DIY Twig Wreath

This pile of needlepoint ivy trimmings gave me the spark of an idea.

Why not make a twig wreath for my front porch?

Did you know you can still buy metal coat hangers?  

Yup! These "new" ones are plastic coated and still perfect for wire projects, 

like forming the base of my wreath.

I wrapped and tucked and wrapped and tucked all the way around.

 I didn't have to use the wire at all. After a few days

 drying time I retucked the loose ends.

 This ferny garland cost about $7 using a coupon at Michael's.
I also used a few Dollar Store bunches to fill it in.

Oooh aaaaah!

  Now comes the fun part; hanging it on the porch and taking photos! I LOVE the way it looks so real even compared to the ivy tower and other plants close by!

Well now, that was fun and easy and CHEAP.
Okay, thrifty and money saving.
Projects like this boost my mood immediately!

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? 

Quick Change Wreath Decor

I had this idea to make wreath decor that was easy to change out on different kinds of wreaths and didn't require loads and loads of hot glue to hold them on.

Here's what I came up with.

I crashed my stash and found all kinds of colorful, glittery Autumn leaves, berries and twigs. Most of them are from the Dollar Store. That's a good start!

I wanted the backing to be sturdy enough to hold all the elements but also lightweight and thin enough so the design would blend with the types of wreaths I want to decorate. The Mountain Dew box was just the right weight. I hot glued all the leaves and rosettes and berries in place on the front then attached florist wire through several holes in the cardboard on the back. 

Voila! A pretty arch of autumn colors and elements ready to go on a wreath form. I added the glittered coppery butterfly for a perfect pop of shine.

Here it is on my coffee filter wreath. It looks great! I made the wreath with white coffee filters hot glued to a basic twig wreath. Even unadorned it is pretty but this added flair is just gorgeous!

And here is the same spray on a burlap wreath I made. Presto, change-o in just a few seconds! Wow, this is working out better than I'd hoped! I made the burlap wreath using hot glue on a straw wreath form. The mix of the plain burlap and the colorful arrangement really pops!

And here is a spray on a plain old twig wreath. The fancy and the plain really look good together. Again, it took mere seconds to switch from one wreath to another!

And here it is on a tan coffee filter wreath that I made using a Dollar Store hula hoop as a base. I really LOVE how this looks all together! Not only does it look good it is super simple to change over from one wreath to another. I think it would even look good over a round mirror for a neat accent!

I'm thinking of doing another arrangement with black and purple spray painted leaves for Halloween and then, of course, another one for Christmas. Those will both be fun projects, I'm looking forward to them!

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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.

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!

Teal, Silver and White Wreath Redo

Here is the Christmas wreath for our front door. This is the third redo of this twig wreath and probably not the last.

I love the way it came out so close to the idea in my head. Don't you like it when a project works out like that?



Here's the wreath in it's first incarnation, painted gloss black and adorned with a glittery haunted house silhouette and lots of curly black streamers for Halloween. Dollar Store spider webs and spiders and a bevy of bats finished it up.

For its second life for November and Thanksgiving I reworked it with colorful fake autumn leaves and flowers, and mini pumpkins on skewers. I LOVED the contrast of the gloss black with the vibrant colors, especially on my blue door.

And here's the start of it's third look, several coats of gloss white spray paint, which I had on hand. It's been so cold here that it took several days to get this done. I knew I wanted to add blue ornaments but didn't want to spend a lot of money, so I kept my eyes open.....

..and found these vibrant blue balls in a bag of silver ornaments, plus a whole roll of teal blue foil twist ribbon at the local St. Vincent's store. Thirty cents for the ribbon and ninety nine cents for the bag of balls. Score!

I covered one silver ball with teal rosettes made from the foil twist, and wound strips of it around wire to make some nice curlicues for accents. I knew I'd never find anything like them in the stores and they are perfect for the look I wanted for this wreath.

Here it is, all done with lots of hot glue. I added a few silver snowflakes and a few blue berry twigs and hung it up outside. I LOVE the way it all came together! It looks great on our blue door.

Here's a few of the elements....blue and silver glass balls, silver snowflakes, a crackle painted blue ball and the rosette covered ball. I particularly like the blue curlicues, they came out great!

And another look...this just makes me smile. I always know when a project is finished when I end up with a big grin on my face!

I'll be posting about the rosette covered balls and the crackle painted balls soon. They are easy and clever ways to make something totally unique for your decor, and not just for Christmas.

I'm joining the parties on my sidebar, come on by and check them out. There are some great decor and gift ideas out there and yummy recipes too.

Recyled Halloween Wreath

Even as Halloween ended and the decorations came down, I knew I wanted a bit of color for the Thanksgiving season. I dove into my stash of autumn colored silks and took another look at the wreath I spray painted black for Halloween. I came up with this.....

I love how it looks on my blue door! The colors against the black really pop.

Here's how it looked for Halloween, properly dark and spooky and fun. Perfect for the season.

I took some real miniature pumpkins and put them on skewers, then hot glued them in place amongst the black roses. A few silk flowers and fall leaves later and voila, the finished wreath! I love the off center design with the "breathing room" on the rest of the unadorned wreath.

Not only do I love how it looks, it cost me nothing but a $1 for the 3 pumpkins and a few minutes' time. After Thanksgiving I'll switch it over to Christmas, still using the black wreath as a base. I've got some colorful ideas for THAT design and I'll post the finished wreath here.

And now I'm thinking....what could I do for Valentine's Day with that black wreath as a starting point? Easter? Mother's Day? Just what I love, a creative challenge. Check back to see this black wreath in all of it's disguises.

I'll be linking up to the parties on my sidebar. Come visit and be amazed at the creativity out there in blogland.