July 26, 2021

How to Create a Magnolia Inspired Wreath!

Magnolias have become more and more popular to use in home decor items over the years (I wonder if a certain Texan design superstar had a hand in their popularity?!). With summer in full swing and our ever growing selection of wood flowers and greenery...I had to try my hand at a magnolia inspired grapevine wreath!

Choose Your Greenery and Filler!

For this project, I started with an 18" grapevine wreath and our magnolia leaf greenery. They are larger leaves so I would recommend an 18" or larger wreath base. I also grabbed a few neutral greens and our blush eucalyptus for a beautiful pop of color!

Prep and Add Your Greenery!

Since grapevine wreaths are intertwined and wrapped branches, they are fantastic for adding greenery stems! There are lots of nooks and spaces to snuggle the greenery pieces in but you want to make sure they aren't too large. With the magnolia leaves being especially large, I cut down each branch into 3 leaf segments. Once these were ready, I hot glued them directly into the grapevine wreath, making sure all of the leaves were facing the same direction.

Finish Your Greenery Base!

Once the magnolia leaves were all on, I added dusty miller and blush eucalyptus to the wreath. I alternated the stems so some were facing the outer edge of the wreath while others were facing inward. Again, I used hot glue to secure them in place.

Paint Your Magnolias!

For these magnolias, I used our Charleston wood flower (sidenote - Charlestons are so incredibly versatile and can be used to mimic hellebores, poppies, etc.!). To create them, I first sprayed the flower with a water/glycerin mix (about 8 parts water to 1 part glycerin) and then gently pulled the outer petals open. Once the flower is open, dab some yellow paint in the center with a paint brush!

Add Your Magnolias!

As the magnolias will be our largest flowers, I wanted to place them first. Once I was happy with their spots, I hot glued them directly onto the greenery base we had created.

Add Additional Flowers!

I also added 5 La Fleurs to the wreath and glued them in place!

Paint Your Magnolia Buds!

Our sola branches are an amazing way to create magnolia buds! First, I sprayed the flowers on the branch with a water/glycerin mixture. You want the flower itself to be damp when you add the paint to the bottom of the bud so you can use a wet paint brush to pull that paint towards the petals' edges. That way, you have a darker flower bottom but the pink is carried throughout the entire flower (just like with a magnolia bud!). The glycerin added to your water in the spray bottle is to ensure the flowers stay soft when they are dry.

Add Your Magnolia Buds!

The sola branches were a little long for the wreath so I cut them into shorter branches of 3-4 buds and slid those into the grapevine wreath! Look at that extra pop of pink!!

Add Your Final Filler!

For the final step, I wanted to bring in a bit more texture and brightness with our summer blooming mix. The little white flower ends on each piece really helped to carry the white of the magnolias and la fleurs through the entire wreath!

This is honestly the first time I have done a wreath with large leaves all facing the same direction and I am loving it! What wreath style should we try next?! Let us know in the comments