How to Make Christmas Wreaths
Christmas wreaths make a beautiful, natural addition to the home during the holiday season. Making your own unique christmas wreath is rewarding for those who enjoy being creative.
Where to Start
Start with a solid wreath form. These can be purchased or made. Inexpensive wreath forms are available in Styrofoam, straw, wire and other materials. If you select one that's Styrofoam or straw, it will be easy to stick small pins into and provides something to string other material onto. You can also make a shape out of a wire coat - hanger - just shape into a circle and you can either cut off the hook part with pliers, or keep it and cover with sticky green florist tape.
To cover the form and provide the basic color you can gather up pine branches holly bush leaves and branches or small birch, from your garden. If the branches are too dry, soak them for a few hours before use. Then wind branch pieces about 8 inches long around the wreath form, twisting as you go. The idea is to wrap the circular shape in a spiral fashion, moving partly horizontal toward the hole as you work your way around the wreath form.
Once you are happy with the basic structure of your wreath you can select flowers, colorful leaves, berries or other natural materials in a dozen different shapes and shades to decorate. Whichever you select, you'll need plenty of glue and floral wire to place them.
At this stage it's possible to use pins to attach some, but that often leaves the problem of disguising the pin heads. Glue dries invisibly and wire can be purchased in a color that will disappear in the foliage. Work your way gradually around the wreath. If you want to be able to turn the wreath around, decorate both sides.
If you used a Styrofoam or straw wreath form, it's easy to insert a wire hook to hang the wreath. If you used wire coat hangers you can use the curved ends of the hanger. But trim them down and re-bend them so they don't stick up noticeably.
