Monday, February 22, 2010

St. Patrick's Day Wreath

Remember this wreath?
What do you think that wreath has in common with this wreath?

They're actually both THIS wreath!


When I finally got around to it, I took down my valentine's wreath and in about 2 minutes had the boas and felt unpinned and stuffed into a gallon ziploc bag:


That ziploc bag is the whole motive for this wreath - VERY minimal storage during the other seasons. I may be singing a different tune when I try to refluff all that in a year, but until then, so far my plan is working perfectly. :)

So how did I turn my plain wreath into a St. Patrick's Day wreath? First I gathered about nine yards of 3"-wide green fabric (I happened to find a twill that was a shade of green I liked, but just about any cotton would work). I blogged in more detail about my extremely accurate gathering process here. I also grabbed a spool of green tulle. I wanted some of the fluff that the valentine's wreath had but less diva-ish.

My first step was to gather the tulle as well. I just gathered until I got bored and then started pinning it onto the wreath. When I ran out of length, I gathered some more. To pin it on, I started on the back side and just pinned in a zig-zag around the wreath:

When I got back to where I started, I continued the zigzag pattern but in the bare spots between the previous zigzag. Like the technical explanation? I hope it makes sense. So this is what I had when I was finished with the tulle.

I then grabbed my gathered 3" cotton and began pinning the same way I pinned the boa and felt for the valentine's wreath:

THIS is the monstrosity that resulted. It's TERRIBLE! I thought it looked like iceburg lettuce which is NOT the look I was going for!

But it was late, so I slept it off and the next day (or two) decided to try a change of tactic. I unpinned the cotton (which took about two minutes), and started pinning it down in the same zig-zag pattern I'd used with the tulle. When I finished, I was MUCH happier. But it still wasn't enough (sorry, I forgot to take a picture). I grabbed a sheet of cheap green felt (none of that expensive wool stuff for me), and cut it into triangles 3" wide and 4" long (or so). I then used a pin along the short end to do a kind of "running stitch" like this:

Then I pinned it tightly into the bare spots:

Which then looked like this:

I then used some of the tulle to hang it from the wreath hanger so that it was in a more pleasing position on the door. No other rhyme or reason.

So for the next few weeks, my changing season's wreath will be all-green for St. Patty's Day, but I've got plans for a quick costume change after that, so stay tuned!


Linking to these parties:

The Girl Creative

The DIY Show Off

Making


DIY Day @ ASPTL

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Someday Craft's Whatever Goes Wednesday


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16 comments:

  1. Ingenious! I love practicality paired with creativity! Thanks so much for linking up on Craft Schooling Sunday, hope to see you again next week!

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  2. So incredibly cute! And I love that it's just one wreath. I have like a million wreaths because I have one for each holiday.

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  3. It turned out cute!

    Thank you so much for linking up with the Talented Tuesday link party at My Frugal Family, which is hosted every Tuesday. Please feel free to stop back in every week and post your newest projects!

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  4. Thanks for the positive feedback, girls! I really appreciate it!

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  5. Very cute! I have just begun to pick back up on sewing...so this is totally something I can do.
    ( I am still going over how to make the 5" strip in my head...but I am sure after some sleep that will click, so thanks for that tutorial too. )

    Have a great day!
    Kelley

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  6. Adorable wreath transformation. Very creative.

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  7. i like your wreath, kelli -- great job! your tutorial is very clear & looks easy to follow. (o: thanks for sharing!

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  8. Adorable!! You turned it into such a fun piece!! Great work!!

    Thank you for sharing!

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  9. So cute! I am linking it up with my Friday Favorites - I hope that's ok!

    Love it!

    XOOX
    Jen

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  10. That is really cute! Great project and it looks easy!

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  11. That is so cute! I love the different textures in this wreath! I just clicked over from Tatertots and Jello and I'm so glad I did. I would love to link to this if you didn't mind.

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  12. I love how all of the greens look together.

    Thanks so much for adding this to my St. Patrick's Day Party!

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  13. Very appropriate for the wearing of the GREEN! :)

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  14. Totally fun! I'm glad to see it again! Thanks for linking it up!

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