Wreath Making
December 10, 2020
It is an absolute must. The day after Thanksgiving we make the trip up to the mountains to cut down our Christmas tree. No matter what. We mean it. We have stood in torrential rain, struggled through knee deep snow, and sweated through unnatural heat, all in the name of hiking through a forest of possibilities to find The Tree. It seems to be an awful lot of effort just for a tree that could be picked up from the corner market but if you know us, we cannot pass up an opportunity to make a trip to pick a tree, an experience. Tree day for us is full of small traditions. Hot chocolate must be made. Leftover thanksgiving turkey sandwiches prepared. Christmas music, a must. And when we get home with our prize, we decorate the tree. We have been doing this for as long as I can remember and it never gets old. It is the first definitive sign that holiday joy is upon us.
To put it simply, especially at Christmas time, we are always looking for ways to maximize our joy with the tools given to us. Christmas tree day is no different. The only issue we inevitably run into when searching for a Christmas tree in the forest, is size. Every tree looks tiny when compared with trees over 100 feet tall causing us to purchase trees that are feet taller than will fit in the house. We always find ourselves an annual basis bringing the tree home and cutting multiple feet of the bottom just so it will stand up let alone allowing for the topper. We don’t mind too much though because the offcuts are just an opportunity for a Christmas project. Let the wreath making commence.
Items needed:
Greenery- Any Evergreen (pine, fir, spruce) of your choice. Cut into 5 to 6 in sprigs.
Floral Wire- We used 22 gauge floral wire from the craft store
Wire cutters
Floral Foam Wreath Frame- a wire wreath frame works great for this as well.
Ribbon or Decoration of Choice
Directions:
Optional - Spray spruce with water and allow to absorb for 2 hours before starting
Cut 8-12 in pieces of floral wire.
Take piece of floral wire and wrap once over the greenery springs twisting the two ends tightly around the stem multiple times to secure.
Secure piece of greenery to the wreath frame by wrapping the wire around the back and securing again by twisting multiple times.
Continue taking the greenery springs wrapped with wire and secure them to the wreath frame taking care to continue in the same direction on the whole wreath.
Build up the wreath by adding stems until all of the internal structure is covered. Take care to not neglect the inside and outside edges. You wreath will look more full if you pay close attention to these details.
Once your wreath is filled up to your satisfaction, secure your decoration to the wreath with the floral wire. Location and type of decoration is up to you. For a simple and sophisticated look, we tied a double bow with wired neutral ribbon and centered it on the bottom of the wreath.
Optional* lightly burn the edges of ribbon to ensure they do not fray. Please take precaution and check that your ribbon material is not highly flammable.
Hang and enjoy.
