On any summer day in Russia, you can find children showing off their fanciful flower headdresses. Called venki (Russian for wreaths), the crowns can be made with just about any long-stemmed flowers that happen to be in bloom, as long as the stem is flexible and hard to break. Dandelions, daisies, Queen Anne's lace, poppies, and many grasses work well. For one crown (a venok), you'll need to gather about a dozen stems, each at least 8 inches long.
Materials
- Long-stemmed blooming wildflowers (we used wild mustard, ryegrass, statice, and waxflower)
Instructions
1. To start, hold your longest stem in your left hand. With your right hand, bend a second stem around the first as shown.
2. Loop the end of the second stem up and around itself, as shown, so it ends up parallel to the first stem.
3. Pinching these two stems together with your left hand, repeat the process with a third stem. This will anchor the second stem to the first. Continue adding stems in this manner until the venok is long enough to fit around your child's head, then weave or tie the two ends together.
Crafts
