Tuesday, December 01, 2009

Happy December!


I now know that I will have no time at all for holiday crafting this year, what with the big changes E and I have going on! I'll be lucky if I mail out Christmas cards from a box. So today, I took advantage of my last little bit of fun time and got my Christmas craft on...


After making several garbage bag wreaths for Halloween over the past few years, I decided I wanted to make something similar for Christmas, but with different materials. There is just something so fun about the fluffy knots of those wreaths and they literally take under an hour to make once you get the hang of it.

I decided to use linen since I had a bunch on hand, but you could use any fabric, felt, or even white trash bags. You can have this entire thing done during an episode of Community, so pour yourself a glass of wine and get going!


You will need:
  • 1 12 inch wire wreath form (one with a double set of wires like I have here)
  • About 1 yard of linen or burlap fabric
  • Scissors
  • Embellishments like ribbon, feathers, beads, faux birds, berries and leaves, ornaments, little toys, etc.
  • A hot glue gun
  • Don't forget that glass of wine! You may want to avoid red is you are a slob like me, though. No need to spill on your pretty wreath!
Lay out you fabric and begin cutting or tearing it into strips that are about 1 1/2 inches wide and 8 inches long. Don't go measuring anything; just eyeball it because they don't need to be perfect! As you work with the knots the edges will fray and create the fluffiness that will fill out the wreath.

Take a strip of fabric and loop it around the inside two wires. Secure with a double knot. Continue until inside ring is full of knots. Repeat for the outside ring. Once your wreath form is full of knots, give each one a good fluff and tug to help fray and fill out the wreath.

Now comes the fun part. Embellish your wreath to your creative little hearts content by tying on ribbons and ornaments, spray it with adhesive and throw some glitter at it, or fill in the spaces with hard candies, whatever! Just secure everything with hot glue. The hot glue gun is a crafty girl's best friend, so put it to good use! I went with a green theme since the recipient of this wreath said she tends to decorate in shades of green. I tied on a vintage glass ball ornament and a few iridescent bows, and added some sparkly berries and ferns. I wanted it to be simple, but with a little bit of vintage appeal. Don't forget to tie a small loop of ribbon to the back of the wreath form so that you can hang it.

Now I'd love to say I'm going to make more of these, including one for myself, but that's a lie. Time, time, who's got the time? If you make one, I'd love to see it and live vicariously though other peoples crafting, so don't forget to send me a photo!

2 comments:

Tina said...

Cool wreath!

sheri said...

a.) that wreath is beautiful and i love the way the linen looks

b.) don't you love Community??