!
Unless you have a million crafting supplies lying around your house, you’re probably going to need to start with a trip to your local craft store. Items to purchase (or gather) include:
- A few sheets of Scrapbook Paper – Get as many colors as you’d like to use for your flowers. You won’t need more than a page of each color, since the flowers are so small.
- Grapevine – I chose a variety with a wire in it, so it was able to hold its shape.
- Greenery – Use a small greenery from the floral section that’s on scale with the size flowers that you plan to make.
- Wire – Have some fine wire handy to help attach the flowers and greenery – Brown or green is recommended so that you don’t notice it.
- Hot Glue Gun & Glue Sticks
- Scissors
- Small Pliers/Wire Cutters
STEP 2: Make Your Grapevine Headpiece/Wreath
I’m not sure what to call this – but I’m referring to the piece that lies around your head. I’ll go with headpiece…
So you’ll need to figure out how big your own (or the recipient's) head. I went with the age-old method of approximating and hoping that Caroline’s head was the same size!
After I made the initial loop, I started tucking and twisting around the loop a total of three times to give it some stability and more room to attach the miniature flowers – also, I just think it looks better. Make sure when you’re doing the tucking and wrapping that you don’t change the overall size of your headpiece and tuck in the end, so you don’t get any sharp points.
STEP 3: Weave Some Greenery in your Headpiece
Because I wanted to add a little depth to the tiara, I choose to weave some greenery into the grapevine. I didn’t want to overwhelm the flowers that I planned on adding, so I went with a very small leaf in a muted green tone. Despite the fact that my miniature flowers would be bright, the goal was to make sure that the greenery didn’t compete with the flowers, just accented them.
Weaving in the greenery benefited from the three rounds of grapevine I used to make the headpiece. The extra grapevine provided space to make them stay easily, and I had room to use small pieces of the skinny brown wire to tie in the ends. Don’t worry about making sure the greenery sticks out perfectly at this point,;you should be able to adjust it once you start putting flowers in.
STEP 4: Make Those Miniature Paper Flowers
Like I mentioned above, if this is your first time making paper flowers, I’d start with some regular sized blooms so you can get some techniques prior to making the miniature ones. I had to scrap my first few as they came out looking a little funky.
As with the full size, I started with the center – alternating with a contrasting color for depth – then added the petals out around it. My largest petals were about an inch tall – so get ready to feel ham-handed!
When you’re crafting up these miniature beauties, make sure you have a variety of sizes – ranging from about ½” diameter to 1” diameter. This will help create that depth and interest on the crown, plus it will allow you to fit them together better.
I'd make a few flowers, weave them in, and then make a few more, continually alternating colors and sizes. I wasn’t sure how far around the headpiece I wanted the flowers to go, and sure didn’t want to waste my time making a bunch that I wouldn’t use.
STEP 5: Weave the Flowers into the Grapevine Headpiece
Now is the moment that you’ve been waiting for! You’ll start to see it coming together.
Use the wire sticking out from each flower to weave it into the grapevine headpiece. Tuck and wrap that wire to the grapevine tightly so that you are able to angle your flower just the way you want it. I’d recommend weaving in a few flowers bunched together at a time, so you can see the effect.
STEP 6: Peek in the Mirror & Then Weave Some More
As I was weaving the flowers in the headpiece, I was continually trying it on and adjusting the angles/locations/color combos of the flowers in order to get the exact look that I was going for. Patience is key!
Below is a much abbreviated series: Trying on, weaving, adjusting, trying on, weaving…. Over and over again.
STEP 7: Ribbons
I LOVE RIBBON! Okay, maybe that’s just my inner child screaming through. But ribbons just add a touch of whimsy to everything! So, maybe it's possible that I got so excited after finishing it that somehow I failed to take a picture with the ribbons. Okay, it's definitely possible. But here’s one from the wedding so you can see the effect!
That part was super easy - I curled some ribbons and tied them on the back. Simple, with a big impact. I love it when the finishing touch like that makes it all come together!
How could I not show off Caroline’s amazing dancing with her Dad! And “highlight” those ribbons on the back of the tiara!
Photography by Elissa R Photography
STEP 8: Gift it Away!
If there is one moment I regret not getting a picture of during the wedding weekend, it was the first time the future Mrs. May laid her eyes on the Tiara! SO PROUD!
But seeing all the pictures of her in it make up for it:
Zero fun had…
Photography by Elissa R Photography
STEP 9: Pictures, Pictures, Pictures
Since this is a one-of-a-kind piece, it’s going to be tough to re-wear it (unless you happen to be under age 10/don't care about side-eye at the grocery store.) So make sure to get lots of great pictures to commemorate it – it's paper, so you can save it (Caroline framed hers in a shadow box -- check back for that How-To), but the pictures and moments when it’s worn are so much more meaningful.
Here’s my personal favorite that the photographer captured!
Photography by Elissa R Photography
