Well here’s something new on the bloggy…a wreath! I’ve known for a while that it was inevitable. It’s kind of almost required to make wreaths when you blog. I don’t know. Apparently you guys love them a lot. Look around Pinterest and you’ll find wreaths for every season, holiday, occasion and day of the week. #exaggerating #notreally
* pin me *
But when lovely Angie at Echoes of Laughter put out a call for fall wreath posts I figured it was my chance to be in good company and finally make my first wreath. So if you’re making your first fall wreath you’re in the right place. And if you’re already a pro…please be kind, and I’d appreciate your help in the comments!
* hangin’ in the kitchen *
So, if you’re like me, there are three things holding you back from wreath-making: first that it can be an expensive process; second, you don’t know how; and third…storage! Let me give you 3 lessons on how I worked around all these issues…
* find the kitchen stuff *
1. It Doesn’t Have to be Expensive:
A wreath doesn’t have to be expensive if you repurpose and shop your home. Everyone probably has a cooling rack and wooden spoons in their kitchen. How about an old picture frame and burlap? Or a coat hanger and paper! Hunt around and see what you can find.
* feeling inspired, right? *
Then shop your gift-wrapping and scrapbooking and other crafty supplies to find a few embellishments to add. I wrote here about what kinds of supplies I like to keep stashed at home. Everything here was from my home, the dollar store or the dollar bins at Michael’s. If you do shop Michael’s be sure to download their app here or here to your phone so you always have the current coupons with you.
2. How To Make a Wreath Using Rules of Composition:
Rule of Thirds A simple formula is to criss-cross a couple of items at around 4:00-5:00 on your wreath shape and tie a nice-sized bow there too. Then add just a couple of embellishments. Main decor piece, bow, embellishment. Three things. This also follows the rule of thirds if you’re a photographer like me. Three is always a good number for composition.
Balance and Repeat Then it’s nice to have just something little on the opposite side of the wreath form at about 10:00-11:00 o’clock. The easiest thing is just to repeat what you have on the other side in a smaller version.
Less is More It was Coco Chanel who said “ I always take off one piece of jewellery before I leave the house.” If it’s not seeming quite right, try removing one piece from the wreath before you start adding more. I bought the adorable mini mason jars at the dollar store, thinking I would add them to this wreath, and also played around with some cinnamon sticks. But in the end it wasn’t really working so I left them off, and that’s okay!
This isn’t the only way to do it of course, but following the rules is a good starting place, and your creativity can take over from there!
* i think it’s done *
3. If Storage is an Issue:
Well. Storage is always an issue. So I’ll let you in on a little secret. If you put your wreath together with wire and hot glue, weave and tie things together with ribbon… you can dis-assemble it when it’s time to take it down. I actually used twist-ties to attach the wooden spoons to the cooling rack then secured them with the ribbon, and the ribbon covers up the twist-ties. The chipboard letters are hot-glued on (most surfaces can have hot glue carefully peeled away with no damage!) and the silk flowers are just tucked into the ribbon. So when fall is over the whole thing can be undone and put back where it came from. If you’re hooked on wreath-making, you can re-use your form and add new embellishments for the next season.
* all in the details *
So what do you think? Please tell me you also look around with the constant thought “I wonder what I could make with that?”. You do, right? And this baby will be coming down right in time for Christmas baking.
* fall kitchen wreath *
And please click over to the rest of these talented ladies’ posts and you’ll see what I mean about wreath making being serious blogger stuff! Prepare to be wowed…
Kitchen
Wreath from Personally Andrea (you are here!)
Thanks for hanging out and crafting with me. See you next time!