Holiday Wreaths

A cheery front door just sets the tone for the rest of the house. Today I'd like to share with you a roundup of holiday wreath ideas. Some are my own and some are beautiful creations I've found around the internet. Click on any photo to go to the original post.

This simple wreath is made entirely of items you can find at the dollar store. The cinnamon pine cones ensure that a lovely scent greets you right from the start. I made this wreath several years ago and still bring it out year after year.

This wreath has a deceptive simplicity. The more you look at it, the more details you discover. There are at least six different types of greenery, and the white stems and red berries tie it all together.

via Cotton Stem

This wreath started out with just greenery and pinecones. I gave it a boost by weaving in strips of burlap and bunches of green berries.

Your wreath doesn't always have to be on the front door. This pinecone-heavy wreath gets lightened up with the addition of snowball ornaments plus gold and burlap ribbons. The window frame turns it into a holiday vignette. This was my absolute favourite wreath display and I miss having a fireplace to decorate.

This wreath goes heavy on the greenery and has a lovely country farmhouse feel. If you're lucky enough to have a wooded area nearby, you can collect your own branches and pinecones.

via Clean & Scentsible

Sometimes a wreath goes through many adjustments before its final incarnation. This one started out as a pool noodle. I loosely wrapped burlap around it like a sock and used it for an autumn wreath. For Christmas, I attached soft garland, pinecones, and ribbon. The final touch was a set of sleigh bells.

One last wreath. I adore this bright and shiny ornament wreath. Buy inexpensive plastic balls so that you don't have to worry about it getting bumped and breaking. Use ornaments with different sheens and textures to give a natural look.

via Sarah Catherine Design

Canada Day 2018

Happy Canada Day, y'all!

From my family to yours, I hope you have a terrific day.

And here's an interesting little bit of trivia: Did you know that if July 1st falls on a Sunday, like it is this year, Canada Day is moved to July 2nd? I'm not talking about getting the day off work and businesses being closed, I mean that the actual statutory holiday is moved. I couldn't believe I'd never heard about it before.

Celebrations are still usually held on July 1st of course, even though it's technically not the holiday.

But no matter the date, these ruffians are always ready to celebrate.

Christmas Crafts

I so wanted to get back into crafting Christmas decorations and other projects this year, but I fear I've left it too late. I'm hoping to get some finished this weekend and I'll post about them if I do get them done, but until then I'll leave you with some of my favourites from past years.

Scrap Wood Christmas Tree Ornament

Pinecone Map Ornament

Rustic Wall Hanging and Glitter Pinecones

Burlap Christmas Carol Sign

Jingle Bell Mod Podge Ornament

Wreaths

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!

Spring Wildflower Wreath

It's now officially spring, and even though old man winter is trying to stick around, I'm firmly pushing him out the door and locking it. And to make sure he knows to stay away I've hung a wreath on the door that practically shouts, "Spring is here!"

You could make this wreath, too. All you'll need is a wreath base, 10-12 bunches of tiny flowers, ribbon, and twist ties or florist's wire.

I started out with a grapevine-type wreath and arranged the flowers around it until I had an arrangement that I liked. There's a mix of white, light pink, dark pink, and yellow/orange that I tried to mix and match to make it balanced, but still keep a little randomness about it.

I thought I would cut off the thick stem of each flower bundle, but I didn't have any sidecutters handy that were strong enough to cut through. Instead, after I wired a flower bunch to the wreath, I would bend the stem inwards so that it was covered by the next group.

I angled the flower bundles all in the same direction so that the wreath would look like a pinwheel when finished. Some of the flowers were laying flat but there is wire in the stems, so I was able to fluff them out and fill in any areas that looked sparse. You could also buy a couple of extra bunches and cut them up, then fill in any holes you notice.

Once all of the flowers were attached I took burlap ribbon and cut it in half lengthwise to about 4 inches and tied a sweeping bow. The bow is attached to the wreath with more florist's wire. I tied a loop to the back of the wreath at the top to hang it and it was done. I'm figuring it took no longer than 20 minutes, tops.

And now, even if a cold wind is blowing, and I still have to wear a scarf every morning, I can look at the wreath on my way in and out, and pretend that there are wild flowers and warm air all around.

The Doors are Decorated

I started to pull the Christmas decorations out of storage this weekend. The rule in our family has always been that nothing can go up until the first weekend of December. Lucky for me, December started on a Sunday this year.

We had a lot of running around to do - the bathroom tile we wanted was on sale, as was the sofa and loveseat I've been eyeing for a couple of months - so all I managed to put in place was the front door wreath. I used the same wreath from last year, but with a little extra fanciness added on. (I've tried to find a picture of it from last year, but apparently I didn't take any.)

I wrapped burlap around the frame, then glued on soft garland and pinecones I had gathered at my father-in-law's property.

This year I wove some green and gold ribbon through the garland to beef it up a bit. The ribbon has wired edges, so that made it easier to bend and arrange into little swoops. The final touch was a set of jingle bells that we bought at a gift market in Orillia. If anyone is visiting that area, you must stop by the Mariposa Market. Gifts, baked goods, candy, clothing...it's absolutely amazing.

I also hung up the powder room wreath yesterday, so Tom can start calling it the "Christmas Pooper" again.

Everything else is still in boxes and bins. I'm looking forward to unpacking it all so that I can have a little of this,

and this,

You can tell they're excited to be my little helpers, can't you?

Spring {Has Sprung} Wreath

I put together a "wishful thinking" wreath this weekend.

Wishful thinking because the windchill is -9 today and they're forecasting freezing rain and snow tomorrow. But I'm going to pretend that spring is just around the corner. As long as that corner isn't 20 blocks away. However, I did see something like this on my way out the door this morning, so I have hope.

source

I used a pool noodle base for the wreath and covered it with mossy green fabric that has a slight velvety feel. Apparently it's quite attractive because I left it leaning against my desk while I went to do other things and Chloe sashayed into the kitchen with it in her mouth. She was so proud; I wish I'd had the camera handy. She didn't damage it at all, just carried it around like a prize.

I used my Silhouette to cut out the word "spring" which I stenciled onto a strip of green burlap using white poster paint.

I was aiming for a really simple wreath, but spring by itself was a little too simple, so I added "has sprung". I also added some white buds and little butterfly buttons.

Everything is attached with straight pins and double-sided tape for an easy change out later. (I'm still trying to take apart the Christmas wreath where everything was hot glued on.)

Those little butterflies cheer me up so much. What are you doing to hurry spring along? Or has it already arrived in your neck of the woods? Lucky, lucky.

~~~~~

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