Spring Wreath Made with Watercolor Paper Rosettes

"It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade."  ~Charles Dickens, Great Expectations

Perfect description of this freezing first day of spring! I have had this wreath up on my door for a few weeks now, beckoning warmer days and blooming flowers to come already! It is made from burlap and different types of paper rosettes, including some watercolor paper I painted that turned out so pretty. 

If you've been on Pinterest, you've probably seen lots of ways to make burlap wreaths. The accordion style below is my favorite and easiest to make, in my opinion. For the tutorial I used, click here. It is basically weaving a piece of wire through the folds of a wide strip of burlap and securing the back with wire. 

A helpful tip I figured out while shaping your wreath is to use clothespins all around the circle-it holds the wreath together while you secure each section with wire. I also used burlap on a roll instead of cutting strips for less mess and to save time. 

For the paper rosettes, I used thick handmade paper and also painted some circles of watercolor paper and cut them out after they were dried. Paper rosettes take a little practice to get right but are fun once you get the hang of it. There are a few tutorials out there that show the same basic technique: 

First you start by cutting out a circle a few inches wide. They don't have to be perfect. It helps to use thicker paper, like watercolor. 

Then you draw a swirl from the outside in, trying to space them evenly. 

Begin cutting out the swirl all the way to the center along the line. 

After your swirl is cut out, begin rolling the paper from the outside in. I used dots of tacky glue to hold them in place as I formed my rose, but you can also use hot glue. 

After making a few different sizes, shapes and colors of rosettes, I hot glued them to my burlap to finish the wreath. I love how it turned out-the rustic burlap contrasting with delicate pastel flowers. Since it was going on my front door, I sprayed on a coat of spar polyurethane to protect it from sun and humidity damage.

 This wreath is really fun to make-I recently got to teach a group of women at a nonprofit art center how to make them and love how different each one turned out. There's so much you can do with the burlap base-I consider it the "year round wreath", this is the third one I've made, just changing out the embellishments to fit the season. I'm pretty sure this one will be up until the fall-maybe then I'll make one with bright yellow leaves or white pumpkins? 

I link up to these parties. 

Paper Hearts and Burlap Valentine's Wreath

 

Love day is right around the corner...time to pack away Christmas decorations and put up some pretty hearts. You might have seen this same wreath last month when I posted about my  Christmas Burlap and Pom Pom Wreath: I had cut long strips of a burlap coffee bag and followed this tutorial:

I liked the ruffled burlap base of this wreath so much I wanted to keep it up all year, removing and adding embellishments with the different seasons and holidays. So, in the spirit of repurposing, that's just what I did.

Here's how I transformed this Christmas Wreath into a Valentine's Wreath:

First, I removed the yarn and pom poms, and stored them away for another crafty day.

Then, I cut out simple white paper hearts out of watercolor paper, folding down the middle.

I used a hole punch to make a hole at the top of each heart.
Then, I wrapped craft wire through the hole and around the base of the wreath.This will make it easier to remove the hearts when I'm ready to decorate for spring.

My V day wreath was done-simple and pretty white, five hearts for the five people in our family.

The rest of my Valentines decorating is a lot like this wreath-simple, natural, lots of whites and tans. I will be posting a few pictures soon along with more kitchen progress...

 I hope you'll come by again to take a peek!

Linking up with these parties.

Burlap and Pom Pom Christmas Wreath

Yes, Christmas decorating has started around here... At least for the outside of the house, since it's been perfect weather for stringing up the lights while the temperatures are still in the 50's. So, I decorated my door with this ruffly burlap wreath I made, inspired by this one. I made mine out of a burlap coffee bag I'd been saving for a while, and since it had red and green print, I thought it would look great as a Christmas wreath.

Here's what I used to make my wreath:

• burlap, cut into three inch strips (or you could use burlap ribbon)
• wire
• wire cutters
• wire wreath frame
• small pom poms, in green and white
• white yarn
• green eyelash yarn
• hot glue gun

To make the wreath, follow the tutorial at this blog.
Here are some of my personal helpful tips while making the wreath:

I didn't worry about using a single strip of fabric, it worked fine for me using several strips, and I like the frayed edges, shabby chic style. But if you want a neater look, you could use burlap ribbon on a roll. I also twisted circle of folded fabric around before securing with wire to the wreath frame.
To finish, I secured the loose ends of fabric to the wreath circle with wire so it wouldn't droop.

Then, I played around with some ribbon for a bow, but decided a bow was not what this wreath needed. No, it needed some whimsical touches-soft fuzzy white yarn, fringey green and blue eyelash yarn and green and white pom poms.

