Monday, November 16, 2009

A Holiday Wreath with Bloom Guest Dana

Friends! We could not be more thrilled to have Dana with us today! We are in love with all of the fabulous (and resourceful!) sewing creations she shares on her blog, MADE. Today she shares with us her crafty side...

Sewing is a love to me. In fact, it may be addiction. But crafting is a new-found interest. Until we moved into a house two months ago, I had kept the crafts at a minimum. Our old 2-bedroom apartment felt like piles of projects were caving in on me. The last thing I needed was more decor. But now that I have bare walls that can breathe, I'm exploring all those wonderful craft projects I've admired from afar in the blogging world. And this one caught my eye.

I love the simplicity of it and monochromatic color. And better yet, it was made from acorns!....something the kids and I see everywhere at the park. So last week, with empty bread bags (from feeding the ducks) the kids and I loaded our bags as full as we could with brown acorns. I felt like one of my toddlers, gathering treasures, slightly giddy with craft excitement. And I loved that we were working on a project together.
Though my acorns are not as cool looking as hers, I hope you enjoy my acorn wreath adventure. Here's how you make one:

1. Gather acorns. If you can find the ones with the little hats on top, totally cool. I just had these to work with. But in the end I still liked the result. If you don't have acorns in your area, you might try what the woman in the above link did. She posted on her blog, asking readers to send her some and four boxes showed up on her doorstep! What an amazing network this blogging place is.

2. Clean and BAKE your acorns. Oh my, this is an important step. At first we brought the acorns home and since they had been outside, I washed them and just laid them on a towel to dry. Then I read the post above in thorough detail. And when I got to the part about her dormant box of acorns festering with little maggots, I freaked out and threw my acorns in the oven for 15 min at 350 degrees to make sure any little creatures living within had croaked. (for more info read here).
3. Gather a wreath and glue gun. I purchased one of these very inexpensive straw wreaths (only because we were at the end of our budget for the month and I was trying to be a responsible wife). You can also use floral or wooden wreaths.
4. Start glue-ing! I chose to do mine in a diagonal wrap-around pattern. So first I drew one line with a marker around the wreath, put some hot glue on that line and laid the acorns on top.
5. Glue acorns all around the wreath (except for the back. No one will see it and it will lay flatter on your wall or door. ) As you go around the wreath, it may be hard to keep each line curving with the same degree as the previous one. I continually adjusted here and there as I went.
6. Add a ribbon, admire your (tedious but exciting) work, and hang it up.
Total cost for the project:
Wreath: $2.50
Spray Paint: $1
Acorns: FREE!
This ribbon was made of braiding three strips of white gauze fabric together:
Of course, if you're anything like me, it's hard to decide which color you like best. So, I spray painted it white. And I love this version even better. Jordan Almonds anyone?
Next to the charcoal gray door, white adds perfect contrast. And it works for most seasons! When Thanksgiving is over, tie a red, green, or gold ribbon on there.
A simple touch, but a huge way to say Welcome Home.
Thank you BLOOM for chance to post on your beautiful blog. I love the concept, your design, and the wonderful variety of info shared.

Thank you, Dana! We hope you'll come back soon! (Can't wait, readers? Don't forget to catch Dana at MADE.)

19 comments:

Bloom said...

Great idea, Dana! I'm trying to decide whether I like it better brown or white - very cute both ways. We could make a dozen wreaths with all the acorns under the oak tree out front.


Thank you so much for being here at Bloom!

xo,
Em

Joan said...

Oh, dear Dana! You put me to SHAME! I too just made a "nut wreath" and it looks terrible. No, really. It's pathetic compared to your loveliness.
Btw: LOVE that you spray painted it! It looks so clean and modern.
Question: what's the total cost of making the wreath? I don't have acorns laying around here (in Phoenix)...do you have a clue what store would carry acorns?! :)
Thanks for sharing your creativity with us, Dana.

Sally said...

I'm in love with all the fabulous wreaths I have been seeing lately. Love the white against the dark door!

dana said...

Thank you Joan!
Yea, living in a place without acorns makes the project a bit difficult. The woman in the original link lives in Alaska (where she couldn't find acorns either) so she posted to her readers to send her some and about 4 boxes came in the mail! How cool! You should give that a try.
Total cost....
Wreath: $2.50
Spray Paint: $1
Acorns: FREE

Alena Jo said...

That's awesome! Soo simple and beautiful! I don't know where I would find acorns around here, either. Maybe we could find something else, similar...

You could almost use the white wreath at Easter, as well, replacing the ribbon with a pastel ribbon... ??

Great job, Dana!

c said...

loveloveLOVE.

Vanessa Hewell said...

Gorgeous. Makes me want to purchase a glue gun. My mother has always made wreaths. I will have to pass this along to her.

Anna said...

Love it, as always Dana. Great blog Bloom! I'll be subscribing/following for sure!

Scribbit said...

It looks gorgeous--I love the white version, very clean and snowy.

Nicole said...

Very cute! I wish we had acorns lying around here. I would make one in a split second! Darling!

vanessa said...

perfect dana! as usual!

Abbie said...

Love it! Just beautiful!

michelle@somedaycrafts said...

Beautiful! I made an acorn wreath too (before I saw yours). I will feature this at somedaycrafts.blogspot.com

Leslie said...

i love dana's blog and i have a feeling i'll love yours, just subscribed!

Kelli Ward said...

this is so fantastic. i really want to make one.

Antoinette said...

Beautiful beautiful beautiful! I love it both ways!

Anonymous said...

I did a Thanksgiving garland tutorial yesterday that can be made into a simple wreath, too. Here's the link http://www.simplymodernmom.com/2009/11/thanksgiving-garland/

beki said...

Love this idea! We have these kind of acorns all over the patio...I'm sure my little gatherers would love to help on this project!

Victoria | Hibiscus Bloem said...

Beautiful. I too have piles of acorns in the park nearby and my son has always comes home with pockets full. I definintely want to try this out. Thanks.