Easy and Beautiful Fall Wreath

You might have noticed that I have been a little obsessed with wreaths lately. The only problem is that we don't have a lot of storage in our little apartment. So, when I was designing a fall wreath for our front door,  I knew that I needed something versatile enough to last through the Christmas season too. After much deliberation,  I decided on a simple, classic moss wreath with a big and beautiful bow. The trick is in the bow! I made the bow easily removable so that it can be removed and replaced with a Christmas bow in a couple of months. Here is how it all went down...

Materials:
Hot glue gun, bag of glue sticks
Reindeer Moss (approximately 4 bags)
18" Straw wreath
1 roll Wired Ribbon of your choosing for the bow
Ribbon Wire
Flexible hold hairspray (strong but not extra firm because that will change the look of the moss)

Technique:
-Remove plastic wrap from straw wreath. (This can be a little messy because the straw goes everywhere. I would suggest putting down some a cloth or newspaper to catch all of the falling straw.)

-Working slowly and in small sections, begin to glue the reindeer moss to the wreath form. Work all the way around the entire wreath (front and back). Every part of the wreath form should be covered. Then I sprayed the entire wreath with a light coat of hairspray to hold the moss in place.

-Now it is time to make the bows! If you didn't see my last post, here is a great Bow Tying Tutorial . I purchased two beautiful rolls of wired ribbon, one in fall colors and one in Christmas colors. I created my bow using the above tutorial.


**To secure the bow to the wreath I used ribbon wire instead of glue. This way I can easily change it when Christmas rolls around. There you go, a classic wreath that can take you from fall to Christmas with just a simple change!!

Christmas in September, why not? A beautiful Pearl Wreath!

The other day I was in Michael's looking for reindeer moss to make a fall wreath. They were out of the reindeer  moss. However, in wonderful strike of luck, I wandered by a tub of pearls that just called out to me! "What can I do with a tub of pearls," I wondered. So I carried the pearls around looking in every nook and cranny for the perfect project. Soon I stumbled upon the wreath making section of the store and there it was...the perfect idea. A pearl studded Christmas Wreath! So I gathered all the supplies and headed home.
The supplies I gathered were:
1- white Styrofoam wreath
1- tub of pearls ($6.99 -40% = $4.20!)
2- strands of large pearls (from the jewelry section)
1- Christmas floral pick of white/silver/clear bulbs
2- rolls of white satin ribbon
1- roll silver ribbon (optional for hanging)
Hot glue gun and glue


Here's how I did it:
1. Using hot glue, wrap white satin ribbon around the Styrofoam wreath. This will give a finished look to the sides and back of the wreath.

                                                        *Work in small sections, limiting hot        
                                                     glue usage to back of wreath if possible.

2. Separate the balls from the floral pick. Cut off the thin wire attached, leaving the base intact. Place the balls in sporadic areas around the wreath. When you get them where you want them push them into the Styrofoam.










3. Working in small sections, begin hot gluing the pearls to the top layer of the wreath.

4. When the pearls are all glued down and the wreath is complete, it is time to tie the bow for hanging. I used silver ribbon for this part of the project. If you are not confident in your bow tying capabilities this is a great tutorial: Ribbon Tying Tutorial .
So with no further adieu...
My Pearl Studded Christmas Wreath!!!!! (I actually plan to hang it in the dining room when I hang it for the holidays so that it will stick out more.)

Mom Worthy Craft Projects ...Happy Birthday Mom!

Hello Everyone! I know that it has been a while since I've posted but I have been crafting away! For me May means Mother's Day and Mom's Birthday. This year I was on a quest for the perfect gift for my Mommy. But what do you give the woman who has been there for you since day one? I really wanted to make her something special and from the heart. The only problem with homemade, after age six, is that you have to make sure it doesn't look homemade. Luckily for me, my mother loves jewelery and accessories. I did a little hunting and came up with two mom-worthy craft projects. 

First, I ventured to a local bead store to try my hand at beading for the first time. It was so much easier than I expected.

 I picked a black and white color combo that would go with almost everything! Then I simply headed home and began to lay out the beads in a pattern I liked. 
I also got some help from this tutorial: http://www.how-to-make-beaded-jewelry.com/


Items needed: Jewelers Wire, Beads , Clasp, Crimps, Needle Nose pliers (I stole my husband's), Bead Stoppers (clamps that hold the beads in place until you are ready to finish it off) . 
This is what I ended up with...

 The second gift I wanted to make was a matching purse. So I scoured the Internet and found a beautiful clutch pattern on the Martha Stewart website. I just had to try it! 
The inspiration:

    

http://www.marthastewart.com/269495/fabric-clutch


My version...

I think it turned out pretty well! I had so much fun making these items for my Mom. Check out the tutorial above. You too can make a totally unique purse for any occasion.