DIY Succulent Wreath

My friend asked me to make a wreath for her front door - she didn't give me any parameters, so I had fun coming up with something!  She's super into succulents, so I knew that would be perfect.

For this project you'll need:
Flat Styrofoam wreath form
saran wrap
yarn
faux succulents
a wooden or chipboard word
paint (I used spray paint)
floral wire
wire cutters
tape
fishing line
jute cord

Step 1:  Wrap your wreath form in saran plastic wrap.  This keeps the yarn from cutting into the foam.

Step 2: Wrap your wreath form with the yarn.  I discovered on a blog that it works well to cut long strands of yarn (I did 5-6 at a time), knot them and then wrap (obviously leaving the knots at the back).  When I got to the end of the string, I would tape it in the back as well.

Step 3:  Lay out the word and succulents to get an idea of what you want the wreath to look like.

Step 4:  Spray paint the word you chose.  I chose the word "welcome" and a glossy aqua spray paint. The paint didn't stick that well to the chipboard word, I think either using spray paint/wood word or brushed on acrylic paint/chipboard would be better combinations.

Step 5:  Cut the stem pieces off the succulents, leaving about a half inch that can be stuck into the foam.  Use the floral wire to wrap around the leaves of the succulents and then twist/tie them onto the foam.

Step 6:  Use fishing line to tie the word to the wreath form.  I didn't do this, but using glue dots under the word might be a good idea too.

Step 7:  Tie a piece of jute around the top of the wreath form, as a wreath hanger and then enjoy your new wreath!

Yarn Wrapped Striped Modern Floral Wreath Using Painted Laser Cut Wood Flowers

My friend Amanda asked me to make her a new wreath after the one I made for her here (Felt Flower Wreath) broke.  I searched Pinterest for Pinspiration and nothing jumped out at me.  So then I wandered around Michael's and kept coming back to these laser cut wood flowers.  I could just picture them painted and on a wreath.  Also I'm really into black and white stripes this summer Exhibit A 

 Exhibit B

so I decided I wanted the wreath to be black and white striped.  I found this ribbon that I deemed perfect.

But then when I wrapped it around the wreath form, I didn't like it.

So then I decided to create my own stripes by wrapping black and white yarn. I used double sided tape to secure the beginning and end piece of each yarn stripe.

In the meantime I painted the flowers and had so much fun mixing colors and painting!

 

When the yarn wrapping was done and the flowers were dry, I just arranged and hot glued the flowers on.

 

 

Kind of interesting - after I had made my wreath, I searched online to see if anyone had ever posted anything similar and found this blog at Little Red Window that used pretty similar laser cut wood flowers from Michael's and since she was going for a spring look - the final painted flowers and wreath turned out very different than mine.  Which tells you that you can really put your own personality and style into it.

 

Amanda was happy with the wreath and I think it looks very cheery on her front door!!