BIG Two Foot Wide Wreath from a Hula Hoop

I wanted to make a BIG wreath for our door. It had to fit

around the rectangular window so I knew it needed to be 

at least 24" wide.

A trip to the Dollar Tree gave me great ideas, including using a hula hoop base.

I bought a hoop, a foam noodle and loads of colorful silk decor in 

autumn colors and spent less than $15 for everything.

I split the noodle lengthwise and hot glued it to the hoop so the wreath would be 

flattish on the back side and plumpish on the front. 

Those are technical terms, right?

Then I wrapped the foam and hoop in burlap type fabric. 

By the way, the Dollar Store also has the best deal on lotsa sticks of hot glue for a buck.

Let the fun begin! I ended up cutting the leaf clusters off the garlands and

 gluing them in place among the flowers on the front. 

This eliminated any bulk on the flattish back side.

Just a side note...still LOVING the penny counter we put on my kitchen island this summer.

What a fun way to spend an hour or so...attaching pretty colorful flowers

 to a giant wreath for autumn decor!

Oooh aaah!

It's the perfect size to go around the window in the door 

and it's exactly how I pictured it.

Bonus close up shots just because.

During the year I'll hit yard sales and thrift stores for more

colorful things to put on this wreath.

Hula hoop door wreath...I think we have a winner!

Twig Wreath Redo for Spring

I'm a bit of a wreath fanatic. There, I've said it.

When I found this twig wreath for $2 at a yard sale I knew it's 24" size 

was perfect for my front door. It came with bits of dried eucalyptus branches and fake roses and I kept them in place.

So first, I spray painted it glossy black and added Dollar Store leaves and flowers for fall and Halloween.

LOVE!

See the black roses and dried eucalyptus? 

Then for winter/Christmas I spray painted it gloss white and added lots of glossy turquoise. 

I am always on the look out for more turquoise bits and bobs 

plus glittery snowflakes and Christmas bulbs.

And there are the eucalyptus and roses painted bright white.

And now for spring, the white wreath is ready to shine in beautiful shades of green. Courtesy of the Dollar Store, thrift stores and yard sales, of course.

This time the white roses are under the ferns and butterflies.

Here are some of my finds during the year. I used some for this wreath. 

I have a list of things I am always looking for.

When I couldn't find green curlicues I just painted some curled wire. I do believe in making things I need/want and then making things work without spending loads of money.

Ooh aaah!

This year I've even turned it over and tried it out on this octagon window.

I removed the nest and added more butterflies and a wind chime. 

I painted the wind chime butterfly as a Monarch for a pop of color. 

What do you think? Should I add a wreath on the door, too? 

Can I ever have too many wreaths? Lol.

What are you doing for your spring decor? 

Spring Wreath Redo....The 4th Look From The Same Wreath

Time to redo my wreath for spring. Easy and CHEAP and beautiful!

Ooh aah!

Back in the fall I started out with a Walmart twig wreath, some eucalyptus branches, mixed twigs, fake roses and gloss black spray paint. I added a Dollar Store haunted house cut-out and some ruffled streamers made from a cheap plastic table cloth. Spiderwebs and tiny little bat cut outs made this a fun wreath for my Halloween door.



This wreath is almost 24" across, so it is big enough for the arched windows in the door to fit right into the curve.

Next......

I added Dollar Store autumn leaves and flowers, plus some real mini pumpkins. The bright colors against the gloss black wreath and twigs really popped! This was a great look between Halloween and Thanksgiving.

Next...

I spray painted the wreath gloss white and really changed it's look. See how the roses stand out now? I added pretty shiny decorations in blue, silver, teal and white and LOVED the way it came out. I scored some teal foil twist at the Goodwill and used it for the curlicues and the rosettes on the little ball in the middle. I also crackle painted another teal ball with silver acrylic paint and Elmer's glue.

And now to that white wreath I'm adding all these springtime elements.....

Silk hydrangea leaves, plastic ferns, sticks from the yard, glitter and paint and pretty glittery butterflies. And, a mini vine wreath to remake into a bird's nest.

I painted some of the greenery with lime green Patio Paint for some color interest. The Patio Paint is specially formulated for use outdoors and I've had good luck with it holding up to bad weather.

I like it. I like it alot!

And here's a closeup....

I had most of these things in my stash and only bought the glittered eggs for the nest. The bronze glittered butterflies were on clearance after Christmas for 50 cents. I painted the curly wires with the Patio Paint and re used the tiny blue berry twigs from the Christmas wreath. I soaked the tiny vine wreath in hot water then unraveled it and spread it out to be less tight and more nest-like. Then I added twigs from the yard to make it a little shaggy.

