Showing posts with label Wreath. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Wreath. Show all posts

DIY: Scarecrow Wreath



Hey Blogland, i've got news for you: it is NOT halloween yet!

How come last week everyone posted photos of their pedicured feet in front of a blue pool and a drink in their hands, and this week we see their pictures of perfectly decorated Halloween mantles. Blogland, you’re crazy, or what??
Why don't we all run to the next grocery store right now and buy christmas chocolate already. But let's not forget to bring a cooling bag to prevent the chocolate from melting on our way home...
*sigh*

Sure, the really hot days are over, but, and this is a big BUT ( and i cannot lie): it is still summer after all, and we're right in the middle of a season so beautiful, that it deserves to be a season of its own. I'm talking about what i call the "Golden Season": the transition from the last late summer days into early fall, with a color palette more striking than any other all through the year. 

The heat has gone, but it is still warm. The sun is not as bright and glaring as it used to be, and when it sets down in the late afternoon hours, it says "goodnight" to us with stunning orange and golden reflections everywhere. The leaves are slowly turning yellow and light brown, and again in the late afternoon hours, the trees seem to be surrounded by a heavenly golden glow. 

DIY: Washi Tape Paper Flower Wreath



The first project i shared here on my blog was a wreath. Back then, i did not care for wreaths at all and thought they were stupid, but within the past two years my taste has changed and i LOVE wreaths!

Wreaths are beautiful, gorgeous, stunning, fun, seasonal, ...
I have an entire Pinterest board dedicated to wreaths, and at every link party, photos of wreaths are the first ones that catch my attention. Not only are the wreaths freaking fabulous, but so are the creativity and skills of the people who create those wreaths!


DIY: Easter Wreath

Who is in the mood for spring already? I am, and so i just went through my spring and easter decoration and found this door wreath that i made some years ago.


As a child i loved searching the hidden nest, but as non-religious adult i don't really care about easter and you won't find much decoration in our apartment. Just a few eggs, bunnies and cute little chicks here and there.
The worst thing about easter in my opinion? Those poor front yard trees decorated with terrible cheap-cheaper-the cheapest plastic eggs. Yuck!   Sorry, no offense to anyone ;-)
Other than that i usually like easter decoration and its sunny and cheerful colors.

So, i don't have a tutorial for my wreath but it was super easy to make. I cut a bamboo stem into four pieces and used my hot glue gun to construct a frame. Then i decorated the frame with all kinds of useless stuff and ribbons that i had kept from random gifts and attached everything with hot glue. Done.

Happy Sunday!

1. This week I 'bought' a free one-year decoration magazine subscription valued at 48€. Hooray for Webmiles!

2. Looks like winter is going to approach quickly now with night frosts and daytime temperatures of +1°C. Brrrr!

3. MisterT forces me to mention that he is running out of his favorite licorice starfish because his wife was too lazy to go outside yesterday to buy him a new bag. Poor little man, will he survive the day?

4. We bought a bag of rum truffles which we haven't had for at least one year. They painfully let me know that i should go to the dentist soon.

5. The blog has almost 2000 pageviews. That is awesome considering that i started blogging two months ago and mine is just one out of several million blogs out there

6. Screechy-birds are a tiny bit less crazy now that the days have become quite short.

7. I started working on my christmas gifts and made another scarf-wrapped wreath



Happy Sunday!

DIY: Scarf-Wrapped Christmas Wreath

I saw a scarf-wrapped advent wreath in one of my favorite home decor catalogues for 59€.
I repeat, fifty-nine Euro. That price tag is ridiculous!
After all, it is just a scarf, a straw ring and a pack of candles. I can buy that for less than 15€, moreover i read some negative customer ratings about the poor quality and craftsmanship.

I decided to make my own for next to nothing, and as much as i loved the idea of having a scarf-wrapped advent wreath this year, i strongly believe that easily flammable materials ( in this case wool) and candles are not the safest combination!
So i made a 'normal' wreath and used the candles only as photo props.




