Wreath of the month: April

I think I was overly ambitious when I started my wreath of the month project.  I might have had better luck if I just chose to make a wreath each season instead.  So in compromise I've decided to tweak my project a bit to become a wreath every other month instead.  And then next year I'll complete the missing months as needed.  Whew. 

So in honor of Easter and all things spring this month, I chose to make an egg wreath.  Coincidentally it also was the easiest wreath I've made so far and all I needed were some pastel eggs (nicely speckled from Joann's), a grapevine wreath, and a hot glue gun.  My kind of project.

The breakdown:

• Grapevine wreath: $3 (at Joanns)
• 2 boxes of speckled pastel eggs: $8 (50% on sale at Joanns and well worth it)
• Hot glue gun and glue sticks: free
• Total cost: $11
• Total time: 10 min to make, 24 days to gather up the resolve to actually get the materials and get started

The final product:

Oh and here is where the wreaths I make usually hang--by the back door that leads into the garage.  That way we get to admire it each time we leave the house!

Wreath of the month: February

Happy last day of February! I had this month's wreath up by Valentine's Day but just never got an opportunity to take pictures of it, so here you have it on the last day of February!

In keeping with a Valentine's Day theme, I wrapped a heart shaped styrofoam wreath with grey yarn, then cut out and stitched together a felt heart, stuffing it with cotton balls. Then the wreath was hung from a red and white ribbon that took some maneuvering to get it wrapped around and fairly straight.

The breakdown:

• Heart wreath form: $2 (used another 50% coupon at Michaels!)
• Grey yarn: free (leftover from another project)
• Red felt, thread and ribbon: free (leftover from other projects as well as years of hoarding)
• Total cost: $2
• Total time: 1.5 hours (but once again spread out over several intervals, making it seem more laborious than it really was)

Closeup of the final product:


And a little stitching on the back of the heart:

Wreath of the month: January

Here's my first wreath of the year in keeping with my "a wreath a month" goal. One down, eleven to go!

January's wreath was inspired by bleubirdvintage's pom pom wreath. I love the colors she used--so bright and fun. Her step by step directions are great too for a beginner.

Her version:


I remember making these pom poms back in the day and thought they looked warm and fuzzy and perfect for a winter wreath. I wanted to go with a neutral color and decided to reuse the yarn from my Christmas wreath project since that meant I didn't have to go back to the craft store. Hey my laziness and fear of the craft store = reusing resources = saving the world. One pom pom at a time.

So a side note about these little pom poms. My fingers still hurt from making these little suckers. The first few are fun, even rewarding, but then you break your first pair of scissors cutting these little pieces of yarn and then you get a bruise on your thumb and you start sneezing from the yarn dust and it all goes downhill from there. I was so relieved when I ran out of yarn.

To begin, I used a foam wreath form (again) and wrapped it with some scrap linen I had lying around (really I did--I'm shocked too). I then proceeded to tie all the pom poms on, arranging as I went. Finally, I had them all tied on and paused to admire my work. I tilted my head to look at it, and then tilted it the other way. And no matter which way I looked at it, it sorta looked like sea urchins on a wreath. So I then did what I could to remedy the situation, a familiar and effective strategy I turn to whenever I need a little "flair". I put another bird on it. This one was found at the Citywide Garage sale (good golly I mention them a lot, you'd think they pay me for this or something).

The breakdown:
Wreath form: $3.99
Yarn: free
Little bird: $1
Total cost: $4.99
Total time: 4-5 hours (mostly making the pom poms while we caught up on season 5 of Lost)

The final product:





It's grown on me since we've put it up. The little bird helps of course.

Oh and I was able to use the leftover pom poms I had to make a little decoration for my table. I just glued them to some sticks and set them in my favorite vase we bought from Bison Home in Melbourne. Perfect for days when I don't have fresh flowers to adorn my kitchen table.

Look I actually made something!

I am proud of my first wreath project here for many reasons. (1) Because I actually braved the craft store to get supplies (2) Because I didn't give up or get distracted and wander away and actually completed this wreath. And (3)because I actually took a picture of it. I've realized that one of my biggest challenges will be pictures for this blog. Words I've got, pictures are a bit trickier to attain.

Anyways, I was inspired to make this wreath by a post on designsponge, one of my favorite blogs. The original instructions called for some sort of twine/rope and to use Scotch Brite sponges and those crinkle scissors to give the leaves texture.



After two failed attempts to remember to pick up Scotch Brite at Target, I went with felt instead. I also got very overwhelmed at Michaels (craft store) and decided to go with yarn instead of the twine. I liked the way it turned out but note to self: when wrapping wreath forms, go with larger/wider yarn--this thing took forever to cover! The felt leaves I could've been more careful about cutting but at that point (Dec 23) I was already out of time to even display the wreath. B and I saw the little blue bird at Michaels and couldn't resist. Yes I am that crazy bird lady.

Here's the breakdown:
Wreath form: $3.99
Yarn: $2.50
Felt: $2.00
Little blue bird: $1.99
Total cost: $10.48 before tax
Total time: 1.5 hrs (but spaced out with many internet breaks)

Closeup of finished project:



Feeling somewhat ambitious after this, I've decided to try to make one wreath a month for the next year. I hope I haven't peaked too early.