Today I would like to share a wreath I made for Christmas. The Mickey and Minnie files are from
PPbn Designs. Below I have included directions for how I make these wreaths. For this one the ornaments, ribbon, mesh and candy canes came from Hobby Lobby
How I make
my mesh wreaths - You will need about 50-80
total feet of 2 1/2" wired mesh and
ribbon. It needs to be wired to keep its
shape.
I start with
a straw wreath. The best size is 16 or
18 inches. If smaller you need to make pieces shorter and
if larger you will need more mesh and or ribbon.
I unwrap the
plastic from the wreath and then wrap mesh around it to cover the straw. This can be messy so do outside or over a
trash can. I hook with wreath (greening)
pins into straw. This is a necessary
step as I have had wreaths fall apart when I started to pin if not tied well by
company and it is also hard to push pins through plastic. And it looks prettier. :)
Before
starting I cut a long piece of thin floral wire and loop through wreath then
make a circle for hanging by wrapping two ends until I can loop over and form a
circle to use as a hangar.
For the
ribbon decorating I use the 2 1/2 " deco mesh ribbon.
I especially like the wired mesh 60 foot rolls at Hobby Lobby that are
9.99 in Christmas section but almost always 1/2 off. There are also 20 foot deco mesh rolls in the ribbon section
of Hobby Lobby usually on end cap. Michaels
and Joanns also have 2 1/2 inch mesh. I
pick 2 to 3 colors depending on color scheme.
I use 20 to 30 feet of each color depending on if there are 2 or 3
colorsI also add ribbon using the 2 1/2" wired ribbon to match color schemes. I usually use patterns that go together as
mesh are solid colors. I might use two or
three different ribbons 20 feet each.
I now take
the first mesh color and cut 20 pieces at 12 inches each. They can be slightly more or less.
I then fold
each 12 " piece in 1/2 and pinch edges together. I take a roll of thin floral wire and wrap the
ends 3 times about 1/2 an inch from end making sure to catch both ends of
ribbon. I then cut wire off. . I
sit and do this while watching tv and throw in a box as you will have a
bunch. I continue until all 20 are
done.
After I have
about 40- 60 mesh loops I am ready to start attaching them to
wreath. I pull the loop taking care not
to pull out of wire to make a circle and then pin with wreath wire over the
wired section into the wreath. I put one
at top and one at bottom then divide others into two groups for each side. That way they are evenly distributed. I randomly place middle, inside edge and
outer edge. Then fill in next color or
next two colors.
I then
continue with my regular wired ribbon following the same process.
If I am not happy
with the fullness I will add more. It
usually takes 50-80 feet.
Next I use
deco edge tubing of several colors. One
or two bags are good. Some are fatter so
takes less and some is skinnier so I might double up and then wire. I cut 12 inches pieces of deco edge tubing
and again wire edges together and push
into wreath with wreath pins spreading around filling in holes. You will not see much of straw wreath if you fluff out.
I then add
ornaments, cutouts, and any other decorations I want with glue gun. If I want something in center it is hung with
wire. I use a lot of bells, ornaments, etc from
dollar stores. I also use PPbN
cutouts.
To store I
cover with a large trash bag, tie shut and hang from nail in garage. When you remove to use just use your hand to
round ribbons out again.
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