Christmas Wreath

     




     So I've decided recently that I love making wreaths. They're so easy to make and they make such a huge impact in a room, on a door or wherever you decide to put them. With Christmas just around the corner, I decided I better get on my wreath making this year so I have at least a few weeks to enjoy it. This is the final product...and this is how it all started...

    My dad asked if I would come with him to Michaels craft store since he and my mom were on a mission to figure out how to take their little red berry wreath and somehow make it larger by adding garland or something crafty to it. Needless to say, I convinced him otherwise when we got there and saw a beautiful huge silver/garland wreath (that cost $345!!). But wait...it was on sale for only $145. What a deal. The problem was, I could have made it myself for a fraction of the price. So that's exactly what I did.

     We found a 34inch wide garland wreath base while there and it was $35..but on sale for 50% off...THEN they also let me use my Michaels coupon (amazing)..so this huge wreath base cost me only $10 plus tax. I love a good deal. I then headed over to Dollarama and bought a bunch of silver balls (various sizes), silver berries, silver and white ribbon, etc. I think I spent about $20 total there. My parents gave me full wreath control, so with Mya running up and down the aisles, pulling everything and anything off of the shelves, I bought what I liked and headed home.

    

     Here is how I made it:

1) I laid out my beautifully tacky table cloth (which I always use for crafting to protect my dining room table) and laid out all of my decorations infront of me. There were even more decorations than pictured here...at least 30 silver balls, 2 spools of ribbon, 3 silver sparkly leaf thingy's (pictured here), 2 sticks of silver berries, 2 sticks of white berries (that I ended up cutting so that there were small bunches of white berries spread out around the wreath) and 3 little silver butterflies. 

2) Then you have to start fluffing up the garland..pull it all out so it's nice and full. I then put little metal hooks on each of the silver balls and started placing all of the largest decorations on the wreath (spacing them out appropriately around the wreath) and tucking the hooks around the garland so you couldn't see them. I also wove the silver leaves and berries in between the garland, spacing them out around the entire wreath.

3) Then you start placing all of the smaller decorations in between the larger ones so it's nice and full.

4) I made the bow using 2 spools of ribbon (one for the actual bow, and one for the strands hanging down). So ultimately it looks like one huge bow, but really it's two pieces attached together. In order to make the bow part, I just started making large loops and I stapled them together. I then stapled the actual bow to the garland so it wouldn't move. Then I just attached the second spool of ribbon to the garland under the bow and started making large loops (twisting them through the garland) draping them down the wreath.

5) I put the wreath up on the wall to finish placing the last of the decorations on it since you can always see where the holes or gaps are that way and you can add a ball or two wherever need be. And after cleaning up the sparkles for weeks to come, you're done! All for about $30 (instead of $345). You could even make a cheaper version by making your wreath smaller.

   So, after finishing my parents wreath, I decided I loved it so much that I wanted one for my own house. So I made one for us as well. Here it is hanging on my living room wall.

    Now I just have to figure out where to store this huge thing when Christmas is over!