22 inch wreath
I LOVE Christmas Crafts!!
This is a wreath that I made for a friend of mine. It's a 22 inch wreath from Hobby Lobby. They have the best quality wreaths. It's actually 2 wreaths. A smaller one attached to a larger one. That makes it much fuller. This is the first year I've made wreaths. This is probably the last one until next year. The other one's I've made can be found at my etsy store at
http://www.etsy.com/shop/HeathersHomeCrafts
Below:
*Supplies I used and where to find them: 3 sizes of Pine cones from the outdoors, paper mache stars (Hobby Lobby has the cheapest), bells (Michaels, Goodwill), Poinsettias (Goodwill), small gifts wrapped presents (Dollar Tree), Salt pretending to be snow, Glitter (Joann Fab), Glitter glue (Dollar Tree), Metallic Acrylic Paints, glue gun
*What fun and easy techniques I used on them. I change the look of many of the items
Some general info.....I had to change or add to many of the items on the wreath. Some was done by deconstructing. You don't always have to use them as you see them. I'll get specific later on under the pictures I'll be posting. I do all my shopping for these items the year before. Get ready to shop when the items are on clearance after Christmas. Those stores, which are local to me, would be Hobby Lobby, Michaels and Joann Fabrics.
STORES TO SHOP
Goodwill Stores: I bet you never thought of buying Christmas supplies from them. I've been to 4 of their stores and I can't believe how many things there are to stick on a wreath and to decorate just about any room or your tree. I bought 5 wreaths and 3 more that I bought just to deconstruct. There were plenty more I just can't work on that many. And of course so many things to put on the wreaths to decorate them. I wish I would have thought of going there before Hobby Lobby/Michaels. I could have saved some money.
 |
| Poinsettia and branches that look snowy - from Goodwill |
The Poinsettia's that I added originally came with many others in a small wreath that I found at Goodwill for a whole $0.49.
I used my wire cutters and snipped 8 of them off the wreath. These are the best quality poinsettia's that i've found. I got the wire cutters for $1.00 at the Dollar Tree.
On the right side of the photo above I took another wreath that I deconstructed ($0.49 at Goodwill)
that was full of these branches/leaves that I've been wanting for so long to accent some items on the wreath I made. I brushed white acrylic paint on them to make it look like snow.
 |
| Pack of 5 Silver Glittery Merry Christmas from Dollar Tree |
I always have a word or phrase like this "Merry Christmas" on my wreaths. For me, I like to have a sentiment. The other one on this wreath was a "JOY" sentiment.
I didn't want the JOY on the left which is the way I bought it from Michaels 2 years ago so I covered it in white acrylic paint just as if you were going to prime a wall. After 2 layers of it I painted it with Silver Metallic acrylic paint. I wanted a subtle glittery effect so I added a couple layers of glitter glue from the Dollar Tree. It almost looks like it came that way. I added a glossy finish to it like I would do to something ceramic that I painted. For the red bow I just used a pencil to outline it and I could see if through the paint.
 |
| Paper Mache Stars |
The 3 paper mache stars I have on the wreath I got from Hobby Lobby. There are 2 sizes there. These are the smaller ones and they are $0.67 each. The larger size is $0.99. At michaels they are $1.99. That's a huge difference in price if you're looking to buy some. The first thing I did was paint them with gold metallic acrylic paint. Then I added a couple layers of glitter glue from the Dollar Tree. It's a subtle effect that I just brushed on with a paint brush.
DECORATE YOUR PINE CONES
I love love love pinecones. I can't get enough of em. You don't have to buy a bag of them. If you go to Michaels and they have an aisle of bins that have bundles that you decorate your tree with. They have 1 with 3 pinecones attached to a short stake. I just take a wire cutter and cut them off. If they are on sale from their 0.99 cent price they are a steal.
DECORATING THEM:
The left: Painted Gold, added gold glitter, added copper glitter down the center (got that for 1.00 at Michaels a month ago..yay!) Then finished off with gold glitter glue on the edges cause some areas got covered by the copper
The Center:
 |
| Salt immitating snow |
On pinterest I found a pin about
using salt to immitate snow. In this case I used it instead of white glitter. Thank goodness because I couldn't afford all the glitter it was going to take to get me through the Christmas crafts. I took decoupage glue and dabbed quite a bit on the ends and took the salt and sprinkled it over. I paid 48 cents for a hugh thing of salt at Walmart. I like very fine glitter so this salt was perfect.
On the right cone: Painted it Gold, covered in gold glitter. Added large amounts of decoupage glue to the center of the cone and covered in very fine silver glitter.
 |
| SALTED Large Pine Cone |
I also SALTED this very large pinecone that I found under a tree down the street from me. I painted it with white acrylic paint, then I added glue to the edges, held it vertical face down on my table and poured the salt on. Let it dry and add more glue to keep the salt from falling off.
_____________________________________________________-
I hope you try some of the techniques or try something new.
Thanks for looking, and take care!
Heather
){kind=link}
){kind=link}
