Christmas Wreath
An easy to make Christmas Wreath using a grapevine frame, fresh cut greenery from my yard and a few other decorations.
Grapevine makes a nice material to use when creating your Christmas decorations. It allows you to easily insert greenery into it.
Supplies you will need:
- A couple of newspapers or old table cover
- Some fresh greenery from your yard or bought from a local Christmas tree lot
- One stem of artificial berries
- One stem of artificial greenery
- Wired Ribbon for a bow
- A grapevine frame.
On its way to a new life
This was made by my daughter as a girl scout project. It hung over the fireplace for years without getting moved.Needless to say it had gathered a bunch of dust and was just plain worn out.
I'm going to use the frame from it to re-vive it and make it look alive again.
I tested the lights and they still work as they haven't been used much. I'll leave those on.
I removed all the old ribbon, moss, and other unwanted items.It had gotten pretty dusty, so I took it outside and used a hair dryer to blow off any dust that was sticking to it.
You can also use a soft brush to help remove the dust.
The round shape has been lost but that will be taken care of in a later step when you start inserting the greenery.
I'm using cuttings from Taxus plants that line my side yard.You could buy greenery from a local nursery or the neighborhood Christmas tree lot.
I chose taxus as the cuttings seem to last a long time without water and you can trim taxus at any time of the year without hurting it.
Berries found on the taxus are pulled off before inserting the pieces into the wreath.
Take the taxus cuttings from various sections of the plant, don't scalp one area.Try to take the cuttings from the backside of the plant.
Once you have a handful or two of cuttings, trim them into small sections about 6" long.
Helpful Tip:
Trim the bottom of the stem into an angle to make it easier to insert into the frame and remove any needles that are close to the cut.
Inserting the cuttings is easy.You don't need to glue them in.
Pick any spot on the grapevine base to start and don't worry about filling areas in completely.
You will want some lightly covered sections.
Aim the greenery in the same direction all the way around.
Going in a clockwise direction seems to be easiest.
When you have most of the greenery inserted hang it up to see how it looks.
If you don't have a nice round shape just add some extra greenery to make it round again.
Berries from nature have a tendency to get mushy and fall off the greenery when you bring them indoors.Use artificial ones so you won't have to worry about children eating the berries if they fall off.
One stalk of artificial berries will decorate a couple of wreaths.
Grasp a bundle of the berries and pull down on them to separate them from the main stalk.
The paper should give away and all you will need to do is snip the wire to release the bunch.
Insert the berries in the same direction that you placed the greenery. You can skip putting berries at the bottom of the wreath if you are going to use a bow there.
If you aren't going to use a bow, then you will want to place a few at the bottom.
Berries add a nice little splash of color.
Once the berries are in place, the wreath will still need some other decorations to make it standout.This artificial greenery has a slight dusting of snow on it and would be perfect.
It's a lighter color green than the taxus and the dusting of snow isn't too overpowering.
Cut small sections of the greenery off the main stalk and add them in various spaces.
Doesn't that look much better? It's amazing what a little bit of color change can do.
In nature plant leaves are made up of several shades and hues of greens.
The last step is to add the bow.
You can buy a bow to place on the wreath, but making one is more fun.
This is the finished product.
It's great to see how quickly the change took place.
Two handfuls of taxus cuttings, a few berries, some ribbon and the wreath has a brand new life.
Some other items you can add are pine cones, dried seed pods or small apples.
This wreath will last for about a month if kept away from direct heat.
If you choose to use a different type of greenery, you might have to experiment with how long they will last.
If you are hanging your wreath outside, make sure materials used are water proof.
Holly is not a good material to use outside in cold winter areas. It will freeze and turn brown or black.
Christmas Wreath picture gallery