Merry Christmas! Hope you are all enjoying time with loved ones and eating lots of gingerbread cookies! In my house, everyone has to have eaten breakfast and had a cup of tea before presents are opened. We listen to “Christmas in the English Castle” before even touching our stockings. As a result, opening presents tends to happen around 2PM. I like this tradition because it places the focus of the holiday on family instead of gifts. The thrill of Christmas is even more special now that my cousin Zoë and I have created a unique wreath to decorate our mantle. The beauty of the holiday is in spending time together and creating beautiful things! Here is a step-by-step guide to creating your own holiday wreath:
1. Purchase a wreath from your local craft store. Ours is artificial. You should also buy an arrangement of glittery faux pinecones, sparkly leaves, and berries. They are sold in bouquets.
2. The wreath is constructed from wire covered in fake leaves. When you purchase the wreath, these wires will be tightly folded. Separate them by pushing them in different directions (some towards the center, some towards the outside). This will create the illusion of a larger, more natural wreath.
3. Take each bouquet and separate the pinecones, leaves, and berries into individual stems, or small groups of stems. You will be left with lots of individual berries with long wire stems. Some leaves may have very short, plastic stems.
4. Now comes the fun! There is no specific order for items in a wreath. Simply use what you like. Zoë and I started by tucking some of the copper leaves with short stems in places where the wires of the wreath could be tied around the base of these leaves. The long-stemmed berries could be easily tied around the wire of the wreath. If you have difficulty securing a pinecone, first wrap the wire stem of a berry around the stem of the pinecone, and use the rest of the berry’s wire to tie it to the wreath. In other instances, you will find that some short-stemmed leaves can simply be tucked into the wreath, albeit precariously. We tucked a couple glittery apples into the wreath without tying them down, and they have yet to fall! Maybe it’s Christmas magic…
5. Lastly, you will need to hang your wreath. On the back of your wreath is the thick wire base. I found some gold ribbon and slid it through this wire frame. Place your wreath at the desired height and tie a bow.
6. Sit on the couch with a cup of tea and a gingerbread biscuit and enjoy your beautiful creation 🙂
I hope you enjoyed this DIY. Making a wreath is a simple and lovely way to get in the holiday spirit!! I’m tempted to make one for my bedroom next. Till next time…
xoxo, Chloe <3
