Flowers are woven into the Indian culture so deeply that one cannot imagine the spiritual and festive fabric of India to be complete without them. The humble ‘genda‘ or marigold, originally from Mexico, is 350 years old and has become an essential part of most Indian festivals. The saffron-orange colour signifies renunciation and is offered to the Almighty as a symbol of surrender.
The marigold flower-mango leaf ‘toran’ or garland adorn and brighten up homes and weddings. The mango tree is considered a symbol of fertility. The leaves ward of negativity and keep insects at bay. Together, the orange-yellow and green is a sight to behold.
So let’s begin the project by collecting a few things together to make a “Mary’s gold’ (named after Mother Mary) or ‘marigold’ flower wreath.
Materials needed
- Orange and yellow crepe paper rolls
- Green craft paper
- 2 Large cardboard circles, (I cut mine out of a clean pizza box)
- Hot glue gun
- A pair of scissors
- Stapler
- Any bowl / circular shape
- Pencil
- Ruler
- Ribbon to hang the wreath
- Green glitter pen/ glitter glue
- Paint brush
- Orange acrylic paint
Method
- Paint the cardboard circles (one side each) with orange acrylic colour and let them dry.
- To make the flowers, cut the crepe paper in equal sized squares. I chose was 4.5 inches x 4.5 inches.
- Arrange 10 squares, one on top of the other creating a bunch. Staple the bunch in the center in a cross manner.
- Trace a circle on the bunches and cut it out in that shape.
- Make small cuts on the edges of each circular bunch.
- Scrunch up each layer of the bunch, adding one layer each time revealing a pretty marigold flower. Go ahead and finish making all the flowers.
- To make the leaves, fold the craft paper a few times. A 24×34 cm sheet and was able to get 4 rectangles which I further folded into half.
- Trace one half of a leaf shape on the folded paper and cut these out.
- Open these up to reveal the leaves. To create the veins on the leaf, use the corner of a ruler and score the leaf.
- Using a glitter pen/glitter glue (will take longer to dry) trace the veins scored on the leaves above.
- Now to start putting together the wreath, glue the unpainted sides of the two large cardboard circles together.
- Place the marigold flowers on them and check if you like the arrangement. Set these aside and now glue each flower one by one onto the cardboard circle frame.
- Glue each leaf in between two flowers.
- Lastly, glue the ribbon around the cardboard frame.
There you have it, a gorgeous wreath adding oomph to your festivities and bringing the autumn hues indoors.
Disclaimer: Opinions and methods expressed are solely of the writer. Namaste Switzerland does not undertake any obligation or liability which may arise from the content.
