Wednesday, September 22, 2010

a winter wreath on the first day of fall

Today is the first official day of fall in North America. 

So . . . naturally, I made a winter wreath. 

What? 

I know . . . I'm just a tad bit ahead of the calendar. 

I tired and tried and tried to get into the fall crafting mood.  Every single blog that I follow is full of festive fall crafts - painted pumpkins, Mod Podge leaves, corn husk wreaths . . . I could go on and on.  Inspiration is everywhere . . . for fall, but I just couldn't do it.

Then I received this little package of bamboo felt from National Nonwovens treasures from my blog-friend Sandi over at A Legacy of Stitches. . .

. . . and my mind went instantly to winter.  I have lots of plans for these beauties.  Here's my first one.

Let It Snow Wreath
    
Here's what you need:
-felt . . . I used bamboo felt. I love the look and feel of it - so soft.
-cardboard or a wreath form . . . I'm cheap, so I use cardboard.
-glue . . . You could use any kind.  I used Gorilla Glue because I had it on hand.
-invisible thread
-a snowflake stencil or clip art cut out
-ribbon

Here's what you do:
1)  Cut out several circles of the same size from cardboard and glue them together with Gorilla Glue or other glue.  Use as many layers as you like for thickness.

2)  Cut the felt you are using to cover the cardboard wreath form into strips that are 1 1/2 inches wide and long enough to wrap around your cardboard form.

3)  Wrap felt pieces around cardboard form.  Do not glue the first piece very securely yet because you are going to have to tuck the very last felt strip underneath this one.  Glue them on the back using Gorilla Glue.  Layer each piece over the previous piece as you go around the form. 

4)  Wiggle the last felt piece underneath the first one to completely cover the cardboard.

5)  Use snowflake stencil or clip art cut out to trace and cut out as many snowflakes as you like.  I used three blue and two white.

6)  Use needle and invisible thread to attach the snowflake to the back of the wreath at varying lengths. 

7)  Attach one snowflake to the wreath with glue.  (Uhm . . . I'm pretty sure that felt isn't one of the recommended materials to  use with Gorilla Glue.  However,  I'm lazy.  Since I used the Gorilla Glue for the cardboard part, I didn't want to get up and get a different glue for the this.) 

8)  Slide ribbon under wreath and glue together overlapping ends.  I had the most perfect snowflake ribbon from Michael's for this project.

9)  Hang up . . . of course, you may actually want to wait for winter.  ;)

Craft on!
Check out the great parties I may link to by clicking on the blog name below or visiting my "I like to party" page that shows off all the party buttons.  These gals go to a lot of work to host these parties.  If you particpate in parties please take time to look through a variety of the projects linked up.  They are a great source of inspiration!


Weekend - a little lovely, Craft Envy, Under the Table and DreamingBe Different Act Normal, A Vision to Remember, 504 Main - Tickled Pink, Funky Junk Interiors, Tatertots and Jello, I heart naptime


Monday - Keeping it Simple, Craft-O-Maniac, The Girl Creative, The Trendy Treehouse, CRAFT, Making the World Cuter, Mad in Crafts, Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Between Naps on the Porch, Tools Are For WomenIt's So Very Cheri, Skip to My Lou, Sew Can Do, Polly Want a Crafter, Texas Monkey


Tuesday - All Thingz Related, Sugar Bee, New Nostalgia, Creative Itch, Lucky Star Lane, Hope Studios, These Creative Juices, My Delicious Ambiguity, Today's Creative Blog-Get Your Craft On!,


Wednesday - It's So Very Cheri, Beyond the Picket Fence, Blue Cricket DesignTrendy Treehouse, Tea Rose HomeSomeday Crafts, My Backyard Eden, Sew Much Ado, Night Owl Crafting


Thursday -  Fireflies and Jellybeans, Life As Lori, House of Hepworths, Somewhat Simple, Seven Thirty Three, The Train to Crazy, PonyTails and FishScales


Friday - The Sabby Nest, A Little Knick Knack, Fingerprints on the Fridge, It's Fun to Craft!, It's a Hodgepodge Life, Kojo Designs, Simply Sweet Home, Frou Frou Decor, Remodelaholic, Momma's Kinda Crafty

25 comments:

Unknown said...

