A Felt Flower & Fabric Monogram Wreath

I made this wreath a few years ago and I hang it up towards the end of summer and keep it up until Thanksgiving.  Then it comes down and the Christmas lights go up!  Is anyone else as excited as I am for Christmas this year?  I have always loved Christmas, but it is even more fun with kids.  I love seeing everything through their eyes.

Before I get the hate mail, back to my fall wreath.  It is very easy to make.  Since I made it awhile ago--before I began blogging--the pictures will not match my finished wreath.  But I think you'll get the idea.

What you will need:

a grapevine wreath

some felt in various colors

a piece of cardboard

scrap material

glue gun

scissors

To make the monogram:

Grab a scrap piece of cardboard or the front page of a used up coloring book.  Draw your monogram and cut it out.  Lay the monogram on some scrap fabric and cut around it.

Next, start folding the material to the back of the cardboard and either hot glue it in place or use some nearby painter's tape.  For circular areas, cut slits to form triangles and that will help the material lay flat around the curved edges.

The front and back will look like this when finished.  You can then hot glue the monogram on to your wreath in the spot you prefer.

For the felt flowers:

Depending on the size of the flowers you want, cut out circles from your felt.  My circles were ~6" in diameter.  There is no need to draw a perfect circle.  Just cut it out and then cut the circle into a spiral.

Starting at the center of the spiral, start to roll it up.  It starts looking cone shaped and then when you keep going it will form a rosette.

The nice thing about felt is that it kind of sticks to itself, so you don't need to worry about it unraveling.  After you have all of  your rosettes made, hot glue the bottoms and stick them onto your wreath.  Try to stagger the colors as you fill the spot where you want the flowers to go.

Your wreath is now ready to hang!  I've used ribbon in the past, but this time I used some scrap fabric that I had.  I liked the neutral color and it seems to hold the wreath more steady when the door opens and shuts.  I also used the same trick that Ashley talked about in her wreath post.  I just hammered flat head tacks to the top of my door.  They lay flush and the door will open and close with no problems. 

And that is a super simple yet colorful fall wreath!

Well this is the end of our week of wreaths.  I hope you were inspired by one or more of the wreaths we shared with you this week.  We would love to see any wreaths that you've made lately--please feel free to post on the MamasTogether facebook page.

Lighted Wreath

After all of us Mamas Together gals decided to have a wreath week, I hopped on Pinterest (of course) to get some inspiration.  The problem was that I really did not want to spend a ton of money on this project and everything I was finding would require me to purchase either a styrofoam wreath or straw wreath.  I decided to put off the project until I could find something that a) didn't need a frame to start with and b) I really liked.

After a few days, I was out perusing my garage while working on various projects.  And what did I find?  Chicken wire.  You know, from that time when I told my husband 'Of course I will use all 25 feet of this.  It's chicken wire. There has got to be a million things to do with it besides make these chicken wire frames.'  Ahem, it has been sitting for a long, long while.

Chicken wire is flexible, and it got me thinking about those wreaths.  Hmm....just maybe.  

I cut it.

I rolled it.

I tried shaping it.--And this is about the time that I realized chicken wire is not very easy to manipulate into a wreath.

It never really curved well enough for my ideas so I scrapped it.

A few more days later, I was in Walmart looking at styrofoam wreaths and straw wreaths debating what I should do, and what caught my eye?  Wire wreaths.  Cheap wire wreaths.  Hello solution to my dilemma! 

A little spray paint is all these gems needed.

Next, I used silver floral wire to attach the two large wreaths together. 

 I went all the way around the outside of the wreaths wrapping floral wire around.

Next, I added the one smaller frame to the center and using the floral wire attached it in at 4 points.

Then, I added the twinkle lights.  I made sure I left some slack at the bottom to plug it in.  I used a lot (200 lights or two strings of lights) and wrapped the lights around all three frames.

 All finished, now it's time to hang it and light it.

I am not going to lie, when I plugged it in my daughter and I both squealed and said, 'Ohhhh!  Pretty!'

