An Uncomplicated Life Blog: January 2021

Monday, January 11, 2021

DIY Valentine's Day Wreath

This DIY is easy to do and the materials are found at any craft store


Hey quarantiners, are you bored yet? Yeah, me too. We're not the quarantined here in Texas (praise be) but we still can't get out and about like we used to. Even with four kids, to save my sanity, I decided to start to invest some of my home time in to my major hobbies, which include wreath making (see this post and see this photo - a DIY on how to make a ribbon wreath and some photos of other wreaths I've made over the years) I decorated for Valentine's Day last year and intend to again. There's something satisfying about how girly and pink and red everything is when you're a mom of all boys that makes me absolutely love Valentine's Day decos - gimme hearts, pink, purple, red and white. It's surprisingly easy to make your own wreath, and the thing I love most about it is that you can customize it to fit your decor in your home. Here's how I made my own Valentine's Day inspired wreath.


Before I jump in, a shoutout is needed... I actually made this wreath for my boyfriend's apartment. He not only patiently waited for me to pick out all the supplies at Michael's Craft Store, he ran down to the maintenance guy to borrow a pair of wire cutters because the scissors he had wasn't cutting through some of the thicker wires of the silk roses I bought. What a guy! When I don't have a gag order on my personal life because of my active divorce hearing, I'll tell you everything this wonderful human has done for me, but until then, I'll simply mention that he loves holiday decorating as much as me and patiently assists my hobbies as I sit on his floor and furiously craft away. Don't worry, football is usually on for him. Tradeoffs, no?


Ok, back to wreath making. For any wreath, you need a base. I love to use natural material (think willow, grapevine, rattan, etc) because it's easy to weave your desired contents into the stick strands. Wire frames are great if you're using a decorative material that can be tied around the wire to secure it, but when you're working with garland, faux flowers or other materials that need to be wrapped, weaved or secured another way, natural wreath frames are the way to go. 

What you'll need:
Cut the roses from the long stems, leaving anywhere from an inch to three inches of stem attached to the flower so that you can weave it into your wreath frame. I also kept some of the green leaves, both on the flowers and then independent leaves to weave into the wreath frame as well. 



I chose white as the primary color for the wreath, so I started with a group of white flowers. Use your fingers to separate some of the wreath frame and insert the stem of the flower. Pull the flower towards the wreath frame until it's tight, then secure the stem on the back of the wreath by twisting it around other sections of the wreath frame. I alternated both colors and size of the blooms, occasionally using leaves instead of flowers, so the wreath looks balanced and "natural." Keep repeating the process until the wreath frame is hidden by flowers. The more flowers you add to your wreath, the easier it will be to secure the buds to the frame because the natural fibers of the frame will start to get full, and the more full it is, the tighter the flower stems will sit in the wreath, without having to secure them by twisting the stem wire in the back.

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Keep going until your wreath is nice and full. Sometimes you'll need to go back and take a flower or two out because it doesn't fit the pattern you start out with, or you end up with too much of one color or one kid of flower towards the end, but it's fairly easy to redistribute the flowers if that's the case. Don't worry about it being perfect off the bat, you can always change things around as you get going! What I love about DIY wreaths is that they're flexible, easy to make and customizable to what you want in them, the colors in your home, and your personal décor choices. Enjoy making this DIY Valentines Day Wreath - I know my kids love that we decorate for Valentine's, after all the sparkle of Christmas is packed away.