How to Make a Barrel Topper!

These days, barrel tops are really fashionable. These arrangements are the ideal approach to accentuate striking florals at a wedding or other special occasion. I'll take you step-by-step through my barrel topper creation process today. And don't worry, even though it might appear like a UFO at first when it's all said and done; you'll have a striking statement piece for your event!

Make Your Base!

Creating a solid base is essential when constructing a barrel topper. I hot glued a 6"-8" foam half spherical to a 12"-14" thin wood round to build a platform that can easily be set on top of any type of barrel, transport, and evenly distribute the weight of the flowers and greenery.

Select Your Greenery!

When I am making an arrangement that calls for a large amount of foliage, I begin by "shopping" through my stash to choose it. I put everything that goes well together and complements my style together to accomplish this. They all work together, even though I don't always use them all—like with the gold bay leaves and white billy balls above.

One thing to keep in mind is that a project like this will require A LOT of vegetation. I used roughly twenty to twenty-five bunches of smaller leaf foliage and fillers.

Grab a Pedestal Table!

This metal pedestal table is my favorite for creating barrel toppers. I found it at a charity store! Its diameter of about 24" effectively replicates the way your foliage pieces will fall when arranged on an actual barrel.

To visualize how the fillers and greenery will fall or cascade while on a barrel, you can set your wood round on a large bowl if you don't have a barrel or pedestal table.

Add Your Greenery!

I use the grid pattern technique that many florists do instead of using a ton of hot glue to add my greenery and filler. Your stems will interlock inside the foam piece if you put your foliage in an alternating manner from the top, bottom, and top sides. You don't need to be concerned about them coming out throughout your event or when decorating your home because they will hold firm.

Start by dividing the longest foliage or filler into parts. This will assist in defining the borders of your arrangement when added to a couple of points on the bottom sides. In this step, you can decide how wide you wish to make the component.

Work on the grid pattern first. Start incorporating any ample, leafy vegetation you have into your foam. Insert from the top, top sides, and bottom edges of the foam so that your stems begin to crisscross inside it.

Maintain this design, but switch up the foliage to provide more texture.

To make sure the fillers and base greenery are dispersed equally throughout the arrangement, keep switching up the fillers and base greenery.

Keep Adding Greenery!

This is the moment to add any brightly colored or highly contrasted leaves once your base has begun to fill in.

Return to the original greeneries and continue adding them until there is no more noticeable foam peeking through.

Select and Dye Your Flowers!

After your flowers have been dyed and allowed to completely dry, stem them using a floral wire that is 18 gauge.

Add Your Flowers!

The flowers are hot glued into the foam because their wiring is smoother and thinner. Just trim the wire to the desired length (ideally, the wire should reach the wood round), attach the stem's bottom with hot glue, place it inside the foam, and repeat!

I began by arranging my most enormous flowers, cabbage roses and collations, in triangle shapes at different heights. You want to make sure the flowers are spaced out because this is a 360-degree sculpture, which means it will be seen from all directions.

I then included my Belles. These are the next most prominent flowers in the assortment, and they have an eye-catching core of brighter yellow color.

I want to start filling in any gaps and adding additional contrast to the piece at this point in the arrangement process. The peachy pink La Fleurs flawlessly complement the color narrative and fill in any gaps, while the blue flowers offer a really striking blast of color.

Because they were the most minor additions, the little peaches were added to the barrel, topping last. Fun fact: I usually add any spherical components only towards the conclusion of the project!

The Finished Piece!

There you have it, then! A lovely arrangement ready to be used as your home's décor on a pedestal table or showcased on a barrel for a wedding.