 

I know it is not a typical decor item for a bedroom, but I think it is the perfect first piece for us to finally get up on the wall.

So, what do you think?  Does it look like Christmas in October?  Do you hang wreaths all over your home or just on the front door?

Pool Noodle Bunting Wreath

A common theme in my home: thrifty, handmade and reused. This project is all of those things. My youngest loves to eat anything foam and since summer is over, this $1.00 pool noodle was turned into something cute and personal. 

What you will need:
Pool Noodle
Fabric for Bunting and Wreath
Packing/Duct Tape
Pins
Ribbon

Start by taping the ends together. I would recommend taping it very well with more tape than I used. 

Cut the fabric for your wreath into 2 inch wide strips.

Pin in place. 

Wrap around, while overlapping your fabric. 

When you come to the end, pin your new strip of fabric over the end. Make sure you always end up at the "back" of your wreath, so there are no visible pins. 

Choose your coordinating fabric.

Measure your wreath from one end to the other. This will determine how long your bunting should be. I had 14 inches to work with. 

Pin in place.

Sew a straight line making sure to catch both layers.

Pin on the underside so it will not be visible as it hangs. 

Do the same to the other side. 

A trick I learned is to nail through both layers of ribbon centered on the top of your door. It will lay flush and won't be visible from the inside while the door is closed. 

While outside projects like siding and painting are pending, I will enjoy my little finishing touches. Your eye will be drawn there, right? 

What I love about this wreath? It's versatile. Change out the bunting, the fabric or just use it as a pool noodle again! 

Colorful Christmas Wreath

Today, I'm kicking off a week packed with a fall wreath challenge that we gave ourselves. Each day this week, be sure to check back as each of us covers a different approach to the fall wreath.

Okay, so technically, I cheated. And yes, I'm aware that it's not even November. But you guys, I'm one of those crazy crazies that could listen to Christmas music year round; this week, the Christmas bug bit in a big way and I embraced it. I begged my husband to watch a Christmas movie with me, and the man looked at me like I was nuts. He tried to shut me down until November, but once I decided to make this wreath, I knew the only way to do it right was while I watched Home Alone and sipped on hot chocolate. And so I did, and he begrudgingly watched with me, because he loves me; don't let him fool you, though - he fully enjoyed himself.

I'm not a traditional red and green, wintry type of Christmas decorator; I tend to hold more true to the "May your days be merry and bright" kind of cheer. I also wanted something that would coordinate with the colors outside of our house (yellow, teal and gray), to keep things pretty once it's socially acceptable to actually don it on the front door.

First, I made a handful of yarn poofs. I used a large serving fork, wrapped the yarn around it between 40-50 times, depending on the thickness of the yarn, and then tied it together using the space between the middle tines.

Once I took the yarn off of the fork, I ended up here:

Then, to get the finished poof, I cut all of the loops

Once I created all of my poofs in a handful of colors, I gathered all of the rest of my materials 

Of these, I ended up ditching the twine and dark blue poofs and subbed in some burlap.

The glitter pine cones were a $1 bin purchase from Michael's and came four to a package. I fluffed up the wreath, then laid everything out on top until I was happy with the way it looked, and then I hot glued everything into place.

I left a space at the top of the wreath, cut a long strip of burlap, and tied it on. 

Then I decided to gussy (yes, gussy) it up a bit by adding a bow. To accomplish this, I cut two strips of burlap, one longer than the other. I created a loop from the longer strip and placed it on top of the other.

Next, I pinched the layers into place and glued to hold it, before cutting a smaller strip of burlap and wrapping it around the center. Finally, I glued it into place, and voila! 

So, when is it socially acceptable to start putting up decorations? I usually try to hold myself to post Thanksgiving, but sometimes, excitement gets the best of me. Anyone else already dreaming of a white Christmas? Anyone else already crooning along to Michael Buble's Christmas album? Anybody? Bueller?

Stick around through the rest of the week to see what Ashley, Amy and Rachel have in store for you!