this year i've become very festive...more so than the past few years. i decided to make my very first christmas wreath. i figured it should tie into my christmas tree somewhat so decided to make a felt/fabric wreath in the same colours as the tree.
i purchased a foam wreath from spotlight the other day for a small fortune (i think $7 is alot for a plain old foam wreath...if i'd known the price before i go to the checkout i probably wouldnt still be doing this tutorial!!). you'll also need a range of felt/fabric in different patterns but similar colourings, a hot glue gun and some wool/ribbon/left over fabric.
before i started, i checked out the internet for inspiration, couldn't find anything that really took my fancy so sat down and checked out some mags and drew some ideas (tv in front of me and food is always necessary)....
once i'd decided upon my design, i gathered my supplies: hot glue gun, foam/straw wreath and fabric in different patterns but complementary colours (i used lots of scraps for mine). oh and some wool /ribbon to hang it with.
The How to:
measure how long your fabric has to be wrapping a piece around and meeting it at the back of the wreath. the width depends on how much of that fabric you want to see. cut a scallop shape on one length of the fabric. (i also found it easier to fold the fabric in half and then cut...less work!)
Now draw a line with the hot glue gun from the centre of the ring towards the outside. stick some fabric down. continue in this manner....making sure you glue towards the flat side each time. do this all the way around until you get back to the start.
(sorry about the not great photos...and the bad english........i was doing this on the couch watching tv..... the best kind of craft activity to do is the one where i can do it on the couch!)
Now you will need to flip your wreath over and glue down the back of all the fabric. now depending on how precise you were before with measuring the lengths of the fabric, decides how much work you have to do now. i clearly wasn't too careful, but it doesn't take that long. all you do is glue down the fabric on the back.
now if you're not like me (which is a bit slap happy), you could make sure all the ends meet up properly, or get a piece of ribbon or another bit of fabric and use that to cover up all the messiness at the back. me, i couldn't be bothered...i just wanted to get it up (and the chances that i'll want to rip it all off and reuse the wreath next year is highly likely, so less glue/fabric now, means less work later!).
to hang it up, i had a few brilliant ideas, but they required getting sequins and other bits and pieces from spotlight. again i couldn't be bothered, so grabbed some wool and plaited it. secured it to the wreath and attached it to the fly screen....
now i have no idea how this will hold up when we get gale force winds and cyclones, but i did add a couple of highly sofisticated safety measures...... i opened a paper clip (or you could use wire if you had some in the house), cut it in half and poked the ends through the fly screen and into the foam to hold it for a bit. (as i type this now it looks a lot worse and lazy than i felt making it yesterday!). i also poked the woolen ends over between the fly screen and the metal part, then tied it with a bit of string. (i should stop typing...this is sounding dodgier and dodgier by the minute!!)
and that's it. this does sound like a dodgy tutorial, but really i am showing you that it can be made at home without the need for huge amounts of materials or that you can improvise if it's pouring with rain (for the last 3 days may i add) and you can't stand the thought of going outside and getting soaked from the quick dash from the door to the car : )
i think it looks cute...it looks slightly less cute from the back, but meh the fly screen hides most of it. and now because in queensland we do have fly screens i put the wreath on the fly screen and not on the door because it would get squished between the door and the fly screen and because you have to keep the fly screen closed. it doesn't look as pretty and well presented as this one below, but it looks pretty but the house won't be getting swamped with bugs : )
i also love this wreath above, but it called for acorns, which we don't have.
i did think i could substitute almonds , but that would make for an expensive wreath.
i gave up on the idea of this wreath then and went with the one i did.
i should have kept looking further in the tutorial for the acorn wreath, as there is one made with kidney beans.
poo it.
oh well, that still would have meant a trip to the shops.
have a go at this easy peasy wreath, made from bits and bobs at home.
tara louise.
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