Fresh wreaths are a fun (and beautiful) way to get into the spirit of the season – whatever season that may be! I love using natural materials as much as possible and many items you can likely find in your own yard. The best way to make wreaths? With friends! Grab supplies, have guests bring items to share, fix up some quick snacks and it’s a party!
This post specifically talks about Fall wreaths, but the same ideas apply when using materials from another season.
Photos taken by the incredible Ali Vrbas of Sound Roots Photography.
Here’s what you need for a wreath making party:
Outdoor location or a garage (there will be lots of bits to clean up afterwards)
Large table
Baskets or other vessels for your dried items
Metal hoops (for simple modern wreaths)
OR Wire Wreath Bases (for traditional style full wreaths)
Thin gauge wire
Florist tape
2 foot lengths of ribbon or twine (this is for hanging your wreaths or for adding a bow)
Foliage, branches, dried flowers, pinecones etc.
Garden shears or clippers
Hot glue gun (for attaching items that are hard to wire)
Instructions:
Have all of your supplies out and ready for your guests. I like to spread things out on a table with shears, tape and wire spaced every couple of feet. Put all of your branches and dried items in baskets or metal vases for your guests to easily grab. Most likely folks will be moving around to grab what they need.
Give a tutorial: I like to give a brief tutorial at the start of the gathering and then I walk around and help as needed. There are a few ways to make wreaths, but I like to make several bundles of the items I am using and lay them out in front of me. Then I wire the groups together, before attaching them each to the wreath base. Another way is to use one or two base materials and wire them all around your wreath base. Then you go back and add filler and accent pieces as you see fit. This is where a glue gun can come in handy, for those hard to wire items. Honestly there is no wrong way to make a wreath, but just make sure you are tightly securing each bundle or piece, as once the wreath is outside, wind can wreak havoc on your creation quite quickly.
