It's fall!
Who doesn't love to see something seasonal on the front door?
I enjoy looking at what people have at their front entrance:
there are so many creative people behind those festive doors.
I decided it was time to create some "fall" on our front door.
I had a picture frame that the glass broke on,
so I decided to try using that as the base for my "wreath."
I picked up a few supplies from the second hand charity store.
It is great to know that when one shops at these stores,
not only are useful things being saved from the landfill,
but the money they make goes toward helping those in need.
They have a little "craft" section with a fair selection of recycled craft supplies.
I found the piece of upholstery material for $.25,
the bag of leaves on stems for $1.99
(I thought they were fake, but after looking at them, I think they are real ones that have been chemically dried).
The fake greens and flowers were $1.69,
and the box of apples was $.99 (I actually just wanted the box to use for something else,
but then realized the apples might be useful in the wreath).
I also used some floral wire and about 5 glue sticks from the glue gun.
That brings the total to about $5.
I started by cutting the material in half, and then in quarters.
I glued the long edges on both sides to give a finished "ribbon" look.
I did this with two of the four quarters.
Then I wrapped them around the frame, and glued them together on it.
It was loose but I wanted it that way so that I could put the greenery in it.
I then cut one of the other quarters into about 4 inch squares.
This gave me 12 squares.
With each of these squares, I put hot glue down one side,...
and then pulled up the opposite corner toward it.
I curled this under and stuck the right side down onto the glue to make a cone.
When I finished making the cones, I decided to hot glue them around a center base.
I used the plastic bag that the greens came in as my base.
I folded it up and taped it.
(I was just using what I had on hand:
I always have this crazy goal of making as little garbage as possible,
because it's a good thing to do
but also because I don't much like cleaning up).
The finished group looked like a circle of cones.
I used one of the other quarters of the material to make slightly smaller squares,
about 3/4 inch smaller.
and then glued them to the top of the other cones in a counter pattern to the first ones.
Finally, I cut the last quarter of material that was left in half longways,
making two 1/8th pieces from the original piece of material.
I cut these strips into small squares...
and made cones of them.
I used up all of the rest of the material on the top layer,
filling in the center as well.
(This whole process really did not take that long.
My kids were watching an evening cartoon while I worked on the floor near them.)
So that I could see what it was going to look like,
I set the ring of cones on the wreath while I placed the greens into the loose material ribbon.
Then I added the flowered sprigs and wired them all down with floral wire.
At this point, I liked the way it was looking, so I wired the ring of cones on as well.
A few springs of the leaves were placed in with the greens,
and the apples, which were styrofoam so were easy to stick with wire,
were wired in place.
My "wreath" is not really a round wreath shape,
but I think it will be a fun change to see...
and I'm thankful all the pieces worked together.
Happy Fall!
