Autumn Wreath Tutorial

For many years, in autumn, I have hung a black basket on the front door filled with a small arrangement of earthy colored mums and a orange and black checked bow. I decided I wanted something a little different this year. I am a firm believer that before you go buy something new, "shop your stuff". Translation: look around at what you already own. I am a crafter and that means that sometimes I grab stuff on super cheap sale even though I have no immediate plans for it or I hang onto stuff for years just in case I need it down the road. Such was the case with this sad little twig wreath. Notice the bald spot? Hmmm....

I pulled piece of styrofoam from my stash and covered it with Spanish moss.

To attach the moss to the foam I used these little pins. You can find them in the craft store in the flower arranging section.

A 50% Michael's coupon helped me purchase two stems of fake flowers; one hydrangea and one a daisy looking thing-a-ma-jig. The hydrangea had six blooms on it so I used my wire cutters to selectively cut them apart leaving some stem on each. I also cut separate stems for the leaves. I did the same thing to the daisy flowers.

Arrangements work better when you use uneven numbers. I don't know the theory behind it but I learned it a long time ago when I worked in a florist's shop in Denver and it works. So, with that in mind, I placed three hydrangea blooms in a isosceles triangle (an imperfect triangle).

Next I put in the daisy things and then the leaves.

I made a bow of sorts from a piece of burlap "ribbon" I had used from another project a looonnnggg time ago. It was so long ago that I am surprised it isn't thread rot.

To make a bow pull about 4inches of ribbon in your left hand (assuming you're right handed) and scrunch the fabric in the middle, pinching with your thumb and pointer. My ribbon is chunky so it took all the rest of my fingers to hold it all in place.

Twist the bottom piece 180 degrees and with your right hand grab the next 4 inches, making a loop and pinch the fabric together holding now with the first bunch- directly under it, and give it a twist.

Pull another section, this time about 5 inches and make a loop, pinching and joining to the others, and give it another twist.

I did a total of 5 loops. Remember to work in odd numbers. You can do as many loops as you would like. I stopped at 5 because of the size of my material. Once the last loop is made pull another 4-5 inches and cut the ribbon from the spool. The first 4 inches and last 4 inches are the tails to your bow. Normally, I would use florist wire to tie off my bow but I couldn't find it so I used a pipe cleaner. Wrap the wire around the pinched section by threading it between your fingers (making sure to keep the bow pinched) leaving the ends hang in the back.

Pull the wire tight and twist it.

Now, fluff your bow. Ta-da!

I placed my bow into the styrofoam. If I had used floral wire I would have had to attach a wooden floral pick to have something to push into the foam but since I used the pipe cleaner I was all set.

Next I pulled some wool acorn ornaments that I snagged at Lowes after Christmas last year. I got a great deal on them and picked up two boxes for 50% off the sale price! I used 3, attaching them to wood picks and placed them in the arrangement.

The door this hangs on has glass storm door so I used a piece of jute to hang it from as my 3M hanger was white and stood out like a sore thumb!

The finished product. It cost was $8 for the flowers and I had three bunches left over. I will show where they ended up later. Everything else I owned. Now, go shop your stuff and make something fabulous!

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