For the Wallflowers: Giant Floral Typography Wall Art DIY

It wouldn’t be Valentines day without a flower DIY. So here I am with the last V-Day project of the year…a (fresh flower) monogram wall hanging that is perfect for the upcoming holiday. OR a wedding, birthday party, housewarming…Okay, it works for pretty much anything. Especially if you like flowers as much as I do.

You may remember the giant floral ampersand I created a while back that was in this same vein. But to switch things up, I’m using a different method and a garland as the base (which will help cut down on the number of flowers you need to complete the project).

Here’s how to make your own floral typography wall art…

Supplies

-fresh flowers + garland (see specific flower types below)
-foam core or cardboard
-pencil
-box-cutter or sharp blade
-scissors
-paper awl (or similar)
-floral tape
-floral wire

For this project, I used Poppies, Pink Veronicas, Pink Ranunculus, White Sweet Peas, and Bay leaf & Seeded Eucalyptus Garland.

My friends at Flower Muse sent over all of the flowers and the garland. So, if you’re looking for fresh flowers and greenery, be sure to check them out. Their flowers are top notch.

Care Instructions:
For all flowers except the Poppies… Cut at least 1″³ off each stem and place in 3-4″³ of room temperature water. Let everything hydrate for at least 3-4 hours before you start working with them, but preferably 24 hours so the blooms have more time to open, if they’re not already.

For the Poppies… These can be a little tricky sometimes. So to help them bloom, you may want to try cutting them under water and keeping the stems submerged in water for 10-15 minutes before searing the ends with a quick dip in boiling water for 10-15 seconds. That’s what I ended up doing and it worked great. As the blooms start to open, you may need to give some of them a little help by gently pulling back the sepals (the brown fuzzy “shell”).

For the garland… Keep it in a dry, cool place until you’re ready to use it. No need to spray with water or anything like that.

How To:

1. Start by drawing and cutting out large letters from foam core or cardboard. I just freehanded the letters with a pencil and then cut them with a sharp blade.

2. Next, poke a set of holes in the letter cut out, all the way around, every 6-10 inches. Use the paper awl to poke the holes or another sharp object.

3. Cut a piece of wire that is roughly 8-10 inches long, and poke through the first set of holes (from the back of the letter), so that each end is showing through to the front.

4. Then, lay the garland on top of the foam core letter and secure the first section with the wire that you poked through in step 3. All you need to do is wrap the wire around the garland and twist several times until secure. Then, hide the excess wire underneath the leaves or clip off.

5. Once you’ve completed that process all the way around, covering the entire letter with garland, it’s time to add flowers. Make sure the flowers have had at least 24 hours to properly hydrate before this step. Then, trim the stems if necessary and intertwine them amongst the garland. If you’re having trouble, add floral wire to each stem, for more stiffness to wedge into the garland. If you have a super bushy garland, you can tuck small water tubes  into the garland to keep the flowers as fresh as possible.

6. Fill the garland with flowers until you’ve reached the desired effect. Enjoy!

You can do initials like J + B (for V-day or a wedding), a single letter, to stand as a statement art piece, or even a short phrase or message if you’re feeling especially ambitious.

P.S. If you wanted to go a more cost effective (and long lasting) route, you could skip the flowers all together and just do garland letters, which are kind of fun too…

Concept, photography, and styling by Brittni Mehlhoff

After this project, I am even more obsessed with poppies. They may be a little finicky, but they sure are pretty. Don’t you think?

Think you might give this flower project a try? 

—

For more flower DIYs like this one, visit the DIY Flower Ideas page.