September 28, 2011

Easy Autumn Wreath


I've been a "hunter/gatherer"in my own attic to rediscover what
Fall/Autumn/Halloween things are up there from last year and
years before that.

This poor thing is what was my Fall wreath last year.  I hope it looked better than that on the door.

I think it had more stuff on it. This bunch of baby Indian corn was on the wreath last year and I found it on the attic floor.
The mice have eaten every kernel of corn off it these ears.  No telling
what else they have eaten/taken away.

It's obvious I just needed to start from scratch with this wreath.
This grapevine wreath is 24" across.  You can find them easily at the
craft stores and this time of year, you can usually find them on sale.

The only thing I bought new for this year's wreath are eight "picks" from Michael's.
Most little faux berries don't make it but one season on my front door.
They get exposed to outdoor elements and hot afternoon sun.

They were on sale for about $1 each.
What I like about the "picks" is that they are basically pre-made tiny
arrangements with different elements already built in.

To add fullness to the wreath, I added a couple of Fall leaf garlands that I had purchased last year. They are made to have coordinating colored leaves, and are already on a wire which makes adding them easy.
This is the wreath with the first garland wired on. The garlands are
at all the crafts stores now.  They range in price depending on how
much "stuff" you want already on the garland. Mine had only leaves
so they were cheap.

The second garland was added at little to the inside of the wreath.
The wreath is already pretty wide for my front door so I didn't want
to add any more width to it.

Grapevine wreaths are very easy to add elements to with pieces of floral wire.
Just twist the wire to secure the element where you want it, then bend the
tails of the wire underneath or around to hide them. I added a couple of
additional stems of leaves to areas that looked sparse.

To add the larger pieces of fruit, I had left a blank area on the lower edge of the wreath.
The pomegranates had wired stems so they were easy to add.
The gourd had to be impaled with floral wire thru its backside
(in one side, threaded through to the other side).  Leave long tails
on your wire to do this so you have plenty to work with in
order to attach the large piece securely to the wreath.
You could add a ribbon bow instead of the fruit.

Add the "picks" last so they don't get covered
up with leaves.

Although it can be a little tricky, I like to hang wreaths on my glass
door with fishing line...it is almost invisible, especially from a distance.

There you have a quick and easy
welcoming Autumnal wreath.
If you bought everything new for this wreath on sale, I think it would be around $20.



10 comments

  1. Beautiful!! Now that is a fall wreath. I love the picks at Michaels. I feel that they have the best quality when it comes to flowers and picks. I don't mind spending a little more there. Thanks so much for sharing.

    Jessica

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  2. WOW! That looks amazing! It sure doesn't look anything like you started with- perfect-absolutely perfect! xo Diana

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  3. Your wreath is beautiful. What a transformation.
    Happy Fall.
    Barb

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  4. One beautiful wreath makeover...hop over and share it at NIFTY THRIFTY TUESDAY:)

    Blessings,
    Linda

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  5. You did a very nice job of reconstruction. Looks good.

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  6. The transformation is just amazing! You have inspired me to start yet another project-oh no!!! LOL
    Thanks for sharing!

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  7. Those crazy mice! I don't want to go in my attic! Your wreath looks great, I love being able to reuse stuff!
    Debbie

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  8. When I lived in the Midwest, I learned real quick not to save the Indian Corn...the mice will always find it. I know it is wierd...but your story brought back a lot of memories for me...

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  9. Beautiful! Thanks for linking to Things I've Done Thursday!

    Melanie
    bearrabbitbear.blogspot.com

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  10. What a beautiful full and welcoming wreath! Great job!

    Jill @ Creating my way to Success
    http://www.jembellish.blogspot.com/

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