Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Wrath of the Wreaths

I LOVE summer. I am so excited to get it started. All our school friends are in their last week of school (good luck on finals!) and then it's play time! Swimming. Hiking. Picnics. Making collapsible kayaks (the husband is quite excited about the possibility of this one). Family reunions. The 4th of July. What a wonderful time of year! 

So I know some of you still have snow (ew...sorry), but I'm going to jump into a summer post anyway. It's always fun to decorate your house for the season. We live out of town a ways and I used to think that meant that there was no reason to decorate the outside of our house because no one would see it. And then after a while I realized that was a silly way of thinking. That shouldn't be the point of decorating, to show others how awesome you are. The point of decorating is to beautify and personalize, to make a place your own. So now I try to add small touches that will make this our place, and not just that one spot we lived in once upon a time. Some times I better at it than others. Today's submission though has me thinking about what I could do to add a small touch of us for summer "decor".

The Original Pin
http://thecreativeimperative.blogspot.com/2011/06/american-flag-wreath-sort-of.html
Cute, no? I already know I'd lose patience wrapping the yarn over and over and over again. But I'm supportive of all y'all who stick with it! Betsy saw this and wanted to make one to summer-ize her front door, only those foam wreath forms are expensive! So she found another pin that suggested to use foam tubing and decided to give that a try. 

The Pinstrosity
http://everwys.blogspot.com/2012/09/pinterest-fail.html
Betsy said, "I'm sorry USA, it's not you, it's me.  Can you forgive me?
And yes...it hung sorta proudly on my door for the summer.  Too cheap not to."

Hey...this reminds me of a wreath we were sent in around Halloween:

The same thing happened. 
So how do we make this work? There has to be a way, right? There probably is, but it probably will take more time and supplies. That's how it usually goes. Cheaper doesn't always mean easier or quicker. 

Idea #1: 
Run a piece of wire through the inside of the wreath. Not jewelry wire. A coat hanger that's been opened up and shaped into a circle. If you have a general contractor in your family see if they have some leftover wiring from a building project (growing up with a general contractor Dad was/is awesome for doing projects). Get some good thick wire at the store. 

Idea #2:
The instructions I've seen to do these DIY wreath forms has you tape the two ends of the foam tube together to form the wreath. I'd use duct tape. Lots of it. And I wouldn't just tape the two ends together. I would wrap the entire tube in tape to help stabilize the shape. Layers of tape. 

Idea #3:
Cut out a cardboard "wreath" to glue the foam wreath to. This will help make hanging easier and if the glue is strong enough it can help hold the shape of the foam. You just have to make sure the cardboard is smaller in width than the wreath or your wreath may turn out looking more like a bundt cake. 
You know...one of these:
http://pixelatedcrumb.com/2011/10/16/pumpkin-buttermilk-cake/

Idea #4:
Paint a wreath on your front door and then you can just use stickers to change out the decorative items for the seasons. Okay, not really. Unless you're an awesome painter. Mine would look like an ogre sneezed on the front door. 

So there you have my ideas. If you try #4, send me a picture. 


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