my live, DIY rustic wreath

One thing I've enjoyed with my leisure time this past week is Christmas crafting!  After talking it over, Will and I decided not to get a tree since we won't actually be around for Christmas, but that didn't stop me going to Lowes to fish the tree trimmings out of their boxes like I did last year, to make the (now traditional) live garland (link) and several other little things for the house:

a fragrant live pine/ silk poinsettia
table bouquet

a live pine/ cone display in each bathroom

My most favourite project was the live, rustic wreath that I made for Will's aunty, whom we are staying with over Christmas:

Nothing beats the smell of live pine or a gift crafted with love!  I drew inspiration from Pottery Barn, where the live wreaths cost upwards of $100 and I want to tell you that making your own wreath is super fun, easy and cheap to make! So if you're strapped for ideas this Christmas - or buying for someone who has everything - this might be the perfect solution for you. Here's what you'll need:

live pine trimmings (free from Lowes!)

a wire wreath ($5.99 from Micheal's)

a bag of pine cones ($3 from Target)

twine

shears

scissors

small green wires 

(I already had some but you can buy these from Micheal's for about $3 if you don't have any)

I also tried to be ceative with some 'juniper' looking berries
and pine from our garden/ but the berries all fell off as I was
attaching them to the wreath :( Major bummer - but the
varying foliage looks great on the wreath!

I strongly recommend a wire wreath like this one from
Michael's - it's super easy to attach the pine and hold it firmly
in place - others I've tried are too time consuming and finicky! 

To start, just lay the pine needles in places
without securing them, to see how they will look

When you're happy, wrap the wires around
the bundle

They're so hard to see! The perfect secret :)

Roughly finished

Hang it up to see how it looks

Then secure any pieces that have gone haywire with the
small green wires

You can make it as tight/ neat/ round as you like -
I wanted mine to look rustic so didn't tighten it too much

Now it's looking neater :)

If you want to decorate with pinecones, place the wreath back
on the floor and roughly lay the pinecones in place

To secure them onto your wreath, tie twine tightly around
the bottom layers... 

Thread the twine inconspicuously through the foliage... 

Making sure it's completely hidden from the front...

And tie in place around the back

Voila! Your rustic wreath is all done! 

Well almost...
I personally LOVED it like this, but when I showed it to
Will - he said it needed colour to make it more festive...

Luckily I had these berry wires  ($1.99 from Michael's)
left over from Xmas present wrapping

So I pulled them apart...

And wrapped them randomly around pine needles on my
wreath 

Certainly more festive! 

Total time spent: 1 hour

Total cash spent: $9

HAVE FUN!!!

D.I.Y shabby-chic magnolia wreath

I've finally had a chance to finish my spring wreath.  It was so simple and cost hardly anything since I already had most of what I needed at home from previous craft projects.  If you feel inspired to make one for yourself, here's what you'll need:

large grapevine wreath $8.99 from Joannes

-deconstructed magnolia garland i had laying around-
very similar flowers at Micheal's or  Joannes
(just trim the long stems)

green wire and cutter $4.99 from Joanne's 

pliers for bending wire
(i love my leatherman (on sale!) because it comes in handy for
all my craft needs - it even cuts wire) but any pliers will do for this

craft glue $1.79 Joanne's or any craft store

scissors & burlap - i had a large roll because i use burlap
 a lot for decorating so i had to cut strips:
but you can get burlap ribbon as well

Making the wreath:

I started by playing around with loose pieces, placing them onto the wreath in various positions to see what looked good.

When I found a variation I liked, I took a photo so I knew which piece goes where and got to work, intertwining flower stems into the wreath and attaching with wire:

to ensure nothing flies away in rough weather, I glued each leaf and flower onto each stem:

sometimes the leaves stick out in funky directions so I pierce them with wire and secure them the way I want them to face: 

Add caption

once everything was in place, glued and secured, I cut two thick strips of burlap off my roll and simply tied them onto the wreath.  (For extra security you can sew these on to the wreath with a bit of thread if you like but with normal wind/ wear & tear they won't budge if the knot is tight enough).

and there you have it.  A simple, pretty shabby-chic wreath in time for spring!