Oh, this is cute. Now you've got me ready for winter and we haven't even gotten in the two good days of fall that Mother Nature grants us around here. :)

Sandi Linn Andersen said...

The wreath turned out so cute! You are a true crafter.......take a few bits of this and that and.....voila, you have a lovely decoration. I never would have thought of using those colors for a winter wreath but I do like it!! I'm glad I sent it along! When my kids were young, my husband and the guys he worked with always saved the heavy cardboard backs on their legal pads for me. I crafted everything from doll furniture to faux siding for a dollhouse with that cardboard. :-)

Pattycake Manners said...

So cute!!

Jocelyn Christensen said...

so cute!

Leslie said...

this is so cute!!! i love the snowflakes

Beverly {Flamingo Toes} said...

Oh Elizabeth this is darling! And I didn't have to wait too long to see what you were doing with the bamboo hehe!! I love the colors and the snowflakes. So super cute!!!

Carol, The Answer Is Chocolate said...

So awesome Elizabeth! I love that you turned something as ordinary as cardboard into something extraordinary! It's lovely.

Liz @ LivingMySweetLife said...

Pretty!
I have been feeling the need to start my Christmas crafting... I may just have to start tonight after seeing this!

Ryder Royalty said...

I am new to your blog and I absolutely love it!

This wreath is very "me"! It's simple and yet oh so cute! Thanks for the inspiration!

Its So Very Cheri said...

Wow--winter--I can hardly believe winter is just around the corner. Good job and thanks for entering. I hope you are having a great weekend.

Cheri

Holly Lefevre said...

So chic and so cute! I really love the look of the felt and how you attached it...and of course the snowflakes!

Pam said...

I really appreciate the way you attached the bamboo felt around the circle, emphasizing the uniformity. Well done craft project!

WhisperWood Cottage said...

Love the color combination! Thanks for linking up to the DIY Project Party monthly contest! :)

Amy

Roeshel said...

Super cute! Although I'm not even thinking of winter yet. I'm still hoping for Indian summer! ;) Great job!

Have a great week!

KJ@letsgoflyakite said...

Found your link on MMM. I love your wreath. Simple and beautiful. Perfection.

Katherine said...

Found this over at Making the World Cuter! Love the snowflakes coming down- how original! Great tutorial! Would love for you to share this at my link party!

http://kraftykat76.blogspot.com/

Nina @ Momma Go Round said...

I LUV the pleated look and how cheap/easy this looks to make!

I featured this tonight on Momma Go Round. Feel free to grab a featured button!

http://mommagoround.blogspot.com/2010/11/pinecone-and-pom-pom-berry-wreath.html

Unknown said...

This is awesome! Love that you made it entirely out of felt! Amazing! Hope you will link it up to my Pink Hippo Party @ http://pinkapotamus.blogspot.com/2010/11/pink-hippo-party-3.html

Jill said...

Beautiful! I always love wreaths where you don't have to buy a wreath form!

Jodi Nelson said...

Great tutorial! Found ya via Blue Cricket's party. My brain is swimming in all the possibilities now!

Handy Man, Crafty Woman said...

Wow, this is very creative! Great job!

Rose :: FineCraftGuild.com said...

beautiful and tutorial is so light and easy, making us believe that anyone can do this...

ok. you're invited: come link it up with us: http://www.finecraftguild.com/diy-linky-party-21/
and you may find some great other ideas there also.

looking forward to showing off your work to our readers.

Blue Ridge Altered Art said...

That is so neat and the color combinations are endless. ~~Sherry~~

Lisa said...

Very pretty! Love the colors because it works for the whole winter season!

Amy Bee said...

This wreath is beautiful! Just something to be wary of: any fabric billing itself as "bamboo" is actually "rayon from bamboo." The production of rayon utilizes a lot of really toxic chemicals (including sulfuric acid) and is actually so bad its banned in the us. Much nicer to use wool felt/recycled plastic felt!

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