This post, DIY Ombre Magnolia Leaf Wedding Backdrop, is sponsored by Krylon® Brand. All ideas and opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that keep the crafts coming!
The Project: DIY Ombre Magnolia Leaf Wedding Backdrop
This next week I celebrate my 13th wedding anniversary and it has me thinking back to my wedding and things I would have done differently. I got married way back in 2005. Way before Pinterest and right out of college with very little money to put towards a wedding. So naturally our wedding was super low key. We spent a good amount on the venue and the food because those were important to us, but everything else from my wedding dress to cake to music were DIY. It’s no surprise I ended up blogging about DIY projects for a living considering how much I made in my regular life before blogging!
But as I think back, if I had the chance to do it again, I think I would have added a few more DIY touches to make it even more memorable and contain a few personal touches. This DIY ombré magnolia leaf wedding backdrop is just the sort of simple but stunning project I would have included. Faux magnolia leaves with a light touch of Krylon® Brand spray paint in various shades of pink and gold bring in the fall feeling of color changing leaves, but in such a fun and colorful way!
If you are getting married, know someone who is, or just love creating elaborate DIY projects, I’m sharing how to make your own DIY ombré magnolia leaf wedding backdrop. It’s surprisingly easier than you might think.
Make time: 3 hours
Materials for DIY Ombre Magnolia Leaf Wedding Backdrop:
– Arch or gazebo or trellis to attach your arch to (I actually got this backdrop for free from a store display that was planning on trashing it! Score!)
– Chicken wire
– Faux magnolia leaves (you can find them online or at the craft store (I used roughly 800 leaves)
– Krylon ColorMaster Paint + Primer – 25% More spray paint in Gloss Mambo Pink, Gloss Watermelon, Gloss Ballet Slipper, and Metallic Gold. (I used 1 can of each color)
– Floral wire
– Green covered floral stem wire
– Pliers
Instructions
Before beginning to spray paint, make sure to read the label for safety and application instructions. For you spray paint newbies, it’s important to spray outdoors or in a well-ventilated area!
Begin by laying out all your magnolia leaves outside on a covered surface like a tarp. I did this in batches of 30 – 40 leaves at a time so that I could leave space between the leaves when spraying them.
Spray paint the tips of them with the assorted Krylon colors. I liked a bit of the green showing through, so I only sprayed a portion of the leaves. Some were spray painted on the tips and some were painted on the stem end. There is no need to do an exact amount of each as part of the beauty of this garland is its freeform asymmetrical look. Once dry, you may need to go back for a second coat if you can still see the green through the painted portion. I used two coats of paint on my leaves. Let dry fully for a few hours.
Assembling the Backdrop
Then take your leaves and start to create bundles using the floral wire and floral stems.
To do this, wrap the wire around the leaves tethering them onto the stem. Move down and add more leaves at various angles until you have filled up the stem. Repeat to create 8-10 stems per color. You may need more or less stems, depending on the size of the garland you are making. My garland is approximately 7 feet high and I used about 600-800 leaves in my garland.
Once you have your stems created, unroll your chicken wire and attach it to your backdrop (arch, wall, etc) using zip ties or more floral wire. This will form your general arch shape, so be sure it is the correct size and dimensions. I made my chicken wire about 1′ wide and 7′ high and formed it into the arch shape when attaching it to my frame.
Next, use the floral wire (small green zip ties work too!) to attach the bundles of colorful magnolia leaves to the chicken wire.
Repeat with all your colors blending them into each other as you go to create a cascade of color. Continue filling out the garland as you go. Just make sure to cover all of the chicken wire so you don’t see it peeking out!
Once it was all up I used a few extra leaves to fill in any gaps. Then I hit a few of the leaves with a little extra paint to get the ombré look perfect. I love the gradual color fade the Krylon® Brand spray paint gives the magnolia leaves.
The best part about this DIY project is that you can completely customize the look. You can get the perfect look for your wedding by swapping out the colors of Krylon® Brand spray paint you use. Try white and gold with the green for a more traditional wedding look. Shades of orange and yellow will give a more traditional fall color palette. However you make it, one thing is for certain, you will have some amazing wedding ceremony photos! xo. Kara
