Easy to Make Holiday Wreath

I love making wreaths, not that I’m great at it, but I love a pretty wreath. It’s like an art form and though the structure is simple, a round base with some kind of ornamentation for accent, it seems the possibilities are endless. And fun. So I look forward to making a new one when I can.

But this year has been, oh slightly busier than the normal holiday swirl. No surprise with a little thing like a book launch thrown into the season. I thought I might have to find a store-bought one. Ouch, hurts to write that.

I found a few I liked and they all had a price tag I didn’t. So here’s what I did:

I grabbed a pine base, ½ price at Hobby Lobby $10 (There may be cheaper ones out there but this one does have a double wire, makes for a fuller-looking wreath. And as my youngest daughter mentioned while we were comparing ‘if it’s too skimpy, it sort of ruins the door.’ Note taken.)They had pre-formed Christmas floral bunches. The ones I chose had a gold ornament, some frosted pine and white glittery spray—I’m not even pretending to use official descriptions here.From another retailer (Okay Wal-Mart) I found clip on ornaments. Where have these been all my life? I picked up three gold poinsettias and three pine cone clusters. No glue stick, string or floral ties needed. Just clip onto the pine branches like you would the tree, and voila! You have yourself a decorated wreath ready for the door.

I made this in less the twenty minutes for under twenty dollars. Now that’s making spirits bright!

Of course, then I installed it on the door and wondered if it needed a ribbon bow. I’m still wondering. Mainly because I haven’t had a spare minute to tie one on and decide. If I do I’ll let you know.

Until then, this is me wishing you a very merry holiday and hoping all of your creative dreams come true!

Fall Wreath Non How To - Repost

A Fall Wreath Non-How-To 

This is a re-post in honor of the first day of autumn. 

Enjoy!

I could probably come up with a better post title, but it's late and the heat wilted me today. So I went for the straight-forward approach, tell it like it is. 

First: The "Non" How To Make a Wreath that doesn't cost $50.

Why is it a Non-How-To?

Because I am NOT an expert. This is my first attempt at making a wreath. I don't even call my self crafty, unless we're talking about hiding chocolate. But I wanted a fall wreath and one that didn't cost more than a trip to see real foliage. So this is what I did. And if you are brave enough to copy my non-expert craftiness, please send me a picture -- I'd love to see new and improved versions of my beginner's luck. 

Straw wreath - a couple of dollars at WalMart

One bunch of fall foliage flowers and leaves - $5 - conveniently next to the wreaths

One roll of burlap ribbon - $5, maybe a little more

One package of wreath making pins - totally forget how much but they were also right next to the wreath bases. 

And heavy duty wire cutters. I borrowed a pair from the kindest neighbor on the planet. If you don't own any, you will have to use different flowers that don't require cutting.

I clipped the flowers and leaves from the bunch that I wanted to use. I removed the plastic from the straw wreath. A lot of straw went flying. Probably could have made the wreath in a barn instead of on my table, but that's hindsight for you. One note of caution (this is code for how I almost ruined the entire project): don't cut the twine that is responsible for keeping your straw wreath base in tact. It's not pretty. 

I chose to wrap the burlap ribbon around the entire wreath (mostly to help secure the section I cut loose--see above caution) - but if you want to conserve ribbon, you could wrap the exposed side only-(this is a personal choice somewhere in the realm of how to organize your sock drawer--at the end of the day you are the only one who will know or care :)

Secure the flowers with the extra long looking wreath pins as you see fit. That's right, I don't have a flower placing pattern for you to follow. This feels like stating the obvious, but I don't have any flower-arranging credentials so you are better off figuring out this step on your own. 

Tie or create a bow with the burlap ribbon. 

Hang on your door. Pretend it isn't 100+ degrees and enjoy!

**

Written in the fall of 2011 in AZ while reminiscing about the fall seasons of my little growing-up years in MA.

Hand Picked Fun

I don’t know what happened to my bathing suit

Summer up and left                                                                                       

Mom moved the sweaters

From my big sister’s drawer

To mine

And the sun inched west a little sooner each day

Taking all the fun with him

Until we piled into the maroon station wagon

And drove north

Long enough for us to wonder if Dad got lost

We found the trees. Green leaves gone to yellow and orange.

Did the colors bring the cool air?

I thought so, but they told me it was the other way around.

Rows and rows of heavy laden trees.

We picked for hours, climbing, stretching

Dropping, joking

With cold noses and fingers

We filled our bags and bushels full of red, ripe apples.

And the country store had heated, fresh pressed cider.

One sip and my brother laughed at my eyes

Popping from the burst of flavor

Sweet and spicy

And warm.

Like those apples had figured out a way

To store all the rays of summer sunshine.

Just for me.

Tamara Passey