Wreath Making

There are two reasons why I tend to opt for the DIY option in nearly every scenario. The first, but not the most significant is that I am cheap. Or rather that I love a cheap thrill. I adore finding things for less than they normally sell for. The hunt is so much fun for me and when I find what I am looking for, whooooo weeee, I just about get a high from it. The other is that I am really picky about how I want things to look. I do not have an amazingly decorated house with perfect pillows and smartly adorned shelves but when I decide I need something for the house, I get in my mind what I want before I start looking and then nothing ever fits the bill. Both cases I think my husband would call a disease. Although he is pretty happy that I like cheap stuff.

When it comes to plants, I am a perennial person. Annuals, while pretty, are just a waste of money in my book. But then again I live in the NE and when it comes time to planting spring flowers I never really know when it is safe to put those pretty little pansies in the ground. It could just as easily snow in June and kill them all so you see my problem. Anyway, the same goes for seasonal decorating at holiday time. I hate spending tons of money on stuff that is just going to die. With one exception. I have to say, I don't mind dropping some cash on a Christmas tree. A good one. From a farm. That won't be dead by December 25th. This year we were not able to get to our farm before they sold out and had to resort to our local garden center and we have had unspeakable horrors with this tree. After some therapy I might dive into it here on PC.

As for a wreath, I like mine not so plain but not overly done and tacky. I don't want a gazillion silver balls on it or branches sticking out in every direction. I want something to look cute and Christmassy without being totally over tone. So last year I got together with a bunch of friends and we made our own wreaths. A friend ran down to a local floral wholesaler and bought tons of materials and then one evening with wine and desserts we gathered in her garage to make wreaths together. It was lovely and festive and you all should try it.

Last April January when it was time to undecorate, I tossed the wreath but saved all the elements I made. I am so happy I did that because this year I was able to make the wreath just how I wanted it in about 15 minutes. My poor husband saw me pulling out all the stuff about 25 minutes before we were supposed to leave the house and he was all are you really going to start that now!?! And of course I was totally NOT smug when I was done a full 10 minutes before we had to leave!

So what is in my arsenal for decorating a wreath? First off, a nice big red bow. a few red and ivory ornaments, a few small pieces of silver to catch the light, little red berries, and some seashells to represent our area. And this year, I grabbed some fresh eucalyptus at the garden center to add for some lighter green contrast.

Really you can use anything you want that you can either twist with wire or glue with a gun onto one of these green floral picks.These guys have wire attached so you can just wrap the wire around your item and then shove it into a tight spot in your wreath.

So start with a plain wreath. This one was $17 at my garden center and is 20" wide.

 

Tie a bow how you like.

 

Then wrap the wire on a pick around the back.

 

Attach by wire or glue all the little bobbles you want to include in your wreath. This year I grabbed some fresh Eucalyptus.

 

 

I put the bow on first and then the eucalyptus. I used all the bobbles on picks to hold down the eucalyptus. We live in a pretty windy area so I have to really pin it all down well so it doesn't fly off the wreath.

Have you made a nice wreath for any part of the year? I'd love to see so leave a link in the comments if you have one!