Tips and How To Create A Magical Snowman Wreath
Tips and How To Create A Magical Snowman Wreath - Part 2.
For The Snowman-Part 1,◄ Click here. The idea for this wreath, of course, was found on Pinterest and sold on Etsy. The wreath was so adorable, loaded with Christmas ball ornaments, but maybe just a bit ostentatious for my taste. This is a more humble version including the tips and directions to make one of your own and put your own spin on it, which I would love to see if you do!
The search for a wreath form that would accommodate the snowman head, hat, and be a good base for the extras to be added took a little bit. Most of the craft stores had decorated wreaths, which were half-price for 40 bucks! I settled on a 'teardrop' wreath found at the 'At Home' store in Florence, Ky. It was $12.99.
Right out of the store, it needed to be fluffed, the pine cones removed, the pine branches unbent, and straightened. In the 'after' you can actually see the teardrop shape. It's such a simple thing, but it's amazing how much better your artificial wreaths, swags, and garlands look after this process.
After fluffing the wreath, the snowman was placed on top of it for positioning. Then, the branches of the wreath were flattened, where his head would be secured to the wreath, by forcing down the greenery with my hand.
Two of these berry, pine cone, greenery bushes were disassembled, cutting each where they connected to the main stem. The red berry branches were then positioned around the wreath in a pleasing way.
Floral paddle wire was used to attach greenery picks to the base wreath. A branch of the greenery was added to the bottom of the wreath to extend it a few inches.
A few of the pine cone greenery branches were added to the sides and one was also added to the top.
I found that it was easier to first, lay about 1/2 - 3/4 " of the wire along the end of the pick stem and holding it with my left hand, wrap the wire around it with my right hand to secure the wire. Then, place it on the branch where it was to be placed and wrapping to secure, creating an extension to the branch. At the end, I wrapped the wire 3 times and bent the end and pushed into the branch.
Before securing the snowman head to the wreath, the plaid bow was attached. Trying to be sure it would stay securely in place, the wire used to pull the bow up tight and securely twisted was threaded through the Styrofoam, back up and around the wooden skewer. Then, it was secured to the skewer.
At this point, I noticed the skewers inserted into the head , which would be used to secure the wreath, were really noticeable. Painting them a pine green color with acrylic craft paint made them almost invisible.
After letting them dry, the skewers above the head and below were both securely wired to the main branch of the wreath.
Then three white flocked stems, which had each been cut from a large bunch, were wired together at the base and securely wired just above the head at the base of the stems. Two more of these were placed on either side of the head and another under the snowman head facing the bottom of the wreath
When the wreath was hung, several times during this process, and I stood back to look at it, I realized the pine cones were not showing very much. Using a small paint brush and white acrylic craft paint, the edges were just tipped with white. You can see the difference in the picture above. The pine cones on the left side were not painted yet. What a difference that made!
Next, was positioning the hat. The hat I made, was half of a hat. The back was flat and the brim stopped on both sides. A floral pin was stitched to the brim with black thread and needle on both sides of the hat, close to where the brim and crown meet. These were then inserted into the top of the foam head. It worked perfectly.
Inside the crown of the hat I made, some quilt batting leftover from another project was added. I thought it would help keep the hat from collapsing.
Using the needle and thread in the center of the hat on the backside, stitches were made and wrapped around the main branch of the wreath, too.
Five plastic snowflakes from the dollar store were added for a little more sparkle. The snowflakes seemed appropriate. I may tweak it a little before hanging it after Thanksgiving, but don't you think it turned out pretty well?
December Update: This little bird was found at Target and was begging to sit atop the snowman's hat. Isn't it perfect?
Tips and How To Create A Magical Snowman Wreath, I hope this inspires you to create a whimsical wreath of your own!
