Made it Monday (a day late)

My made it Monday has now turned into a "Hope I'm not Too Late Tuesday".  Not only am I a day late but also had to make a last minute topic change. I was all excited to show you guys pictures of the costume I made for the costume wedding we were attending Saturday until the stomach flu hit! Instead of dressing up and celebrating I spent the last few days horribly sick. So, I am now back on my feet (mostly) and ready to face this week!

For a last minute Made It Monday I am extending on the door theme from last Monday. Here are four more wreaths I have made for my front door to go along with my UGA football door hanger I posted last week. (If you follow football, my beloved DAWGS did not do anything Saturday to help me feel any better but still GO DAWGS! I also must say WAR EAGLE because my Auburn Tigers blew my socks off!!) Any way, back to crafts!

The first wreath pictured I made with a whole lot of help from my fabulous hubby. Luckily I think this only ended up costing me about $6 for two spools of ribbon at Michaels. My husband used to play baseball and still likes to go out and hit so we had a huge bucket of balls. I like that they are used and not brand new but new ones would work just as well. We (aka HE) drilled holes through all the balls and then strung them onto a straightened clothes hanger. The middle ring came about by accident. When we finished stringing the first hanger, there were 13 baseballs and the husband was not having that! So we took another clothes hanger, cut it a little smaller, added a few more balls and then attached it to the first ring. To get the wreath to hang straight, it took a bit of twisting and engineering but we finally got it! We used a piece of the second hanger to make an arch to hang the wreath on the hook. I layered the baseball ribbon with a red ribbon with blue stitching for the bow. (GO NATS! and for the Hubs Go Braves! - yes divided again!) 

The last three wreaths are all deco mesh. To make a deco mesh wreath you will need to decide how big a wreath you would like. There are a few different size wire wreath forms available. After you get your wreath form you will need rolls of mesh. I use small rolls for the small wreath and large (wide) rolls for the bigger wreaths. You will also need pipe cleaners that are the same color as the mesh you are adding, ribbon for a bow and any other decorations you would like to add. I also like to keep some florist wire on hand to make my bow, attach them to the wreath form and to add a hook for hanging. You could use pipe cleaners for this as well. 

I used a small wreath frame to make the frog wreath for my classroom. I had some leftover purple mesh from my spring/summer wreath and bought the smaller sized roll of green mesh and polka dot ribbon from Michaels. I found the froggy cut outs at Hobby Lobby. I used the entire roll of green and then went back and added the purple to the middle. I hot glued the frogs directly to the mesh VERY CAREFULLY!

To make the wreaths, twist pipe cleaners onto the entire wreath frame about 1/2 - 1 inch apart (some people spread them out even more). I put some on the inside ring and outside ring to make the wreath have more layers. Set any extra pipe cleaners to the side because you might need them later. Start by pinching the end together and tie it down to the wreath form by placing it in the middle of a pipe cleaner and twisting the pipe cleaner close. (I start on the inner ring of pipe cleaners and work my way out.) Next pull the mesh out from the twisted pipe cleaner and gather it together with your hands. I usually use the length of a pipe cleaner (12 inches) to measure how far to pull the mesh. For a smaller wreath or tighter poofs, go about 5-6 inches. Experiment! Make it the way you like it!! Find the next open pipe cleaner and place the pinched piece into the pipe cleaner and twist. See how you like the size of the poof and adjust from there. Continue around the wreath. If you see any "holes" in the wreath, add more pipe    

                        cleaners to the wire frame and more mesh.

(This was my very first wreath! I was so proud!)

To add a little flair to your wreaths, you can add a second color mesh like I did on my froggy wreath or add ribbon like I did in the Christmas and Purple wreaths. The process is basically the same. After you have made the wreath with the mesh, you will still have pipe cleaner sticking up out of the wreath. Go back around your wreath adding the ribbon or 2nd color mesh right on top of the first color the same way you did it the first time. I added sprigs of berries and flowers in my two big wreaths by twisting the pipe cleaners around the stems and for added stability toping it with a touch of hot glue. I used either pipe cleaners or florist wire to make the bows and add them to the wreath. The bow on the purple wreath is two bows put together. The butterflies are clips I found at Michaels. Go back and snip off any  extra pipe cleaner ends and you are done!

I love making these wreaths. They are so simple, they don't take too much time, and they always turn out beautiful! If you have any questions, I will be happy to try and answer them. Here is a link to a great tutorial with pictures from ClumsyCrafter.com! I also have a lot ideas and other links to tutorials on my Crafts Pinterest Board. I would love to see any wreaths you have made or hear any tips you have!!!