How To: Wreath Making!

Supplies You Will Need:

-Hot glue gun and glue sticks

-Scissors

-Grapevine Wreath (or any other preferred type)

-Ribbon

-4 to 5 stems of fake flowers (I used two rose and two hydrangea)

-Wooden letter(s)

-Paint

-Paintbrush

Steps:

      1.  Plug in your hot glue gun to heat up. This takes a few minutes. Be sure to put something under the glue gun in case it drips.

     2. Paint the letter. You may want to paint multiple coats (3 at most) in order to achieve desired color. Paint in the same direction to avoid seeing brushstrokes once the paint dries.

     3. Break the flowers from the stem. Some are made of plastic and detach easily by bending them at the base of the flower. Others may require cutting the flower. 

     4. If you want to incorporate the leaves from the stems you purchased, most flowers will allow you to peel off the leaf from the plastic veins. This allows for easy placement on the wreath. 

       5. Make a bow with the ribbon. The best tutorial for this is here.  

          6. Place the flowers on the wreath and decide what arrangement you like before you start gluing. You can play around with the flowers and decide what you think looks best.

     7. In order to make the bow stand out, you may want to put a small amount of flowers where the bow will be. This allows you to glue the bow on top of the flower and have it at the same level as the flowers. If you are working with a large bow, this step may not be necessary.

     8. Begin gluing the flowers on. Be sure to look at exactly where the stem of the flower was touching on the wreath.

     9. There are small openings in the wreath. If you put a good amount of glue on the stem and push the stem down into these openings, the glue will hold more effectively. After gluing the flower on, hold it down lightly for a moment to ensure it stays in place and that the glue begins to dry. (Do not press too hard because you may burn yourself.)

      10. Glue on the larger flowers (hydrangeas) first. This ensures correct placement.

      11. Glue the smaller flowers (roses) in the remaining spots using the same process.

          12. Once all of the flowers have been glued, place the ribbon where you think it will look best before gluing to see how to place it correctly.

         13. Use the hot glue to glue the ribbon on and hold it for a minute before letting go.

         14. Add leaves, if desired. Check placement of these before gluing. Be sure to glue part of the leaf under the flower so that it looks attached.

      15. Lay the (dry) wooden letter on the wreath and decide where to place it. I glued mine directly across from the ribbon. Cover the back of the wooden letter that will be attached to the wreath with hot glue. Place wooden letter on the wreath.

    Hang your wreath wherever you’d like!

This can also be done with multiple wooden letters to spell a word, make initials, or to even put your apartment number on the wreath.

-RA Lauren F.