Yes, I was happy with this Christmas wreath. I loved all the texture and playfulness. I joked that it reminded me of a cat toy. The nice thing about the way I decorated this wreath is that if I want to take off the yarn and pompoms and keep the burlap for a spring or fall wreath, it could be done easily. If you like this wreath, check out last year's Remade Winter Wreath or for more of my seasonal tutorials, click here.

Thanks for visiting ReMadeSimple!

Linking up with these parties.

Remade Winter Wreath

Here is an easy, elegant wreath idea I came up with combining two of my favorite things: repurposing and nature. I used a white thrift store scarf and some tiny pinecones attached to branches. 

I brushed the pinecones with some pale aqua paint to add some color. I hung the wreath with sheer ribbon also in pale aqua. I think this wreath is versatile enough to display for Christmas and all winter long. 

A wreath too pretty to just hang on my outside door--it is hanging on my closet door in my living room so I can admire it inside. 

Next, I'll be showing you some colorful, handmade Christmas garland and ornaments. 

Thanks for visiting ReMadeSimple! 

Linking up with these parties, and this party!

Recycled Dress Wreath

Hi, my name is Kristina and I am thrilled to be featured here today on Infarrantly Creative! I recently started this little blog called ReMadeSimple as a collection of all my crafting and home decorating ideas.

Many of my ideas have to do with recycled or repurposed items, using nature in decorating and bringing new life to old things. My goal is for my ideas to be low-cost and relatively simple to create-I have lots of tutorials and fun ideas I hope you check out!

Now, onto today's easy and quick wreath tutorial!

I have been having lots of fun lately repurposing fabric from worn out or outdated clothes--I feel good about reusing them rather than just donating them or throwing them away, especially if the fabric is still in good condition.

Here is a wreath I made from a dress I had loved but had become a little worn out and outdated over the years. The white woven cotton cloth was still in good shape and was so easy to work with. I love that the colors of this wreath are versatile enough for Christmas, winter or spring.

Here is another wreath I made with the same concept of using recycled fabric as another option in a different style using scraps of old lace I snagged at a garage sale.

So,  do you have any clothes, lace or ribbon stored away that deserve a second chance? And are you ready to make a really easy, fast wreath?

Here are the materials I used:
1. foam wreath circle
2. low temp glue gun
3. fabric or lace of your choice
4. reindeer moss-(soft, spongy moss I found at Michael's and Hobby Lobby)
5. buttons
6. ribbon

Here's how I made them:

1. I started with a foam wreath circle like the one above. 
2. Then, I cut strips of fabric a few inches wide and about two feet long. (They don't have to be perfect because they will overlap). 
3. I decided which side would be the back of my wreath. Then, I glued the edge of the first strip to the backside.
4. Then, I began wrapping the fabric tightly around the foam circle, hot gluing the edge again when I reached the end of the fabric strip. 

4. I continued the same process, overlapping fabric to cover all of the green foam, glueing the ends of the strips to the back of the wreath.

5. After the wreath was covered evenly in fabric, I decided to add a few rosettes. I made my rosettes by folding the strips in half lengthwise and rolled and twisted them into a tight circle, glue gunning them in place as needed.

6. To finish, I glue gunned the moss and a few buttons to make the rosette stand out more.

Here is the finished recycled dress wreath with the green and white striped hanging ribbon. I was able to give both of these wreaths away as gifts-I'm pretty sure they loved them!

linked up with these parties

Pottery Barn Style Moss Wreath with Cloth Rosettes

I found some cool moss ribbon this spring at Meijer and got inspired to make a spring wreath. I later saw the tutorial for this same wreath on the copycatcrafts blog and found out it was similar to ones sold in Pottery Barn. Well, this one will only cost you around $5 to make, or you can go buy one for $49 at Pottery Barn-your choice!

First,I made the base by tracing two circles into a doughnut shape onto a pizza box and cut them out.
Then,I then wrapped the ribbon tightly around the circles to cover all of the cardboard. I actually didn't need to use any glue because the ribbon texture stuck to itself.

  

I recently discovered making cloth rosettes and am officially addicted! They are so easy and the variety of colors, textures and uses is almost limitless. I made all of mine from fabric using old shirts and ribbon I found around the house.

I recently discovered making cloth rosettes and am officially addicted! (This cool blog called Homemade Ginger had a wreath similar to the one I made and she added some rosettes and twigs to hers-which inspired me too!) They are so easy and the variety of colors, textures and uses is almost limitless. I made all of mine from fabric using old shirts and ribbon I found around the house.

First, cut or tear a long strip of fabric. Then, begin rolling tightly, then roll and twist into a circle, glue gunning into place as needed.

To finish, I glued pin backs to these and stuck them to the wreath. I plan on making new ones and changing out the colors according to the seasons of the year, just for fun and variety!