budget decorating

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Staging our House Part I – How to Make a Door Wreath

wreath10After painting my door a bright Sherwin Williams white, I decided to hang a wreath to add a dash of color and personality.

I opted for a white door instead of a wild color, because it brought out the white trim of my house. Black or a dark color would have made my doorway (visually) recede, a bright green could turn off potential buyers, and red would have clashed with the lovely bricks. Besides, I had quite a bit of white paint left over from our painters.

So off I go to the stores to find a suitable and un-cheesy wreath that doesn’t look like it belongs on a tombstone in a forgotten graveyard, somewhere.

But, gasp! they cost, like, $69!!

What a budget-buster!

That’s when I gathered up supplies and made my own, and here is how I did it…

Supplies:

  • Twig wreath ($4.99 — Hobby Lobby)
  • Brown bead wire ($1.47 — Hobby Lobby)
  • Spanish moss ($1 — The Dollar Tree)
  • Random floral stems ($1 per stem — The Dollar Tree)
  • Ribbon or embellishment ($1 — The Dollar Tree)
  • Needle-nose pliers/wire-cutters (Free! — Borrowed from Lefty’s tool box)
  • Command Strips to hang wreath ($5.99 — Hobby Lobby)

    • wreath1 wreath3

    wreath2

    Instructions:

    1. Use wire cutters to remove flowers from the main stems. Keep the each flower’s stem long enough to weave into wreath.

      2. wreath5 wreath6
    2. Arrange flowers around wreath as desired (before permanently attaching them.)

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    3. Weave each flower’s stem into the wreath.

      4. wreath7 wreath8
    4. Cut a small piece of brown bead wire into about 2″ pieces and wrap each wire around flower stem and wreath to hold stem into place. (Here is where the needle-nose pliers really come in handy. They are good at holding on to the little bitty wires and twisting it into place.)

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    5. Repeat steps until entire wreath is complete.
    6. Embellish with Spanish Moss, if desired.

    Hints:

    I used brown wire because it’s the same color as the twigs. Floral wire is fine to use.

    To protect the paint on your door or walls, ensure that the sharp end of the wire is safely tucked or bent away from the back of the wreath.

    Total Cost: $17.47!! (Not including tax or the 40%-off Hobby Lobby coupon that I probably used!) Beats $69, doesn’t it!

    Let me know how yours turns out! 🙂

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