I've had this project in mind for awhile and it was fun getting it finished and hung up. As wet and cold as the weather has been here, it's the only thing we've done outside so far this spring!

Join me at the linky parties in my sidebar, you never know what neat projects you will find.

Black and White and Red Christmas

My girls and I will be at the Douglas County Christmas Fair in Roseburg, Oregon this weekend. FOUR big buildings full of Christmas goodness, what's not to love? Come see us if you are in the area! Just look for the "Make The Best of Things" booth.
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Here's what my baker's rack looked like for November. Lots of vibrant autumn color with faux leaves, my fabric and lace pumpkins, garlands and a neat twig rosette wreath.

For October it looked like this, complete with spooky bats, a black dried vine wreath, scary cut outs and black netting. I loved the black and white theme so much I wanted to use it again for Christmas, maybe with a bit of silver.

So here was the start of the Christmas decorating and tho it's coming together, it just looked too "calm" for me. I love color and knew I had to add some to this display. I didn't go out and buy anything and knew I had to work with what I already had. The silver wreath is a great Dollar Store clearance buy after Christmas last year, it was twenty five cents!!

I looked in my Christmas storage; old balls, yarn and old silver decorations. I remade the silver tinsel wreath with lots of red in yarn and glass balls, plus silver balls and snowflakes and even a black and white ball to match the two cone trees. Hmmmm, looking better!

Here's how the rack looks now. I'm still tweaking that second shelf, perhaps adding a few more cone trees....and one wrapped with a red beaded garland...and maybe one with silver foil....thinking thinking.

This is the great fun of creating your own decor, when you get an idea you can work on it and modify it until you get the look you want. I'm not done with this design yet, but so far I'm liking the clean black and white and silver with pops of red, SO different from my normal cobalt blue, white and silver.

What about you, are you changing up your colors or style this year? It's your house, go for it!

Blue and White Wreath Redo Fourth Go Round

I am thrifty (cheap, tightfisted, etc) as all get out and I love it when I can get LOTS of mileage out of my decorations. Here is our Christmas door wreath for 2012....the FOURTH seasonal redo of my favorite twig wreath form and I think it's my favorite version yet.

It fits over the arched window in our front door perfectly, so it's a keeper.

Ooh aah!

I knew all those cobalt, teal and silver ornaments I found at yard sales, thrift stores and clearance sales would look great on this twig wreath. I've been collecting them all year. I especially love all the glittered ornaments I've found. 

Last year this wreath started out painted gloss black, with three black roses and lots of eucalyptus and twiggy sticks. I added silk leaves, flowers and real pumpkins for our autumn Thanksgiving door decor. LOVE the contrast and the bright colors!

Then I got out the cheap Walmart spray paint in gloss white and totally changed the look of the whole thing for less than $2! When it comes to redoing this big twig wreath, spray paint and hot glue are my best friends.

I scored some neat teal foil ribbon twist which I glued to wire curls and added a few blue balls.  I was super pleased with this pretty wreath on our Christmas door last year.

I found the bronze glittered butterflies at an after Christmas clearance sale and saved them for this springtime wreath. More wire curls got a shot of spring green and every time I ran across silk or plastic ferns and greenery, I snapped them up and stuck them on. By the end of summer this wreath was just LOADED with greenery! I made the nest from twigs and glittered the 3 eggs for a pretty touch and I even scored a green glittered butterfly.

Which brings us back to this year's Christmas wreath. I added beads and that pretty blue glittered butterfly and even a bath scrubby in a gorgeous turquoise shade. The more the merrier is my motto!

I re used the white wire curls from the spring and summer wreath and also re used the  blue foil twist curls from last year. I tried out some outdoor Mod Podge to make glittered balls. I'll be keeping a close watch on those to see how that Mod Podge formula holds up to winter storms.

I like it! I like it ALOT!

I took a couple of hours off from my long, long Christmas To Do List and just put this wreath together for some  fun. Sometimes you've got to squeeze something relaxing into your schedule. You might be surprised how rejuvenated you will be and ready to jump back into your busy life.

So this next year I'll keep my eyes peeled for even more blue ornaments for this fun door wreath. Who knows, maybe I'll even find another big twig wreath and I can double my fun with more wreath redos!

Have a great holiday season, ladies, and come visit the great blog parties listed on my side bar. You never know what you will find!