How to Make a Graveside Saddle Floral Arrangement

Honoring loved ones with a handmade floral arrangement is a beautiful way to keep their memory alive. Today, I’m sharing a step-by-step tutorial on how to make a graveside saddle. This design sits securely on top of a gravestone and can be customized with flowers, greenery, and ribbon to reflect your loved one’s personality and favorite colors.

With just a few supplies and a bit of layering, you can create a professional-looking arrangement that brings beauty and comfort to a special resting place.

Supplies You’ll Need

• Graveside saddle frame (available at Hobby Lobby, Walmart, and most craft stores)
• Styrofoam block (already attached to the saddle frame)
• Pick machine (or floral picks and floral tape as an alternative)
• Hot glue (use a glue pot or electric skillet for efficiency)
• Floral greenery – fern leaves or other long foliage stems
• Mixed floral bushes – choose colors and blooms that complement each other
• Ribbon – wired ribbon works best for bows
• Bow-making tool – such as the Bowdabra or Pro Bow The Hand
• Wire – 30″ floral wire for securing bows
• Wooden dowels or skewers – to attach the bow securely
• Wire cutters & scissors

Step 1: Prepare the Saddle Base

Start with your graveside saddle frame. If the frame arms stick out, bend them inward slightly so the saddle sits comfortably on your work surface while you build. This makes it easier to add greenery and flowers at the right angles.

Insert your styrofoam block securely into the center of the frame. This is where you’ll anchor all your greenery, flowers, and ribbon.

Step 2: Add Greenery

Greenery creates the foundation for your arrangement. Using your pick machine, add a steel pick to each stem of fern or foliage. If you don’t have a pick machine, simply attach stems to wooden floral picks with floral tape.

Dip each stem lightly into hot glue and insert it into the styrofoam, angling the greenery downward to drape over the edges of the saddle. Work around the entire base, placing stems about an inch apart. Once the first layer is complete, add a second layer by inserting greenery slightly higher and in between the first row.

This layering gives fullness and dimension, ensuring the styrofoam is well covered before you add flowers.

Step 3: Create a Bow

The bow is the focal point of the arrangement. Cut a 30″ piece of wire to secure your bow. Using your bow maker, create loops about 5″ wide, twisting the ribbon between each loop to keep the right side facing forward. Make three loops on each side, then continue with slightly smaller 4″ loops.

Finish with a small center loop (the “button” of the bow) and secure it tightly with your floral wire. Add two 20″ ribbon tails for extra flow.

Fluff the bow using a fluff box or by hand, spreading out the loops so it looks full and balanced.

Step 4: Attach the Bow

Attach the bow to a wooden dowel or skewer with floral wire, adding hot glue for extra security. Insert the dowel into the center of your arrangement, pushing it deep enough to be stable but not so high that it looks disconnected. Twist the wire around the dowel to keep it in place.

Spread out the ribbon tails so they flow naturally through the greenery.

Step 5: Add Flowers

Cut apart your floral bushes so each stem has leaves close to the bloom. This makes the arrangement look fuller. Vary the stem lengths, some shorter for the front and sides, some longer for the back and top.

Dip each stem in hot glue and insert it into the styrofoam at an angle, working your way around the bow. Keep a balanced look by alternating colors and sizes. Place some blooms close to the bow so it looks like part of the design, not a separate element.

Step 6: Layer and Fill

Continue adding flowers until the arrangement looks full and no styrofoam is visible. Use smaller filler flowers or delicate white blossoms to soften edges and break up blocks of color.

If you like, cut 22″ strips of ribbon, form loops, and attach them to picks. Insert these smaller ribbon loops around the saddle to echo your main bow and give extra texture.

Step back frequently to check balance from all angles; remember, the saddle will be viewed from all sides when placed on the gravestone.

Step 7: Final Touches

Adjust leaves and ribbon tails, fluffing and bending wired stems as needed for a natural look. Make sure everything is securely glued and wired since the arrangement will be outdoors in wind and rain.

Once complete, your graveside saddle will be ready to honor your loved one with beauty and care.

Why Make a DIY Graveside Saddle?

• Personalization – You can select colors, flowers, and ribbon that hold special meaning.
• Cost-effective – Creating one yourself saves money compared to store-bought arrangements.
• Therapeutic – The act of making something by hand can bring comfort while honoring memories.

Final Thoughts

With just a few basic supplies and some layering techniques, you can create a graveside saddle floral arrangement that’s both meaningful and beautiful. Remember, there’s no “right” or “wrong” way; make it full or simple, colorful or muted, depending on what best reflects your loved one.

Crafting something handmade is not just about flowers; it’s about love, remembrance, and connection.