Total costs: 2€

Total time: less than 15 minutes

Materials used:

- White scarf from a thrift store, 1€
- Old newspaper
- Tape
- Little gift packages, two bags à 6 on sale for 0,50€ each
- DIY heart ornament, made from modelling paste
- Needle pin


Instructions:

I think the photo speaks for itself and there is not much to say about how this works.

I already mentioned my aversion against styrofoam, so i created a ring made from old newspaper, using the same method as for my Halloween Wreath, and wrapped it with the scarf.


The little gift packages came on a stick and i could easily prick them through the scarf into the newspaper. The heart ornament is attached with a needle pin.
Simple as that!
And after christmas i can unwrap it and wear the scarf, so this is probably the first re-wearable christmas wreath ever.

My inspiration picture:


The first version, with a snowflake ornament:


 And the final version:







This project is linked up to some of my favorite Linky Parties

DIY: Easy Black Straw Halloween Wreath



Total material costs: ca. 3€ ( not counting the basics like wire, tape and hot glue)

Time: less than 30 minutes

Level of difficulty: Easy



Materials/ Tools:

- Straw ( "Small Animal Straw" from a pet shop is probably the cheapest option ( at least if you live in a city and don't have access to nature)
- Old newspaper
- Wire
- Black Spray Paint
- Sticky Tape
- Hot Glue Gun
- Scissors
- Raffia
- Mixing Bowl 
- Wool or twine or anything that you want to use to hang up the wreath.
- Stapler
- Embellishments

I used leftover fabric/ button flowers that i made for a bouquet a while ago + Scrapbooking Letters + Halloween Stickers
( bought on clearance)


Instructions:

You know that most people freak out over the sound of fingernails scratching on chalkboard. That's how i feel about styrofoam. I cannot stand its squeaky texture at all therefore i do not buy styrofoam rings or balls.
I use old newspaper instead, which is also more eco-friendly and goes easy on my budget as it doesn't cost anything.

How to build the base of the wreath:

- Roll two double pages of newspaper, twist each of them slightly and wrap them around the mixing bowl. You can do it freehand but i use a bowl to make sure i get a proper round shape. One from above and one from below:



My sketch is brilliant, isn't it??

-  It's hard to see but the ends of each paper "string" will overlap. Twist them around each other, stick them together with the sticky tape and keep wrapping until the ring is covered with tape completely




- Don't forget the string if you plan to hang up the wreath. I used a piece of wool, wrapped it around the ring a few times and knotted it tightly.


The next step is to cover the wrap with straw.


- Grab a handful of straw and twist it around the ring.
- Hold it with one hand and tightly wrap the wire around the straw with your other hand.
- Continue clockwise until the ring is covered completely, then trim the straw with scissors.
- Spray-paint the wreath and let it dry thoroughly. Give it a second coat of paint if necessary.
 Please note: Spray-paint should not be used indoors at it could ruin your furniture/ floor/ walls and leaves a sharp smell. Wear a breathing mask to protect your health.




- Pull out three or four strings of raffia and knot their ends together
- Staple to the bottom side of the wreath and wrap it around. Again, staple the end of the strings to the bottom of the wreath
- Lastly heat up the hot gun and glue on your embellishments




And that's it!






This project is linked to some of my favorite Link Parties and i'm also linking up to the 31 days of Spray Paint challenge at the DIY Club and The CSI Project's Fall Wreath Challenge.




Visit thecsiproject.com






DIY: I made a wreath

Not because i like them so much ( i don't) but it was a good opportunity to get rid of two things:

1. A styrofoam ring that i bought several years ago in order to make a christmas wreath, but never did.
2. Hawaiian Leis. I bought these right before our wedding and the plan was to use them as part of our ceremony decoration, but we changed our mind and they have been lying around in our living room since then.

The Leis are made of white fabric and i dyed half of them by mixing blue and green "Easter Egg Dye". The result was a nice pastel shade of turquoise:



I created a loooong Lei ( about 6 meters) by knotting the white and turquoise Leis together and winding them around each other like a drawstring, then i wrapped it around the styrofoam ring. So simple. The wreath still needs to be trimmed but here it is:




Looks so fluffy :)


PS: Easter Egg Dye is one of the most inexpensive ways to dye fabrics for crafting projects and it is also great for making your own colored paper!