HoLiDaY HoW-To: WrEaThs!!

In the world of wreaths, there are a million different ways you can put one together.  Since it's impossible for me to know which kind you are interested in or what you're up for trying, I thought I would walk you through a very easy one from start to finish...I know you can do it!

Here is my wreath from last year, without any decorations and straight out of the box.

I would typically assume that most people know to "fluff" their wreaths and spread the branches out, but maybe not.  As you can see, you can almost double the size of your wreath, just by manipulating each piece.  Pull those branches apart and get every inch you can out of it.

Here are the big inspiration items for this wreath.

2 kinds of ornaments, a ribbon to match and a focal point (the word "hope"-which I love for Christmas!!).  I found all of this at Michael's.  None of it is expensive and all of it was 50% off!  Gotta love that :)

So as I stated earlier, there are many ways to design a wreath.  I'm going to show a traditional, symmetrical design.  I started by placing my bow in the bottom center and wiring that focal point piece in the center.  Then I placed the red ornaments, evenly spaced, making room for the silver ornaments too.

Ok, but a little boring still :)

So, I found some glittery picks at Michael's that are silver and red and started filling in with those.

Here are the silver laurel leaves as I started putting them in.  I placed them in clockwise and evenly spaced.  I chose 5 put put in because odd numbers are more pleasing to the eye than even.

Starting to look better...

Finally, I added those red branches for a little drama :) Pictures rarely do something three dimensional any justice, but in person, this is much prettier than it seems!  And so easy too!  The whole thing was under $30.  Look for picks and ornaments that you can wire on and choose a ribbon that will coordinate with it.  I am working on a different wreath right now, with a whole different design and I will post pictures when I'm done with it.  I will also get a bow tutorial up tomorrow, so you can make yourself a big one!  I took some pictures tonight of my left hand, holding a bow in process :) Trav's Mom is here right now and I'm sure she thinks I'm crazy after watching me do that!  Only for the blog, right??

So here it is, a glittery, sparkly and festive Christmas wreath.

Hope it inspires you to create your own or jazz up one you already have!

There are a lot of sales at Michael's this weekend....