Beaded flowers can be a part of your everyday jewelry, as well as being an important accessory on some very special days.
For everyday accessorizing, use them as hair decorations. A sweet headband of beaded flowers in a little girl’s favorite color will be treasured for years. If the little lady you have in mind favors hair combs or clips instead of a headband, you can accommodate her easily by adding a flower to a comb or clip. When you are making flowers to be worn in the hair, be sure to use a loop technique that doesn’t leave a top basic wire; or, leave a long top basic wire that can be folded or beaded down the back of the petals and leaves, and twisted into the flower’s wires. This will prevent the wires catching in the wearer’s hair.
You can make a “mother pin” or “grandmother pin” from beaded flowers. Use Swarovski crystal beads in different colors to represent the birthstones of the children and grandchildren, and arrange them as the flower’s center. You can also use each “birthstone” as the central bead in each petal of the flower. Think of using different kinds of beads for the flower – there are many exotic and inexpensive options available, in unexpected shapes and lengths. When you shop for beads, try to look at the beads with fresh eyes and you’ll see new and intriguing avenues to try.
My parents recently celebrated a landmark wedding anniversary. In addition to making a wreath of the flowers my mother carried in her wedding bouquet, I made my mother a bead flower pin with her wedding flowers, and my father a boutonniere to wear for their anniversary party. They loved them!
The largest and most impressive way to wear bead flowers is to carry them as a wedding bouquet. A bridal bouquet made of bead flowers has three big advantages over a bouquet of live flowers. The first is that no one in your party or on your guest list will suffer from any flower allergies. The second is that you can have any flower you want, even if it’s out of season or otherwise unavailable. Your bouquet will be a little heavier than a bouquet of live flowers, though! The third advantage is that your bouquet will last for decades just as it is on your wedding day – no extra steps are necessary. It can even be used by your future daughter or granddaughter at her wedding someday! Your bouquet can become a treasured family heirloom.
You can include the groom in the beaded flower theme by having his boutonniere made of beads to coordinate with your bouquet. Also, the mother of the bride would be thrilled to have a corsage that she’ll be able to keep forever. You can also make pins for your bridal party as keepsakes of the wedding. I always receive compliments when I wear my bead flower pins, especially those made of Swarovski crystal beads.
The flower girls or other female attendants can wear bead flowers in their hair. For the occasion, you can use a “diamond” center, or make the centers in the wedding colors. I have done this for several weddings. The bead flowers don’t have to look completely like natural flowers. Part of the charm will be how the flowers have been done to match the colors of the event.
The possibilities for using bead flowers as accessories are endless. Let your imagination out of the box and you’ll come up with plenty of great ideas. You may have to modify techniques or come up with totally new ones – but that’s half the fun of bead flowers!
