I decided I wanted the colours of our Christmas wreath to be the 'brights' scheme that has become popular in recent years of pink, lime green and blue. We had trouble finding one we actually liked, and any we did were in the range of $30-$60. A little too expensive for a wreath methinks!
So I thought maybe I could make my own.
AC Moore (a craft store) had bare wreaths on sale for 50% off. We got it for $3.49. So far so good!
We found some tiny baubles at Target for $1. Another bargain.
We had a coupon for Michaels (another craft store) for 25% off our total purchase, including sale items; we figured we'd make the most of that! There we got some larger baubles which were $4.99, on sale for $3.99, plus our coupon savings on top of that. I chose pink and green ribbon for $3.99 each, plus we added a blue flower ($5.99) and 2 sets of 'stem balls', which are 3 small baubles already tied with wire. They were $1.99 each. Our total at Michaels came to about $16.50, after the discount.
The last thing we needed was wire to attach the baubles to the wreath, which Paul bought for me at Wal-Mart. I'm not sure how much it was but I can't imagine it was any more than a couple of dollars. So in all, the cost of the wreath came in at approximately $23. Much cheaper than any pre-made ones!
I started off with making the bow. I looked up how to make one online and it was a little confusing so I wasn't sure how I'd go.
I started by making loops out of lengths approximately 10 inches long.
Then I used wire to secure all the loops together.
I snipped the ends to make points then fanned out the loops to make the bow look full. It doesn't look great but it's not too bad for my first try.
Once that was done, I used the pink ribbon as a sort of background. I tied it to the wreath then began to loop it through the branches.
My next step was to secure the stem balls, which was pretty easy because they already had wire attached.
The other baubles were a little trickier. The bigger ones I ended up being able to slide straight on to the branches because they had a large enough ring at the top.
Attaching the tiny baubles was a bit harder. The wire was a little stiff so it was difficult trying to wrap it around the wreath. I started with twisting it around the ring at the top of the balls, then tying them to the branches.
I used the wire again with the flower, but just looped it over and then secured at the back of the wreath.
The last thing to do was to add the ribbon bow I made earlier.
Ta-da! All done!
It now has a home on our front door. And, although it's not perfect, I'm happy with it. Not bad for a first effort.
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