Foraged Winter Wreath DIY

Happy December!

Is it just me, or does this seem like the shortest month of the year? I think I have so many plans and dreams of plans this time of year that even attempting to pack half of them in is an exercise in futility. But I still do it e v e r y year. Work has kept me much busier than anticipated (usually my clients are too busy during the holidays to be bothered with me, ha!), so it’s full steam ahead into 2019! I’m super grateful, but I’m also finding myself in need of more me time than usual.

I had a coffee date with a new client last week at The Thompson Hotel — side note, if you’re in Nashville and have never been there, you are seriously mistaken. Every detail is stunning. To me, it is the dreamiest place on earth. ANYWAYS, on my way there I passed a new store with a darling foraged-looking wreath, and I quickly snapped a photo. I thought it would be fun to whip one up for the house, and I’d been itching to flex my creative muscle. I figured this was a perfect opportunity to get crafty!

So I made a wreath, and then I made another wreath, and I took all the photos, and then…I talked myself out of posting about it because I’m not a “professional wreath maker” (I think that’s called a florist - WHATEVER). But my mantra is ‘progress over perfection’ — even if I forget it sometimes — so here’s how to make a not perfect wreath. If you want to make one, too, stick with me!

This was the wreath at Parish. So cute, right?! If you want to make your own, this is what you’ll need:

Floral wire

Pliers

Pruning shears

Gloves (optional)

Metal hoops in 2 different sizes (I got both of mine at Michael’s for under $6. They also have them at JoAnn’s!)

Various greenery — I purchased blue thistle and two kinds of eucalyptus at Whole Foods for under $20. BONUS! If you go to Home Depot or any place that sells Christmas trees, they have a pile of tree clippings that you can just take FOR FREE. I went at night and loaded up an entire shopping cart!

You probably already have some of these tools at your house, and because the base I used was mostly free trimmings from Home Depot, this was a very low budget project!

So let’s get started!

First, I spray painted my hoops gold (no one is surprised). I’ve purchased gold hoops before at JoAnn’s, but they only had silver. I did this the night before in my garage with the door shut while it was raining. My husband was not thrilled. Sorry, husband!

Next, I took my pruning shears and clipped off sections of the tree trimmings to make them smaller. I laid them all out, grabbed a few at at time, and placed them over the large hoop to see which ones created the shape I was going for. You can use whatever you’d like as the base. The wreath from Parish has a cypress base — which I love the look of — but I don’t think has the longevity of a Christmas tree.

When I found a shape I liked, I wrapped my floral wire around the branch and the hoop, molding it to the hoop. I started from the center where the branches crossed over, and then I wrapped to the right. I used the pliers to cut the wire at the end. When I finished, I started at the center again and worked to the left, cutting the wire when I had the shape I wanted. Try to wrap the wire snug around the center of the branch and not over the limbs so it will look foraged and wild.

After I attached the base, I laid out my eucalyptus and blue thistle over it until I had a shape I liked. I started at the center with my floral wire and wrapped around the hoop just like in the previous step.

At this point, you’re halfway done! Easy, right?

Repeat the same steps with the smaller hoop. It may be helpful to place the smaller hoop in the larger hoop to make sure you’re using the right amount of greenery. I had some cypress leftover from a garland that I tucked in behind the blue thistle to give it a little pop!

When you’re finished with the smaller hoop, you can place it inside the larger hoop again to make sure everything fits. If you’re pleased with it, you can connect the smaller hoop and the larger hoop at the top by wrapping them with floral wire. You can also hot glue them together. At Parish, a ribbon was threaded underneath the top of the hoops and went over the top of the door to the inside where it was secured with a suction cup on the glass. My front door is solid wood, so I used wire to make a little hoop to hang it on a nail. Work with what you’ve got!

If you’re feeling extra fancy, you can attach a bow, too! I used some burgundy velvet ribbon leftover from my wedding (talk about foraging! 😂). I really want to find some wide navy velvet ribbon to pick up the tones of the blue thistle, but this will work for now!

The final result is a little difficult to see since we painted our front door green over the summer, BUT here she is!

Yes, our pumpkins are still out! But usually they’ve gotten weird by this point, and these haven’t! I usually kill everything OMG WHAT DO I DO?

Have you ever made your own wreath? Do you have any good tips or tricks? I’d love to know! Happy holidays!