Make a wreath to decorate for the holidays

Published March 23, 2012 | By Jane

Make and hang your own wreath for the holidays

Wreaths are traditional ways to decorate the entry of your house during the holidays. You can buy all kinds of wreaths made from natural or synthetic materials or you can make your own. Although these circular creations are usually hung on the front door, the placement – indoors or out – and the materials you can use, are limited only by your imagination.

Start with a form. You can buy a form made of bent sticks, Styrofoam, floral foam, wire or other materials at your local craft store. Or you can cobble together your own frame. The idea is simply to provide a tire shaped base that you can cover with decorative materials. Make it strong enough to support the covering materials, especially if the wreath will be hung for a time on a door that opens and closes. If you make your own, don’t forget to include a wire for hanging when the wreath is done.

Keep it simple and natural. You can put together a wreath easily by simply twining wire around short, supple evergreen branches, attaching them to your base frame. Then add whatever items of décor you want; plastic ornaments, glitter, dried seed pods, pine cones, ceramic figurines, etc.

Get imaginative. Any material can cover your wreath form. You can use feathers, dried sprays of flowers or the inflorescences from ornamental grasses. Strips of colored paper or crepe paper make interesting surfaces for pinning little witches, ghouls or rubber snakes for Halloween. Wrap straw or raffia around the form and tie on miniature pumpkins and small gourds for an autumnal or Thanksgiving wreath. Wind a circular frame on the diagonal so it becomes a candy cane with red and white ribbon for Christmas.

Build a living wreath. A little more complicated project is to make your wreath into a self-supporting circular hanging garden. You will need to fill a wire form (you can make your own with rolled chicken wire) with damp sphagnum moss packed tightly enough to retain water and form a base for plants to grow. Some people add a little soil to the interior of the moss. Then push in cuttings from assorted succulent plants and wire them into place until they root. Rosette forming succulents will create flower-like forms. Dunk and soak the whole wreath in water when the moss starts to dry out. Then let the plants grow and fill in to create a living conversation piece for the holidays. This will be a holiday wreath that will look great for the rest of the year.

Originally posted 2011-09-04 07:00:34. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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