Design trends turn towards subtle background hues with bold accent color.

Current flower trends endeavor to integrate flowers into everyday life. Use flower color and style to create moods—stark white lilies in an earth-toned room, cheery gerbera daisies against navy or black.

If you do accessorize with flowers, choose solid or warm colors as a base to fully accent your natural jewelry!

The Science of Nature Jewelry

As a child, I regularly took hikes through the woods of upstate New York with my mother. Mom's quite a naturalist and would teach me the names of all the wildflowers, trees and foliage. Then on summer nights, we would look through the telescope at the Milky Way, and Mom would point out all of the constellations, telling the names and stories behind them.

I was sixteen before I realized not everyone knew all the names of wildflowers or constellations by heart. My eyes were opened to the privilege of having a mother who knew, who cared, and who took the time to teach.

But that realization didn't prepare me for my recent surprise. I just discovered that not everyone knows how to make a daisy chain! In my mind, learning how to make flower jewelry was a natural part of childhood, like learning to jump rope or ride a bike. And aside from any natural upbringing, I assumed the daisy chain-making was a general rite of passage.

I've been asking around the office, and I've found a common misconception is that daisy chains are a series of flowers tied together. After trying to educate the Flowerbud staff—drawing diagrams on chalkboards and trying to pantomime the process with my hands—I decided to circulate a short list of instructions around the office.

Here it is:

1. CHOOSE YOUR FLOWER

Daisies are obviously the flower of choice, but pansies work very well, as do poppies and buttercups. I'd recommend a single-headed flower. Wild clover flowers work in a pinch, but I wouldn't recommend dandelions or any other milky-stalked weed. My mother also warns against using any endangered wildflower...those would vary from region to region.

Be sure to pick the flower close to the root so you have plenty of stem to work with.

2. SPLIT THE STALK

From all my childhood experience, I learned that the fingernail was typically the most available tool. So with a thumb or a small knife, split the stalk about 1/2 inch (I guess this is approximately the size of a child's fingernail).

Now here is where you gage your materials, efforts and the effect you're trying to create. For a chain that's dense in flowers, as in a fairy crown, split the stalk close to the blossom. For a longer chain, like a necklace, split the stalk closer to the root. Continue this process until your chain is the length you need.

3. THREAD THE STEM

The last step is simply to thread the stem through the slit you've created. When you are ready to finish the chain, make a slit that is about twice as long as the others and fit the entire head of your first flower through it, then pull gently to tighten.

I personally prefer the fairy crowns and necklaces. A word of caution for the bracelet and anklet makers—you'll probably need a partner to secure the final link in the chain (although a long chain doubled around the wrist can be quite effective).

Some other tips...don't limit yourself to monochromatic jewelry if you have multiple colors at your disposal, though I'd recommend a pause for planning (two purples, one yellow, two purples, one yellow). And if you choose to use larger flowers like glads or roses, you can always string them together on twine for a lovely lei!

- by Alice Hayes, President