Spring Hydrangea Wreath

We went to the Newmarket Home & Lifestyle Show on the weekend, and being surrounded by kitchen cabinet refinishers, bathroom renovators, and interior decorators really put me in a mood to get back into some projects - big and small.

We have so many jobs on hold right now because some other job needs to be done first: the rest of the basement can't be insulated until the one window is replaced, but that can't be replaced until we have drier, warmer weather, and we can't seem to force Mother Nature to skip some steps. (Though this time last year we were preparing for a snowstorm so I'm not complaining, I promise!)

Then there are the baseboards in the bedroom to be installed, but the carpet needs to be replaced first, and we can't do that because there is nowhere to move the furniture to (see unfinished basement previously mentioned).

So I decided to forget about all of the things I couldn't finish and work on a little project I could - namely a new wreath for the front door.

It's been a long, long time since I've made a non-Christmas wreath for the house - if you're interested here are some of my past favourites:

Spring Wildflower Wreath

Spring Vine Wreath

Monogram Wreath

House Number Wreath

Layered Picture Frame Wreath

Apparently I've made a few wreaths!

The front of our house is pretty drab right now what with the gardens still dormant, so I wanted something with plenty of blooms and a bright, cheery colour. At the dollar store I bought out half of their supply of green "silk" hydrangeas, plus a roll of brown burlap ribbon. This ribbon is a little stiffer that the burlap I've used before so hopefully it will keep from fraying in the wind.

I used an old bentwood wreath form that I've used many times - you can still see the glue marks from ghosts of wreaths past (they're on the back too! :-) ) The heads of the flowers easily popped off the stems and I hot-glued them close together all the way around the form. I was prepared to have to fill in places with smaller blooms but these ones were so full that it wasn't necessary, and I was finished in no time.

For the bow, I cut one piece for the loops and tails and a separate piece for the center knot. I wasn't able to tie it from one long piece like I normally would due to the stiffness of the fabric. I laid the long strip out in the position I wanted and then wrapped the smaller piece around the middle and glued it to itself at the back.

I then burned my thumb with the glue gun and had to take a break to feel sorry for myself. To distract from the pain I tossed flowers at Chloe, trying to get them to land between her paws. It took a few tries. Patient dog.

Back at it, I attached the ribbon at the bottom of the wreath and hung my new pretty on the front door. Yesterday was a beautiful sunny day - perfect for picture-taking.

There were plenty of flowers left over (I guess I went a little crazy), so I put them in a wicker basket on the living room coffee table. They brighten up the room so much...and distract from that poor table that needs to be refinished so badly.

Happy Spring!