Floral Skull Wreath

$20 - $25 (based on 2018 prices)

Makes one wreath

The Dia de Los Muertos portion of 2017’s haunted house required dozens of wreaths and flowers for an intricate funeral scene. To prevent myself from using the same design for each prop, I did variations on the sugar skull motif. For this version, I chose to contrast bright flowers with black-and-white bats. To help unify the haunt’s overall theme, I also incorporated the color schemes from other props, namely blues, pinks, and yellows.

• One fourteen-inch metal wreath frame
• One large sugar skull cutout (roughly fourteen inches tall)
• An assortment of artificial flowers is multiple colors and sizes (e.g. dahlias, hyacinths, and hydrangeas)
• Eight sprigs of colored onion grass
• Hot glue gun and glue sticks
• Six glittery bats
  

1. Position the cutout onto the wreath and glue it in place. Although I elected to center the item for a more balanced look, you can offset it to achieve an asymmetric pattern.

2. Separate the flowers and leaves from their stems. Although you could do this while you glue them to the wreath, I found that performing this step beforehand made the following process much easier. Plus, it gives you a clear idea of exactly how many of each item you have.

3. Use hot glue to adhere the flowers to the wreath. For visual interest, build up layers and vary the color patterns so that blooms with the same hues and shapes are not concentrated in one area. You may want to play with the arrangement first before gluing it in place.

4. Repeat the method in step three with the leaves, gluing them around the outer circumference of the wreath’s back and, to enhance the appearance of the prop, ensuring you create contrast by using different hues and sizes in various positions.

5. Weave the sprigs of onion grass into the clusters of flowers to generate more depth. You can use an evenly spaced pattern to create balance or a random placement for extra irregularity.

6. Add further embellishments to the wreath by gluing the glittery bats to the floral arrangement. Akin to the onion grass, you can strategically place them in an even pattern or scatter them haphazardly across the surface.

7. You can create a hanging loop by re-purposing the one that came with either the cutout or wreath or fabricate a sturdier version with steel wire.