1.06.2010

How to - Icy Winter Wreath

All remnants of Christmas were removed days ago (Ok, fine! I'm a scrooge and took it down on Christmas day once the gift opening and celebrating were finished. I love Christmas, but once it is over, I AM DONE), except on my front door, where the evergreen wreath remained. Because of its lack of any specific holiday adornments, I could have left there it all winter, but I wanted something new:

Something ICY!


Inspired by this mini grocery sack wreath, I set to making my own version.
A foam wreath form served as the base; the icy look was created with a roll of clear wrapping paper.
I cut approximately 2.2 million strips for the wreath (ok, I'm exaggerating, it was only 1.7 mil).
Then, I proceeded to tie each strip around the foam base.
I attached them tightly, occasionally stopping to push them even closer together.


After finishing with the clear strips, I decided that it needed some depth.
Using opaque mini trash bags (same size strips as earlier) tied every inch or so,
seemed to make a difference in the visual fullness of the wreath
(if that makes any sense! Basically, I just liked it better with a little bit more white.).


My final step was to add a couple of snowflake ornaments (80% off at Hobby Lobby).
It is hard to see in the photos, but they are more apparent in real life.
(Photographing shiny objects is hard!)

Now my house is completely rid of holiday decor - and with the weather we've been having in Oklahoma, an icy winter wreath should be appropriate for quite a while!


19 comments:

Shannon Richardson said...

Really, that is soo cute! And I love your new home! I am so happy for you to finally be settling in. I eagerly await all the posts to come!!

Unknown said...

I had my art classes do this one year, except we used wire coat hangers as the base, and dry cleaner bags as the clear plastic. All the supplies were free... which is perfect for the art teacher on a budget!

Love yours!

Jennifer said...

It's gorgeous!

RLR said...

Wow - I like this!

BKicklighter said...

I have never seen clear wrapping paper - is it cellophane? Where did you find it?

Heather Anne said...

Very frosty and cute! A great idea!

michelle@somedaycrafts said...

Cute Cute! I featured this at somedaycrafts.blogspot.com. I'm so glad you are "back." You are so talented!

Sonja @ Craft-Werk said...

Stopping by from Someday Crafts - and totally loving this wreath! Cool idea, pardon the pun;-)

Anonymous said...

This is just beautiful!! I hope I can find some snowflakes to make one for myself. Stores already have the Valentine's stuff up. :(

Bridget said...

I love it! Thanks for sharing.

Unknown said...

Toooo cute!!! What a great ideal!!
Thanks for sharing.
Sandy

Linda said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Linda said...

Wow, I'm in awe with this idea. I'd love to know the width and length of each strip you used to tie around the foam base. Thanks for sharing your talents.

Erin said...

CUTE! Love winter ideas that can be used after the holidays! Thanks for sharing!

Magic Brush said...

Too cute!!!! We are waiting for a thaw also!!!

Aunt Suzi Quilts said...

I love this idea, too. I have a 16 yo who would love to make this. What are the dimensions of the strips of clear plastic that you cut? Thanks for sharing.

Leigh of Tales from Bloggeritaville said...

I LOVE this project! It was posted (on your behalf) at Thrifty Thursday. FABULOUS!


HUGS,
Leigh
Tales from Bloggeritaville
www.lbratina.blogspot.com

Amy said...

I love your wreath. What a great idea!

Thisismyname said...

Love love love the wreath!!!! It looks great, and no one would ever guess that there are trashbags included in the design!!!

I saw your comment that photographing shiny stuff is tough.. and I agree...but, I have an unsolicited tip:

Try turning your flash off, change the camera to P, for Program mode. This setting will allow the camera to still choose the correct shutter speed and aperture, but you can change the flash and the ISO setting.

Take a picture with the flash off. if the pic is too dark, try increasing the ISO to increase brightness..

This may help!