Up until I started with the wedding preps, tiara was the only bridal hairpiece that I know of. But I knew I don’t want to wear a tiara so a few clicks online led me to the hair vines. Although I thought they were lovely, I’m still not sure if I want one to grace my wedding do. But I decided to let my crafty fingers fashion a DIY version anyway.

And here’s how I did it.

Materials:

• Small flower beads and leaf charms, both made of metal
• Copper wire, (thin and pliable)
• Long-nosed pliers, (optional)

Procedure:

1. Start with a design.

I arranged the loose pieces first and took a picture to serve as my blueprint for the hair vine.

2. Choose the technique and materials to work with. I knew I had to sew the flowers together and I thought that a nylon thread would be perfect for the job. But after my first attempt yielded a very lousy, hard-to-hold-and-harder-to-keep-in-shape product, I decided to give the copper wire a try. And it worked.

I started on one end and let the copper wire worked its way through the ‘ hollow petals’, while making sure that I don’t pass through a petal more than once. I kept the copper ‘thread’ tight enough to keep the flowers together but not too tight that they overlap each other.

Working with copper wire is a little harder than working with nylon thread. The trick is to keep the wire straight and avoid the “coil” (knot is to thread as coil is to wire). But if it coiled, you can sought the help of a pair of long-nosed pliers to straighten it.

When I reached the end of the copper wire, I closed it by entwining the wire at the back and folding it at its end. To start with a new wire, I inserted it under the mesh at the back and connected the last charm to the new piece. Then I proceeded as before.

This is how the central part of the design looked like after the threading was completed:

3. Attach the vines. Looking back at my blueprint, I cut 2 short , 4 medium-length and 2 long copper wires for the vines.

To attach the vines, I inserted one end of the wire through the petal and folded it into a V when I  reached the middle. Later, I found out that it’s easier to fold the wire in half first before inserting it through the petal.

4. Create the twine. I used a pair of long-nosed pliers on the first few twists to tighten the twine. After that, I find it easier and faster to twist the wires together with my fingers. To achieve an even coil, I made sure the while twisting, the wires were in a V shape. I attached the leaves before I reached the end of the wire. I stopped twining at variable lengths from the end so I’d have enough wires left to attach two leaves on a single twine. I did the same for the rest of the twines until I achieved the look that I want.

5. Smile! The DIY hair vine is done.

If you will notice, the finished product is a little different from the initial design. I’m a girl, I change my mind. =) Although I’m not sure if it came out better. Lol!

It can also look like this:

Taste:

It took me around 2 hours to complete this craft. No, it’s not back-breaking and I only got frustrated when the copper wire coiled as I pulled it. But it only happened once because I learned my lesson after that.

Cost Per Serving:

• Flower charms are P20/40 pcs. I used 13 pcs. Let’s peg it at P10.
• Leaf charms are P40/40 pcs. I still have few pieces left.
• Copper wire. I think I bought about 25 yards of. I forgot how much it costs but for the length that I consumed, I’m positive it won’t go beyond P50.
• The pair of long-nosed pliers was from my Dad’s tool box. (It’s actually the big and bulky one that’s used for electrical wiring and stuff.)

Total cost: ~P100

*Prices quoted are based on prices of materials from Wellmason’s in Quiapo.

Verdict:

Again, I’m not sure if I’m going to use this. But it’s really fun to make. I have some leftover faux pearls from my other DIY project. Maybe I’ll try it with pearls, too!

Hope you enjoy today’s wedding DIY!