DIY wreath

Don't think that because I haven't been blogging much lately that I've just been reclining on the couch eating bonbons... I've been a busy girl! Reading, stitching, crafting, sewing.... But first - good news - I had my fifth Physio appointment today- the first in almost three weeks, and I got an A+ !! She was extremely pleased with my progress so I guess I've been doing something right!! You know what this means- full speed ahead on my red quilt - rotary cutting here I come! More on that later.
Today I want to show you my latest craft project. You know how Christmas balls and ornaments go on sale after Christmas for almost nothing? (Makes you realize that we are paying waaaay too much when we pay full price...) Anyway - who can resist a sleeve of a dozen balls for $1.29, or a few days later $0.54?? That's just too good a deal to pass up - so my buddy Sue and I decided to do a few wreaths. Actually Sue had  done one already with her daughter while she was home for Christmas, so I had the benefit of her experience. Lucky me. They are so simple- you just need a styrofoam wreath base, a good glue gun and LOTS of balls and glue sticks. Actually we also got a can of silver metallic spray paint to give the styrofoam base a light coat of silver color. (In hindsight now, I think this is optional as you really don't see any of the base by the time you're done.) If you decide to do one and get the
spray paint, be sure you choose the type that is labelled safe to use on styrofoam, as the other will just "eat away" the styrofoam! (Great time to use a 50% OFF coupon at Michaels!) The easiest way to spray the base is to stick some pushpins in the wrong side, "stand" it on the pushpin "legs" on newsprint and then give it a light spray all over, being sure to get the outside and inside edges as well as the top. Do this in a well ventilated area - I did it in the garage after I backed out the car- one wouldn't want overspray on one's new red car, would one?? Let the wreath dry well before starting to add the balls.
We used four different sizes of balls - let's call them large (3"), medium (2.5"), small (1.5") and mini (1"). To the best of my memory, because I did not "take notes", I had 1 doz. large red,  4 doz. of each medium, small and mini sizes in red and silver - 2 doz. of each color. That sounds like a lot, I know, but it does take quite a few. I had a variety of shiny, dull, pearly, glittery and frosted. If I was doing another wreath, I would choose a color that  had balls in several shades of the color as well - Sue's green wreath had balls in emerald, lime and "goldy-green" as well as silver. Our wreath base was the 16" size.

We started with the largest balls and just randomly placed them around the wreath - having some off to the side. You just push the "hanger end" of the ball into the base, to make a bit of a depression in the styrofoam. Then pull the ball back out, put some hot glue around the hanger end and push it back into the styrofoam base, holding in place for 10-20 seconds until it is secure. Actually it works really well to have two people doing this, one wielding the glue gun, the other placing and holding the balls. After the largest are placed and secure, then we just continued adding the medium, then the small. You just fill in the spaces, and just add a small daub of glue to two of the nearest balls to hold the next one, if that makes sense. By the time you are placing the small size, you should be "covering all the spaces" so you are not seeing any of the base. The mini balls are added last to fill in the "cracks". Of course you are placing all balls with the "hanger end" down so it is not seen. Let it dry well - at least overnight.
We then fashioned a hanger on the back with a loop of 1/2" wide grosgrain ribbon, held in place with duct tape and No Nails glue plus a few staples from the staple gun for good measure! We let that dry well for 24 hours before hanging. Then you can put a loop of narrower ribbon or string through the grosgrain ribbon loop and make it long or short depending on where and how it will hang. A BIG thanks to my buddy Sue for all the guidance and help.
Here you see my wreath on the dining room wall, which was my original intention. (Color slightly affected by the flash...) However the jury is still "out" on whether it is just a bit too large for the space. Who knows where it may end up next Christmas -  maybe even the front door!
So there you have it. A simple DIY project. (Do you think Martha Stewart would be proud of us? lol)  If you do one, send me a photo! My next project? Why the red quilt of course. I should be ready for photos in the next few days. Now that I've got the "go ahead" from my Physiotherapist, I have a little more cutting to do to finish the last dozen sashing strips and then I'll be putting it together. I have the first border all pieced and ready to attach...

Peace,
Linda

Every day may not be good, but there is something good in every day.