Mother Nature Costume: Natural Crown DIY
As Halloween approaches, the world of costume possibilities unfolds before us, offering a chance to embrace our favorite aesthetics and characters. If you are captivated by the whimsical allure of the cottagecore aesthetic and the mystical essence of nature, then you will absolutely love crafting your own Mother Nature Crown. This DIY project will not only bring enchanting elements to your cosplay, but it will also connect you with the natural world around you in a unique and creative way.
Who is Mother Nature?
Mother Nature is a conceptual personification of nature that has been around for thousands of years. The first known recorded mention of Mother Nature comes from Ancient Greece, where she is called Ma-ka, or “Mother Gaia,” the mother of all the Gods and Goddesses. However, mentions of some sort of earth mother figure can be found in almost all ancient religions and spirituality, giving humans a personified experience and reasoning during intense weather or unexplained natural events.
The Concept:
Because she is a timeless character across human history, there are several interpretations of what Mother Nature might look like if she were truly a person. This is a fun way to express creativity, whether it be in the form of painting or costumery.
We wanted to create a look for Mother Nature that was incredibly natural feeling, as if she had literally grown out of the forest and walked free. Of course, she needed a crown! This was one of the easiest ways to incorporate natural elements, especially if you are on a time crunch or a budget. I decided to use clothing pieces that I already had to make the costume more achievable.
Supplies:
To make this natural moss and dried flower crown, you will need some supplies. These can easily be swapped for other materials that you might have on hand, but this is what we found worked best for us to create this nature crown!
Flexible Base. We used willow tree branches to weave together the base of the crown. You can use any flexible green branches to do this! If you do not have access to natural branches, you can use floral wire or pipe cleaners, though pipe cleaners cannot hold a lot of weight.
Foliage. The dried florals we used were foraged on our farm. You don’t have to have the world’s most beautiful garden to find interesting dried floral elements! You don’t even have to have a yard. Wander around and look for anything that is visually interesting like seed pods, twisted branches, moss, and dried flower heads. The best time of year to find dried florals is in the late autumn months, or you can start collecting fresh things and drying them at home, which can take a couple of weeks.
Decorative Elements. The decorative elements in this crown is artwork that we created, though you can easily replace this with your own artwork or decorative hat-making pieces like little birds or butterflies. These can easily be found in the floral or hat-making section of your local craft store. If you would like to print the illustrations in our photos, you can download them by joining our subscription Cozy Kitchen Companions over at Under A Tin Roof!
Adhesive. For this project, I highly suggest using a hot glue gun to secure the items to the crown without them falling off. Floral tape or thin floral wire can also aid in attaching items to the crown.
How to Make the Crown:
Step One: First, measure out the size of your head. With your chosen base material, whether you are using branches or wire, cut enough length to fit around the entirety of your head comfortably. Then, begin weaving the branches together. I have found that using at least 3 to 5 branches woven together works best for a crown that can support the weight of added natural elements. This amount also helps makes the crown feel more secure. To hold the base together, wrap floral wire around the ends and then weave them in together, snipping off any excess.
Step Two: Begin weaving in your foliage of choice. As you can see we went with a more “green witch” theme for this crown, basing a lot of the color on some moss that we found. Most of the flowers in the garden had died back at this point, so we had a lot of golden hues to work with. We used small twigs to create the height of crown, simply tucking them into the woven base. If you choose to do this, you may want to add some felt to the inside of the crown’s base so that the branches are not poking you in the head!
Step Three: As you add the foliage, you can secure pieces in more snuggly by hot gluing them or simply using some floral tape or floral wire. This is truly a unique project, so however you decide to construct your crown is up to you!
Costume Sources:
For the rest of the costume, I decided to use some pieces from my wardrobe rather than construct a full costume. This proved to be a wonderful idea, as I had this lovely mustard yellow linen dress that really brought the autumnal look together. Because it’s close to Halloween, it felt only right to showcase Mother Nature in her fall tones, but you could easily make her a Summer or Winter Mother Nature!
I used the Beth Oversized Dress in Ochre from Little Women Atelier. You can use my code UNDERATINROOF for 10% off your first purchase!
The corset is the Ribbonwork Bouquet Corset from Ann.Tique.
For makeup, I wanted to look like a forest fairy or nymph, so I decided to go with some deep browns and reds to play on my hair color and eye color.
The Final Look:
Overall, I think this makes a pretty easy and fun cosplay for a Rennaisance faire or Halloween costume. I believe we put the crown together in a day and then used other elements to pull the final look together. You could easily make this costume idea more intricate or simple, it’s really up to you! I love when I can build a costume off of the clothes that I already have or even from the thrift store rather than sewing something new. Let me know if you decide to make your own Mother Nature Crown!
xoxo Kayla
