Last week we shared some very simple but romantic wedding hair inspiration in the form of gold leaf bridal crowns and they went down a treat. As promised, today we are sharing a very easy DIY and will be showing you how to make a gold leaf crown of your very own. Depending on what you already have in your house, this make and do might not even cost you a penny. Everything we used we already had lying around and while we appreciate that most of you won't have floral tape or wire to hand, masking tape and any pliable wire will work just as well. We foraged leaves from our own back garden but if you want your crown to last more than a few days, you might consider purchasing artificial branches from your local craft or home store. There are two ways to make the basic frame and both are as easy as each other. The first frame is completely closed so you will want to get your head measurements fairly accurate and the second is an extendable frame for which you will need some pretty ribbon to finish it.

Supplies

✈ Branches (foraged, synthetic or bought: we used dogwood branches from our garden that were nice and long)

✈ Gold Spray Paint

✈ Floral Tape

✈ 18 - 20 Gauge Floral Wire (can be found online or at a florist supplies:a roll is better than single stems but we only had stems)

✈ 24 -26 Gauge Floral Wire (can also be found online or at a florist supply store)

✈ Floral Shears

✈ Ribbon (optional)

Preparation Time

This project only takes about 30 minutes if you have all of your supplies gathered and to hand but you will need to leave the gold spray paint dry overnight so make sure you prepare your gold leaf crown at least a day before.

1 ✈ Wrap the thicker floral wire around the crown of your head to get a ballpark measurement, taking into consideration any up-style you will be wearing underneath the crown. To this measurement, add three inches on either side.

2 ✈ Make a small loop either end of the wire as in the diagram below, making sure to leave the loops open.

3 ✈ Bend the wire to form the circular shape of your head.

4 ✈ Inter-link the open ended loops as per the diagram below to close the head band.

5 ✈ Double check that the closed head band fits your head. Secure the link with floral tape. If you would prefer to add in some ribbon to the look, leave out step four and simply secure the loops individually by wrapping floral tape around the join. This will leave you with two looped ends and an open frame that can be seen more clearly in image nine.

6 ✈ Attach the first branch to the thicker (18-20 gauge) wire crown by wrapping the thinner (24-26 gauge) wire around both the branch and the frame multiple times. Ensure that it is secure.

7 ✈ Continue wrapping the wire around the branch and frame, adding a second branch if necessary at the end of the first.

8 ✈ When you have finished the first layer, start adding a second layer of branches in the same manner.

9 ✈ Keeping adding more layers until you have reached the desire thickness. We stopped after the second layer.

10 ✈ Prepare an area outside with old newspaper and place your leaf crown on it. Spray the crown with gold spray paint on one side.

11 ✈ When you have finished the first side, turn your crown over and spray paint it with gold on the second side. Don't worry if some green is left poking through - it adds to the charm. Leave your freshly sprayed crown to dry overnight. Double check that it is dry before placing it on your head.

12 ✈ If you have chosen to make the extendable version of this gold leaf crown, simply thread your ribbon through the two open ended loops and secure with a bow at the back of your head.