DIY Flower Chandelier

Last weekend, I hosted a tea party themed baby shower for my sister in law, who is expecting a baby girl in July. Aunt Erica has a pretty nice ring to it, don’t you think?

I’ve been on a garden rose obsession lately, especially after making those floral letters for Valentine’s Day, so it was a must when deciding what flowers to get for the celebration. Rather than making a floral table arrangement, I decided to whip up a chandelier, made of the most luscious pink and peach roses, voluptuous white peonies and sweet lilacs.

You’ll need:

1. 3-4 dozen flowers

2. a wooden embroidery hoop

3. 15-20 yards of assorted ribbon

4. 1-2 yards of lace trim

5. a D ring or plastic ring

6. floral shears

7. a bucket

8. glue gun

9. scissors

The flowers I used here came from Flower Muse, which include O’Hara Garden Roses, Juliet Garden Roses, Maria Teresia Garden Roses, Engagement Roses, peonies and lilacs. The prices are great and the varieties of roses are endless! When they arrive in the mail, I like to immediately give them a trim before putting them into a bucket of clean water. Let them open up overnight (or if you want them fully bloomed, wait 2 days) and pluck away any outer petals that might have bruised in transit.

Cut 2 3 yard lengths of ribbon. Fold them in half and thread them through the D ring, creating a small loop at the end. Pull the ends of the ribbon through the loop and pull tightly. You should have 4 someone even strands of ribbon, anchored by the D ring.

Measure approximately 18 inches down from the base of the ring. Mark with a marker. Take the embroidery hoop and remove the outer ring. Divide the circumference of the hoop into 4 equal parks with a marker. Line the marking on the ribbon with the top of the embroidery hoop. Use hot glue to attach to the inside of the hoop.

Mark the shape of a “V” with the hot glue and wrap the ribbon around the hoop to secure it. Repeat on all 4 sides.

Now that you have the base of the chandelier constructed, you can start adding flowers. Trim the flowers and tie them to ends of the 4 strands of ribbon.

Then using different lengths of ribbons. start adding flowers to rest of the hoop. Glue the ribbons onto the hoop the same way you did the first 4 strands and be sure to evenly distribute the weight of the flowers in each quadrant. I like to hang the chandelier from a hook in the ceiling while working.

Once all the flower have been added, make sure it is balanced. If one side is drooping, add more weight with flowers on the opposite side. Take a piece of lace trim and glue it to the outside of the hoop.