Day 2 of Wreath Making

Today was cold and foggy.  The temps hovered around 32 degrees so the fog was freezing on  the trees and shrubs.  Tommorrow is forecasted to be a lot warmer which will make the assembling of the wreaths a lot easier to do without gloves.

The first thing that you need to do after gathering your evergreens is to cut them to a length of no more than about 8 inches unless you are making a huge wreath.  You want to eliminate any thick stems and dead areas.  Save even the short pieces because they will work on small wreaths.  I will assemble three sizes.  A extra large wreath for my front window, several medium size wreaths or other windows, and a small wreath for my front door.

Do not discard curve pieces.  These add interest to the wreath and give it character.  The beauty of a real wreath is that they are not perfect.  If you crave perfect then save your manicure and get a fake wreath.

If you can work with gloves then do it.  The sap from the evergreens is sticky and doesn't quickly wash off.  Do not wear good clothes because you will get sap on your clothes even if you try real hard to be careful.  Trust me.  I learned the hard way and had to wash a very nice top in hot water to remove the sap.  Unfortunately it also came out of the wash a lot smaller than it went into the wash.

All the larger stemmed pieces I save for flower pots and window boxes.  I kill two birds with one stone and nothing goes to waste.  Place all your piles of evergreens close and if you can within arms reach because you will only have one hand available to grab the pieces as you work around the frame. You will make two passes around the frame.  I do the inner part first and the the outside last.  I do this so that I can make sure my wreath is round and not lopsided.  But it's up to you and probably doesn't even make any difference.

You will need metal wreath frames which are available at craft stores for 2 to 5 bucks.  You will also need a paddle of floral wire.  I use the green wire but silver will work because you do not see the wire.  I've had the same paddle of wire for three years and still have a lot of wire left to use.  The wire cost is around 3 bucks.  So you can see that after you buy your wreath frames and wire there is basically no other money involved if you gather your own evergreens.

Last year I checked out prices.  I never did find a wreath as large as my big wreath but the medium size wreaths are everywhere for around 29 bucks.  That's not a bdget killer but when you multiply that by 4 it's really adds up.  I can think of a lot of things that I want to buy for $120 and wreasths are not one of them.  Plus, your wreath will be fuller and made with love and that is what the holidays are all about.......LOVE and caring.

By 4PM I had cut all my evergreens and founds my frames and wire BUT it was getting foggier and colder and there was only 45 minutes left of daylight so I called it a day.

Tomorrow it wreath assembling and it is suppose to be 45 degrees.  Heat wave!!!!