Fall Wreath

The seasons seem to change rather sharply around here. Not so much a transition, as a complete 180..

July 1st brought summer and summer temperatures, as briskly as September 1st seems to have brought a cooler temperature and ushered-in softer light, and shorter days.

Not wanting to soon be outdone by mother nature’s beautiful colours, I decided I should do some work with the plants in our kitchen, as well as the big wooden planters outside. I wanted to make sure that once the frost hit, I had laid the groundwork for an easy transition to winter so that the ground would be fertile and useable next spring. I turned around the soil in the big planters, cleared-out any flowers that wouldn’t be growing back next spring, and removed any toys Bruce might have “placed there for safe keeping.”

With all the change afoot, I thought a seasonal fall wreath would be in order! Because wreaths! wreaths I tell you!

I didn’t want to buy one of the many options I’d come across at Walmart, Homesense, or other. Although gorgeous and fairly well made, I enjoy crafting, and choosing one style was simply too much to ask of me!

I went with supplies I purchased at Walmart (crafting and sale section) for about 20$ and assembled it on sunday.

Basic items needed:

–  Basic wreath 5$: I opted for the vine version as it allows me to insert and weave the many flowers and leaves into it without having to glue anything. It will also allow me to transition seamlessly into other holidays like Halloween and Christmas. I’ll just add some spiders, maybe a crow, and when the time is right, christmas ornaments!

– Silk flowers in bunches, or per stem. The dollar store, walmart, home sense, michaels (in that order or quality) have fake flowers. It depends on your budget, and the likelyhood of your re-using the flowers later. I went with two full bouquets for about 8$ at Walmart. I chose colour pallets I liked, which a wide variety of flower styles. I like deep reds, and rich ambers and burnt orange. I enjoyed the touch of purple and the blue flowers I found in one bunch, but I really like the poppies and leaves on another! Combine!

– Wire cutters (already owned): to cut the flowers out of the bouquets. The stems are plastic-covered wire.

– Wreath hanger (already owned): to hang the wreath on the door!

TIP: It’s a pretty easy assemble once you get going. I opted to not fill the entire wreath with flowers as I like the appearance of it, as if flowers naturally grew up a vine and onto it. This, as opposed to all around. As Dan puts it “I feel like you’re missing something in the upper left.”

You can of course glue anything and everything onto the wreath, but I thought it would be more useful for other wreaths (like a spring or christmas one) if the flowers could be removed without compromising the structure and look of the original.

This way I can justify purchasing new flowers and little birds for my spring wreath!

Send me photos of what you make?