Every summer I grow sunflowers in my garden. I don’t grow them to eat the seeds but instead I love to use the flowers in my bouquets. One benefit of all of the sunflower plants are the little birds that it brings to the garden. Little finches, wrens and sparrows love to feast on the seeds as they dry. So I decided to make a Dried Sunflower Wreath for my shed porch that I can enjoy for autumn and the birds can enjoy next winter. This is an easy craft that you can make in an afternoon.
You don’t need a lot of supplies for this craft other than a wreath form, dried sunflower heads and hot glue. For this craft use a styrofoam wreath form that has been wrapped in burlap. However, you could use any type of wreath form that you have. A grapevine wreath or a straw wreath wreath would work as well. All of these wreath forms can be found at your local craft store.
If you are not growing sunflowers in your garden you can purchase them at the farmer’s market or grocery store. Enjoy the beautiful display and then follow the directions below to make your own dried sunflower wreath.
Supplies…
- Styrofoam wreath (about 15-16 inches)
- Burlap to wrap around the wreath
- Dried sunflower heads, about 24 of various sizes. The larger the sunflowers, the fewer you will need.
- Floral wire to make a hanger
- Ribbon or bow (optional)
- Hot glue or fabric pins (U shaped)
Steps to make a Dried Sunflower Wreath…
Step 1
The first thing that you will need to do is to gather sunflower heads and let them dry in a warm protected place. I keep my eyes out for large size sunflowers but it’s good to have a variety of sizes. Once the flowers have lost their petals and the base is starting to turn yellow you want to cut them. Leave about 2 inches of stem on the flower for now. You can keep some smaller leaves on the stem if they are close to the flower head. Otherwise, remove the larger leaves.
Letting them dry naturally on the plant would be optimal, however, there wouldn’t be many seeds left on them in the garden. That’s because of all those cute little birds. So cut them and allow to dry naturally in an area that the birds can’t get to. A flat surface in your garden shed or garage would work fine.
Step 2
Wrap your styrofoam wreath with burlap to give it a natural look. You can attach it with hot glue or fabric pins.
Step 3
You will need a way to hang your wreath, so you have 2 options. One options is to make a loop out of floral wire and then attach that and cover it with a fabric bow. The second option is to make a loop out of your fabric or ribbon and then tie it onto your wreath. You don’t have to add a ribbon or bow if you want to be strictly natural. In this case just attach a loop with you floral wire.
Step 4
To assemble the wreath you will need to trim the stalk of your sunflowers as close to the base as you can. Then begin hot gluing the flower heads onto your wreath form. Start with the largest flower heads first hot gluing them around the wreath. Then add in medium sized flower heads. Finally, hot glue on the smallest flower heads, filling in the blank spaces as best you can. I like to place the main sunflowers around the wreath first to make sure that everything looks balanced. Then begin gluing them on using your hot glue. Gently press the flower head in place until the glue starts to set up. Continue gluing on your sunflowers until completely covered.
Now your Sunflower Wreath is ready to hang. Or you can store it until you need it for autumn decor. To store your wreath, lay it flat in an out-of-the-way area such as your garden shed or garage. Then next winter you can hang the Sunflower Wreath in your garden for the birds to feast on.