Monday, December 6, 2010

recycled wreath

Here's the wreath I made for the front door this weekend!




It wasn't fast, but it was super easy and I didn't have to buy anything to make it.  If you want to make one of your own you will need:

-a ton of magazines and catalogs (gardening magazines work best (lots of green) so it helps to have a friend who has a flower shop who'll give you some.)

-a cardboard wreath form (you could just as easily cut your own ring out of an old box or something, but I had the wreath form already so I used it.)

-some glue 

First you have to make a million leaves. Make a paper template of a leaf shape that you like, making sure to have a little stem at the bottom, and use all the green you can find in the magazine to start cutting.

Don't worry if there are spots of other colors mixed in with the green, little flecks of color are what makes the wreath look nice.  If you run into giant text or something else you really don't like, just make sure it's on the stem side of your leaf and it won't show.

Once you've cut a million leaves (I honestly have no idea how many, but it was a lot) it's time to glue them up.  I am sure using a glue stick or even hot glue would have been faster, but I didn't have those things around so I just used regular old glue and it worked just fine.



Make groups of 3 with the middle one on top and set them aside. 


Once you have a ton of them, it's time for the fun part, making the wreath!



Put them in a little v shaped pattern, quite close together and continue around the form.


When you get to the end, just lift up the first leaves and stick the last ones underneath.


And Voila!  A lovely, recycled, recyclable, and absolutely free wreath!

29 comments:

meemsnyc said...

OMG -> I love love love this idea! So cute. I'll have to make one!

Tanya (a Taste of T) said...

I LOVE THIS!!! I made one from a phone book :)

Erin said...

This is awesome! You did such a good job!

Erin @ Slipcover Your Life said...

This is such a genius idea!

Tiffany Kadani said...

You are amazing!!!!! I expect this to be all over the net and you'll be a household name. So cool!

Gloria said...

LOVE this idea - it's so creative and looks amazing!

kimbirdy said...

yay! what a great idea.

Lissa Pierce said...

This is AMAZING! So creative. I wish I had the time and patience you do one of these....hmmmn could you make me another one??? Haha...just kidding.

A Crimson Kiss said...

This is absolutely incredible-wow! And I adore that it's recycled!

erin said...

amazing! it looks flawless! what a great idea. XOXO

Marisa Seguin said...

I have been loving all of the crafty wreaths I've been seeing around the blogs this holiday season. This one is particularly excellent!

Natalie said...

i love this! how creative...and so pretty!

liza said...

Wow! That's very clever, and very beautiful! Great work!

Jude said...

This is just brilliant! I've been thinking of a homemade wreath for a while and you just inspired me to try! A lovely sight for sore eyes on this too-long Monday - thank you!

Brandi said...

You made this wreath? The whole thing? And cut out all those leaves? I'm really wildly impressed. It's adorable and I doubly love it was recycled.

Shannon of HAPPINESS IS said...

Whoa Abigail! It turned out sooo beautiful. How creative you are! :) xo

k said...

Wow girl...I can't imagine how long that took, but it looks SO good!! so worth the effort??? :)

the southern hostess said...

This must have taken forever! It looks amazing! I'm so impressed.

Pistachio said...

Are you serious?! That is awesome!!!!!!!!

Lauren said...

o m g - jaw dropped to floor - how impressive abigail!!! it looks incredible:)

Julia said...

As everyone has said, this is definitely impressive and unique. What a great project!

Val said...

This looks great, Abigail - what a great idea for a DIY wreath!

Denise | Chez Danisse said...

Fun! I want to do this too. Uh oh...way too many fun holiday things to fit into such a short season. But maybe this one will make it. Thanks!

Unknown said...

Wow - I am so in love with this and your creativity! Well done my friend, well done.

Jaime @ laviejaime said...

wow that came out amazing! bravo! must've taken alot of patience...

Thelma Frayne said...

SO COOL!

Tash said...

How creative!! Love it!

Danielle said...

This is incredible!

-Danielle
http://daniellemsolomon.blogspot.com

L.R.L said...

My jaw dropped when I saw this. It's beautiful. Well done!