A holiday wreath can be the true sign as to how seriously one takes the holiday season. Do you make one, reuse a store bought, or buy a fresh one?  I went all out this year by making one. It’s something that can be stored and used year after year and making one is one way to guarantee that it won’t be boring.

 

 

 

 

 

Last year, in the now defunct Blueprint magazine, Martha’s team had put together a beautiful silver butterfly wreath. I saw the article too late to make it and could not find butterflies in time. This year, I full heartedly decided to make my own wreath. I decided to make it like a PR (Project Runway) challenge for myself and wanted it to embody the spirit of the holidays, elegance, glamour, goth, and couture. OK, maybe that last wish was pushing it a little, but I did want o make sure it was incredibly special and unique. Perhaps something along the untraditional lines of “Tim Burton meets Alexander Mcqueen”

 

Well I wasn’t about to encrust it in Swarovski crystals, maybe next time, but I did want a bit of the romantic opulence that you see in high-end department store displays. What would Barneys do, I asked myself? I also wanted to have a layering of elements and I knew I wanted it all black. 

 

 

On the low end of things, I made a trip to MIchael’s and picked up everything I needed.  I am by no means a crafter, so making this was a fun venture for me.

 

STUFF TO GET:

Wide satin ribbon  (to cover the foam)

round styrofoam core

grosgrain ribbon

birds or butterflies

assorted feathers, peacock, etc.

some filler

assorted dried plants

rhinestone gems

 

black fake flowers 

fine black glitter

 

spray adhesive

black spray paint

straight pins (flat head)

glue-  make sure it dries clear 

 

TOOLS:

 

scissors

wire cutters

awl (fabric punch or a pointy metal skewer)

 

PREPARATION:

 

  

 

Spray all the elements you want black with the black paint. When completely dry, spray adhesive on one item at a time wherever you want the glitter. Wait about 5 seconds then dust them with the fine black glitter. Do this over craft paper so you can save the excess glitter and reuse it. It’s also great for easy cleanup.

 

  

 

I did this after work every night for a few days, some birds, some roses, some plants, some bedazzle with rhinestones. I sprayed the foam core black as well, but it started disintegrating, fyi. By the weekend, I was ready to assemble. Ah-the glory moment.

 

 

First, wrap the foam donut in whichever wide ribbon of your choice.  Secure the ribbon with the straight pins and be sure to tuck in the frayed edge when doing this. Then wrap the ribbon at an angle around and around until the whole thing is covered and secure with pins again on the backside.

 

Making the wreath is much like cooking or sewing. The shopping and the prep probably takes the longest, but if you start with a good foundation and get all the stuff together, assembling it is a piece of cake. One thing that was a bit tricky was to know where you want to place things.  I did it intuitively, but it definitely could be planned better. Start with the bigger items and end with the small ones as filler. 

 

 

The only tricky thing to know about assembling, is that you will need a fabric awl to punch an initial hole into the ribbon so that you can pierce it with whatever element you want to put in. Insert at an angle or straight on. It’s nice to play with perspective and varying volume.

 

I built this one by putting the roses in a clump on one half then had one side focus more on the feathers. They met at the top where I ran out of stuff so I put a big bow up there. Once i got the base down, I started adding in all the different single feathers and the small birds and some filler bows here and there. Things to think about when building the wreath are mixing heights, different textures, and variation. 

 

 

I am very pleased with my drag queen wreath. It has the just the right mix of bohemian and fashionable. My boyfriend said, ‘It’s a lot of look’ obviously, quoting Tim Gunn, but I think I made it work. I added in the silver glitter eucalyptus plants so it wouldn’t look too dark and morbid and also because our front door is dark brown and I thought the wreath would get lost against it.

 

I think it worked. At least for this season…it will do.