Valentine's Day Craft-Boxwood Wreaths

Boxwood wreaths are all the rage these days!  They are not only beautiful, but transitional as well.  As I was walking around Michael's to collect supplies for my XOXO letters, I happened upon these cute little vine wreaths that were left out of place in the basket aisle.  I was compelled to pick them up, and within seconds knew what I wanted to do with them.  Make mini boxwood wreaths! 

 

 

SUPPLIES NEEDED

Mini vine wreath(s)

Boxwood Garland

String/Twine

Valentine's Day Tags

Scissors

Hot Glue Gun & Glue Sticks

 

Take your garland of boxwood and remove the leaves.  You will find that they come off in a bunch.  I chose to cut them apart, and place each sprig individually onto the vine wreath.  This allowed me to create a more realistic looking wreath.



You will then take your piece of boxwood and glue it to the wreath.  This vine came with thicker leaves as well as thinner budding leaves.  I found that using the thicker leaves around the outer rim of the wreath created volume.  I also placed them in random spots on the front of the wreath.  I then glued the thinner leaves throughout to fill in the negative space.

 

Once you have your leaves glued down, take your twine or string and thread it through the V-day tags.  Pick a place you'd like to tie it to and let it hang on the inside of the wreath.

 



 

And that's it!  You can choose to display these in a number of ways.  I am planning on using these at the dining table in February, but I like the outcome so much that I am making plans to use them around the house year round.  The tags are easily removed so this wont be an issue.

I hope you enjoyed the tutorial!  As always, I'd love to know if you attempt this tutorial.  Let me know below in the comments, or on Instagram (@IrisNacole).  Thanks for stopping by!  Have a wonderful day!

Linking up at the following sites:

http://www.craftberrybush.com/2015/01/inspiration-gallery.html

http://2beesinapod.com/2015/01/26/link-party/

 

Holiday Wreath-DIY

Friends, this past weekend has taken a toll on the whole family.  Rordan came down with a cold, that ended up transferring to me and John, by Monday.  Needless to say, we are all exhausted, and praying we are all over it before Thursday.  The only good part, is that Rordan has done quite well being sick.  Something I'm always thankful for.  My number one priority, is to make sure he is happy and healthy, so when he's down, it hits me in the gut.  Still, I thank God for his overall health, and pray for it to continue.

Well, since I couldn't manage to even keep my head up for very long yesterday, I am very happy to say that I have actually been up and about today, and managed to complete a craft I've had brewing in my mind.  So many times, I visit our craft stores, and see overpriced, even though they are beautiful, wreaths.  I mean, I get it.  Some people don't have the time to make one themselves, or the "skills" to make one, but I simply don't believe that's true.  This wreath cost me well under $20 to make, and took me about 15 minutes, and that's only because I managed to burn my fingers with the glue gun, and had to treat them.  As for skill, yes, I believe some people have an eye for things, but honestly, you could just copy one that you have seen in a magazine, or even up on those walls in the store.  What I'm trying to say is, YOU CAN DO IT!

I hadn't planned on making a tutorial, but then it hit me, in the middle of making this wreath, that some people just don't believe they can do this, so why not show them how easy it really is.  So as far as materials for this wreath, I already had the glue gun and glue, but I had to purchase a regular sized, plain green wreath from Michael's, as well as red ornaments, a red bow, and the little "filler" balls.  Almost everything is 50% off at Michael's right now, so that really helped keep the costs down.  Hobby Lobby almost always has 40% or more off their items too.  If those places aren't near you, run to your nearest Dollar Tree, or Dollar General for cheap materials.  Trust me, most people won't be able to tell the difference.

When making a wreath, I like to lay out the decorations before securing them to the wreath, so I can tweak anything I might need to before hand.  For this wreath, decided I'd like to alternate between the larger ornaments and the little balls, with a red bow at the bottom, to tie into the rest of the décor where this wreath is going to be placed.  Once I decided on this layout, I started to glue them down.  Just a little glob on each of the smaller balls, and a good sized glob on the larger ornaments.  I like to make sure stuff is secure.  I'd hate to pass by one day and see something hanging off or missing completely.  Like I said before, I managed to burn my fingers while gluing these down.  It was one of the little balls that got me, so please be careful. 

And there you have it!  A finished wreath, that anyone could enjoy, for under $20!  I hope you have taken away from this tutorial, just how easy it is to make a wreath yourself.  The possibilities are endless as far as patterns, and materials.  Just do what suits you, and I'm sure you will love the outcome.  Thanks for stopping by! 

                                                                                                 ~Iris