Make A Wreath Using Deco Mesh

Yesterday, I enjoyed a beautiful fall play day.  Did what I wanted to.  Shopped, bought things for fall and Christmas projects.  Enjoyed lunch out with Dan and took in the beauty of the foliage.  It's a good thing we did, because tomorrow we are getting storms and the temperature is going to drop a LOT.  That means a lot of that beautiful foliage will be on the ground and the trees will be much more bare than they are now.  Guess I actually made a good decision, at least that's what I try to tell myself.

Today, I did not procrastinate any longer since Halloween is next Wednesday.  From this pile of cut fabric, there will rise (like the Phoenix?) a Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, and Marvin the Martian costume.  There is also a bowling shirt and a bowling pin costume.  Will happily show you the finished products later.  Grandma has got to get busy!!

After I finished cutting out all the costume pieces, I was itching to make a new wreath for the front of the house with some lovely Decor Mesh that I found yesterday during my shopping spree.  The colors that I bought were a chocolate brown and a rust with gold metallic threads running through it.  I know, I know, I should be sewing.  It only took a few minutes.  Honest.

Last week while on Pinterest, I came across a wreath type gadget that can be purchased to use with the decor mesh.  It was metal with prong like projections that you twist around the mesh.  It had to be ordered online and was about $20.  Too much for my budget when I can create something similar from things I had in my craft room and I don't have to pay shipping.  Here is what I did.

First, I made a 16 inch circle from some wire that I had.

Next, I cut a bunch of chenille stems in half (pipe cleaners) and started by placing them at 12, 3, 6, and 9.  Then filled in with two more chenille stems between each mark at equal spaces.

Just put the chenille stem under the wire and twist it over the top to hold in place.

This is what the Decor Mesh looks like.  It comes on spools and this is 14 inches wide.  It also comes in 21 inch widths.

Here is how I made my wreath.

Start with the Decor Mesh by making a big loop, like half of a bow, and lay it on top of a chenille stem. Twist the chenille stem around the loop to hold it in place (like closing a loaf of bread) and make another big loop and continue around the wreath frame until you come back to the beginning.

Next, I used the chocolate brown and did the same thing, kind of alternating left and right between the rust colored loops.  Did I take a picture?  Oh of course not.  Got in a big hurry.  Sorry.

I had some fall leaves and weeds in silk that I added for a little color.  I just laid them between the big loops and used the chenille stems to hold them in place by twisting them around the stems.
Here is the finished product.  Unfortunately, the pictures don't show all the detail the way I would like, but it is a really gorgeous wreath.

Fluff your pouffes and pull them back and forth to get the arrangement you want.  This makes a really nice, big, fluffy wreath that has lots of texture and color.  It would be lovely on an indoor wall as it is very light weight.

I've already got my Christmas mesh and will begin my Christmas projects soon.  Remember, Christmas is exactly 2 months from today.  TWO MONTHS!  Yikes.  I have to get some costumes made so I can start on Christmas.  I swear every year that I will not be down to the wire finishing projects.  Of course, we all know better because "Procrastination" is my middle name.  If you plan on making your gifts, time to get busy!  Then again, you may already be finished because you don't need a 12 step program for procrastination.  I try, I really do.

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

"Gifts of time and love are surely the basic ingredients of a truly merry Christmas."
Peg Bracken

Have you ever had so many projects you wanted to complete that you can't seem to do them fast enough?  That is indicative of my impatience issue which leads to my procrastination problem which leads to hurrying and THAT leads to impatience and on it goes.  Hopefully, you don't have that problem.

This weekend I helped the daughter of a friend who recently moved to Nashville with some crafting projects that she will be giving for Christmas gifts.  We had a wonderful Saturday afternoon of listening to Christmas music and crafting.  Let me say, she is a natural -- picked right up on the new skills she is acquiring and created some really lovely Christmas gifts  Before we began, she told me she had no creative abilities.  WRONG!  Everyone has an inner artist and it is so much fun to see someone discover hidden talents.  

While I was helping her, I worked on a few projects myself.  Lots of decorating has been done this last week, but there are more things I want to finish and add before I consider the house "complete."  Of course, things are never done as far as I am concerned, you just finally say that's it!  

This is one of the projects that I worked on while helping Erin.  Aren't these candy cane striped snowflakes adorable?  Even your children or grandchildren could made these.  Our two oldest grandsons, who are 8 and 5, made these while they were visiting Thanksgiving week.  We had so much fun.  I found these on Centsational Girl's blog site and, of course, knew I had to make some.  She used paper straws, but I found these lovely red and white striped plastic straws at the Dollar Tree right before Thanksgiving and I knew they would be perfect for this project, and they will hold up better than paper.  I also found a package of little foam Christmas decorations at the Dollar Tree which had a bunch of little white snowflakes that I used for the center.  This is an inexpensive craft!

Here is what you need:

a package of red and white straws

white chenille stems (pipe cleaners)

small red beads

Decoration for the center - hopefully foam snowflakes 

First, cut 4 white chenille stems in half.  You will have 8 halves.  Cut off a piece of chenille stem that is about 1.5 inches and twist it tightly around the center of the 8 halves and then fan them out like a snowflake.  It will look like this.

Now, cut two plastic straws into 8 pieces about 2 inches long.  You want the straw pieces slightly shorter than the chenille stems.

Next, slide the cut pieces of straw over the chenille stems, leaving a small end exposed.  Cut 1 inch pieces of chenille stem and twist them tightly around the exposed end above the straw pieces.

At this point, you will have 3 pieces of chenille showing.  Take some small red beads and slip them over the pieces of chenille and trim the ends.  Place a snowflake in the center of the spoke and TADAH!  You are finished.   This candy cane snowflake is about 5.5 inches across.  Makes me smile!

Now, how cute is that?  Add a ribbon or string for hanging and you can use these on a tree as ornaments, tie them on packages for gift giving or do what I did.  I made this cute little banner to hang over my sink.  We do not have a window over the sink, so I try to keep it interesting.  I painted three wooden letters I have had since last year in a candy cane stripe and then highlighted it with gold leaf.  Sorry, the picture is not the best.

I have some red and white striped rope that I bought at Hobby Lobby, so I hot glued the letters to a length that would fit between the cabinets and tied two of the candy cane snowflakes, one on either side.  It looks like this.

Again, it's not the best picture in the world, but you get the idea.  The sign underneath the shelf says Candy Canes, 5 cents.  I have had that sign for years.  It just makes the kitchen a little more festive don't you think?  I placed some ornaments I gold leafed on the shelf and placed some candy canes in the coffee cup to complete my Christmas arrangement.  The red and white striped jar is used to hold sugar all year round.  Yep, came from the Dollar Tree.

I hope you will give this project a try.  It's lots of fun and would make a great inexpensive classroom project if you have a party coming up and need a craft for the students to make.

Check back tomorrow because I have another beautiful candy cane project for you.  It's one that I simply love.  Talk to you soon.

Everyday donna

Things to remember:

I wish we could put up some of the Christmas spirit in jars and open a jar of it every month. 
Harlan Miller