DIY Flower Crowns & a Photo Shoot

It is probably no surprise to learn that I have a lot of creative friends.  Given my interests (which are well documented within the virtual pages of this blog) it is pretty clear that I am drawn to creativity.  

And the only thing better than having creative friends is collaborating with them.  

So when the talented Alyssa Gorence of Alyssa Brule Photography suggested we team up on a project I was delighted!

Alyssa is one of those people who always has an idea--some picture in her head that she manages to bring to life through her beautiful photography.  

On this occasion she suggested that we make flower crowns and then head to the Carlsbad Flower Fields to take pictures of my kids.   I was all in.

"Do you know how to make a flower crown?" she asked.  

Truth be told I didn't but hey, that's what the internet is for.  After a quick Google search I came across THIS POST.  It's a flower crown tutorial.  If you're interested in doing things properly, I suggest you click on the link and read the instructions.  I used them more as a loose guideline:

After purchasing some fake flowers at DAISO I dug up some floral wire, floral tape, and some clippers (to cut the fake flower stems which are made of wire).  

Beyond that, it was trial and error.  Using my daughter's head as a template, Alyssa and I made rings out of wire.  Then we attached the flowers to the wire using the floral tape.  It was an imperfect process to say the least, but the results were fabulous.  If you look closely, you'll notice some golden butterflies nestled in the flowers.  This was another fabulous Alyssa-idea.  She had some artificial butterflies (made out of feathers; find your own HERE) and suggested that we spray paint them gold.  (And you know I was on board with that!)

Two days later we were off to the flower fields for our informal shoot.  The results were incredible: a series of dreamy pictures which I just can't stop looking at.  (And those crowns turned out pretty great too!)

The first eleven pictures are Alyssa's.  Notice what she did with the butterflies in the image below.  (Did I mention that she's a digital media artist?  The photography is just a fraction of what this girl can do.)

Now I will let the photos speak for themselves.

photo credit: Alyssa Brule

photo credit: Alyssa Brule

photo credit: Alyssa Brule

photo credit: Alyssa Brule

photo credit: Alyssa Brule

photo credit: Alyssa Brule

photo credit: Alyssa Brule

photo credit: Alyssa Brule

photo credit: Alyssa Brule

photo credit: Alyssa Brule

photo credit: Alyssa Brule

The rest of the pictures were taken by me on my iPhone.  Before you look at them, please take a moment to check out Alyssa's site or "like" her Facebook page.  (You can also follow her on Instagram.) She's based here in Southern California (San Diego & Los Angeles) but she is willing to travel.  

UPDATE (4/22/2015):

Since publishing this post, I have run across several great tutorials on making flower crowns, including one from an online florist called Flower Explosion.  

I have included several of their pictures below (with their blessing) but if you'd like to read their post with the full instructions, click HERE.  

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