Need a Beautiful and Easy DIY Autumnal Wreath?
Need a Beautiful and Easy DIY Autumnal Wreath? Well, you are in luck! Don't you think so many of the wreaths decorated asymmetrically look a little more professionally done? Maybe a little more artistic and designer?
Well, my mother lives in an apartment at a complex for seniors. She was in need of a wreath. Yesterday, as I was waiting for my daughter to show up for a dress fitting, (altering one for another wedding,) I put together this wreath for her.
Believe it or not, it only took one bush of flowers, one stem of leaves, and one stem of hickory nuts and tiny pine cones. You can see below.
The first thing to do is separate the individual flowers. That will make it easier to place them on the wreath to get an idea of where you want them.
The leaf stem was a nice large size and it was cut into three pieces. when working with the leaves, obviously, you don't want the backs of the leaves facing forward. At the base of the leaf, where the leaf stem connects to the main stem, turn the leaf around to face the way you want it. You are the master here!
Place the leaf sprays on the wreath and play with it, until you find a pleasing arrangement. As you can see in the picture, I removed one of the leaves from the stem and used it to elongate the spray at the bottom.
The leaf I removed looked like this, kind of crumpled and not very pretty. It wouldn't be much of a background for the flowers. I ran it under the faucet with the water on low for just a couple of seconds and manipulated and flattened it.
(A word of caution here, don't completely saturate it. The dyes will bleed. A little won't hurt, but you don't want a major loss of dye. The silk leaves are also very delicate when wet, handle them gently!)
Then, I laid a folded dish towel on top of it and allowed it to dry flat.
What a difference, huh?
One thing that drives me crazy is to see an arrangement where the human hand has not touched and manipulated silk flowers and stems to make them look more natural. You know you have seen those, too! They look like someone took them right out of the store and stuck them in a vase or on a wreath, stiff and unnatural!
These mums had such big flower heads, I cut the stems to about four or
five inches. Regardless of the flower, you want the stems long enough to weave into the wreath a little to give more places to secure with the hot glue.
The stems being a little longer also gives you the option to bend the wire stem and turn the blossoms to the side or the front.
The bush of mums included red blooms, too. Those really didn't show up so well with the leaves, so they were not used. Remember to always use an odd number of flower blooms. An odd number almost always looks more pleasing to the eye. One of the yellow blooms was not used either.
This brings up another point. Just because you have forty-five blooms, does not mean you have to use forty-five blooms. Truly, sometimes less is more! Have you seen the wreaths where someone just did not know when to stop?
Allowing room for a bow on the bottom left, the blossoms were placed on top of the leaves, arranged and rearranged, until perfect. A burlap bow with these Autumn flowers just seemed right. The rich colors of Fall in combination with the rustic texture of the burlap is classic.
At this point, the nut stem was cut into three pieces, too. They were placed on the wreath and the overall look was pretty good.
Those were removed. The bow was removed, and trying not to move the flowers too much, I began to glue the leaves in strategic places. Always try to keep the glue in a spot where it will not be seen.
After the leaves were attached with the glue, the flowers were glued in place one- by-one. Then, the bow was attached.
This ribbon was leftover from another project. It's a simple bow. Two loops were made on each side, gathered in the middle and secured with a wire. Then a small piece of the ribbon was folded into the center on both sides and glued to the back of the bow, covering the wire.
After all the flowers, leaves, and the ribbon were attached with the hot glue, the nut stems were glued in place.
I have to admit, I was pretty pleased with the finished wreath. My mother was home and a short while later, found that she was very pleased with it, too. She was the first one in her hall to have an Autumn wreath!
Hope this inspires you! Now, you know how simple it is, do you Need a Beautiful and Easy DIY Autumnal Wreath?
This post is linked with "Oh My Heartsie Girl's" Friday Feature Linky Party and Friendship Friday Blog Party Social Media Boost on "Create with Joy".
