Wreath Making 101

     I was asked again to explain how to make a wreath and have it look "different" like mine. I recently made a wreath for a someone very special and it was simple enough that I thought it might be good for a tutorial. I wanted to wait until it reached her before showing pictures.

     Most of the wreaths I make for myself tend to have lots of "stuff" on them. Of course you can do that when you are matching your own decor. In this case, I was sending a wreath to someone and I had no idea what color scheme she used in her home. I had never shipped a wreath and I had no idea what shape it would be in when it arrived, so I took the "less is more" approach, thinking that anything I added might fall off or get broken as it bumped across the states.

     I started with a simple wreath and sprayed it with a dusting of "snow". It is important to fluff all the branches when you buy a plain wreath, they tend to be flattened when you buy them.

     For me, the secret is in the ribbon. I used 2 wired ribbons for this wreath. One is silver and gold, the other a simple silver. I put one ribbon on top of the other and made a large bow. You can learn step by step how to make a florist style bow here. I think many times you see people take a wreath and stick one bow at the bottom. I like my bows to be off center, slightly to the side. I also like to add more than one bow...I find it more interesting that way.

     After getting the bow in place, I like to add some "pretties". For this wreath, I kept it simple. A few pinecones, some sparkly leaves and berries.

     For the top of the wreath, another smaller bow and the streamers. The streamers are what I think give a wreath that professional look. Rather than just let the tails of the ribbon hang down, I like to weave them through the wreath. I add a drop of glue with the glue gun to hold each loop in place. I also cut my ribbon ends at a diagonal, some people like to notch the ribbon ends. Just a matter of taste I guess.

     I think it always improves the look of a wreath to have what I call "sticky-outy things" somewhere on the wreath. That is my own professional term. Tells you a lot about how professional I'm NOT. For this wreath, a few gold twigs wired together into 2 bunches are inserted from both sides of the larger bow.

     If you have something that ties in with your decor, or in this case something that is special to the recipient you can add it at the end. I chose a silver butterfly for my friend. Butterflies have a special meaning to her.

A closer look at the twigs coming out of the bow.

The finished piece. I like to hang them with the bows

off center, once again a personal choice.

This is one that is more ornate.

I made it a couple of years ago for inside the house.

This year I pulled it back out and hung it on the front door.

As you can see, it is almost completely covered with "stuff".

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I am joining Susan @ A Southern Daydreamer for Outdoor Wednesday.

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I'm also joining Kim @ Savvy Southern Style for her Boring to Better Party!