mindful flower crown

Adjust your space as needed to feel conducive for creativity. Mark the beginning of your creative time by doing any ritual that you feel connected to. It could be lighting a scented candle or setting an intention for your creative practice. Anything that activates your senses and signals to your brain that it’s time to arrive in the moment. As you pick out your materials, remind yourself of all it may have taken for them to have arrived here with you. All the deliberate effort that went into creating them, packaging them, shipping them, etc. You might say a little mental ‘thank you’ to the people and steps involved. An attitude of gratitude can lighten your mood and remind you of what’s really important. It may also be a good time to feel thankful for being able to do something you love.

Unwrap your raffia and find a bundle that’s about one and a half times your arm’s length. You can also place it around your head and add a little slack to measure. The raffia should already be tied at the top (you can always strengthen that tie with wire). From there, you’ll make three strands and begin to braid them together. The material will start to form a circular shape when you braid it, but if it’s not the way you’d like, you can simply bend it into place more. Braid the raffia somewhat loosely, so it’s not too tight to stick flower stems through later.
TIP: As you’re braiding, fully engage with the material in front of you. Notice how it smells (like a farm, doesn’t it?), notice the shade, the texture, the sound it makes when you braid it, and how it feels in your hands. Observing these qualities will help anchor you in the moment.

Braid almost all the way to the end of your raffia. Try to move with the material’s natural flow as you do so. At the bottom, you can cut off a little piece of raffia to tie around the end to secure your braid, so that it won’t loosen on your head (think of it as a natural hair tie). You should also reinforce both ends by wrapping wire around them in a few loops. You’ll wrap the wire around itself to secure it.
TIP: If you measure your raffia around your head, make sure to leave some slack to account for any length lost in braiding.

Pick out your flowers and start weaving them into the raffia as outlined below. This is the really fun part! Notice what shades naturally call you and trust that. The best thing you can do is to allow your own creativity to come out and play without restricting it. Let it do its thing for you, and just see if it’s a little easier to let go of the idea of a certain outcome. What if creativity were an inherent force that you’re simply the vessel for? You can always change things later if you don’t like a certain shade combination or design. Allow yourself to be imperfect and commit to creativity as a process rather than a final result.
TIPS: 

• For this crown, chose earthy shades that reminded me of the desert. If that resonates with you too, use burnt oranges, dusty rose and ivory/brown shades. Cut your flower stems using diagonal cutters. From one side of the raffia, stick the flowers through the middle strand of your raffia braid by their stems. You might have to loosen your braid with your fingers a bit in certain places to make this happen.
• Go with the flow of the materials. How do they naturally want to bend and attach? Let them! Notice how you’re feeling doing this. Is it getting easier over time or are you getting more impatient? Simply be open to receive all the emotions that may arise. Chances are, they want to be worked through. If something comes up, maybe you try to observe how it feels in your body or how it affects your breath. Once you’re aware of this, it might become a little bit easier to breathe through it and continue.

Once your flowers are in place, you can use floral wire to wrap around them and the braid. Make sure that you tangle the end of your wires and that they are to the inside of your raffia braid (where your head would be) for now. You’ll secure it later with felt to make sure you’re not hurting your skin. You can use hot glue to secure some flowers to the raffia as well. It also helps to attach them to each other a bit, so the crown has a nice filled-in composition. For this design, chose smaller flowers at the sides and a few bigger flowers either at the middle (halfway through the braid) or slightly off to one side. But there’s no right or wrong here.
TIP: Leave a bit of raffia free at both ends. It’s a nice material to peek through at the bottom of your crown.

Cut out leaf-like shapes from your felt and hot glue them onto the inside of your flower crown all the way around your braid (where the contact to your skin on your head will be). Make sure there are no stems and wires poking out as you do this. You can always cut off any excess using your diagonal cutters.
TIPS: 

• This step is a commitment to your own comfort. Rather than moving on too quickly, can you decide to do something that will serve you later at this time? It might not be your preferred thing to do right this moment, but it’s a huge plus to have a comfortable flower crown. More often than not, when something feels physically nice to wear, it looks a lot better because it makes you feel good. So, make sure to give your own comfort some loving attention with this activity.
• The leaves don’t have to be perfect, no one is ever really going to see them anyway!

Once all your felt is attached to the inside of your braid, cut a couple pieces of thin ribbon. Using a few small drops of hot glue, you’ll attach these to the ends of your raffia that already have pieces of wire wrapped around. You can cover that wire with the ribbon. Once attached on both sides, the ribbon ends can tie together to tighten the crown to your head. This can also make up for any lack of length you may have in your raffia design.

Time to wear those flowers and enjoy! Let this crown be a visual reminder to go with the flow of life rather than resist it. End your creative practice with a little closing ritual. It signals to your brain that it’s time to be fully present for the next phase of your day now. You could mirror your beginning ritual to end your practice here, blow out your candle or take another couple of breaths.

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