• Flower leis can be made all one color, or in multiple colors.pineapple and lei image by William Berry from Fotolia.com
  
  Travellers visiting the Hawaiian islands are greeted with a warm welcome and a flower lei. These colorful necklace-like decorations are made by stringing flowers together, referred to as the kui method and often associated with the feminine version of the lei. Men receive ti-leaf leis, which are made using a weaving technique.
  
  

Real Floral Leis

• Natural flowers used to make these necklaces are often incorporated in two different ways. By stringing your flowers through the center of the stem, you will use less flowers and it will also be spaced apart by the size of the flower. Stringing the flowers through the stem side will require more flowers and the spacing will be tighter. However, the result will be a fuller floral lei. You can use colorful floss or fine cotton string or twine as your stringing material as well as a stringing needle.
  
  

Haku Leis

• These floral leis, referred to as haku leis, are made into crowns which are placed on the head. You can use several small blossoms in a repeating color pattern and add a large blooming flower to each iteration. You can also use narrow leaves woven into a simple braid. If you are making haku leis from natural flowers for a Hawaiian-themed party, test the flowers by stringing a few and allowing them to sit for several hours. This will allow you to see if the blossoms or chosen flowers begin to wilt or close once removed from water.
  
  

Themed Leis

• You can create theme-driven leis with other objects. For example, for a beach party, you can make ocean-inspired leis from seashells, starfish and wood beads from your local trim and fabric store. Although these projects don't incorporate fresh flowers, they make a long-lasting gift which will bring back vivid memories for your guests. You can also tie a colorful ribbon at the ends of your string to tie it aournd your neck.