Our Christmas Wreath...

So I've seen a TON of awesome wreaths on pinterest lately. I gathered what little supplies I had at the house, made a $3 trip to the hardware store and made this one:

Here's how I did it. (Of course, I forgot to take pics during the process, but it's pretty simple.) First, I went to the hardware store and picked up one of these- a 6' long piece of pipe insulation. It was less than a buck fifty. I also bought a small piece of metal to make an over-the-door hanger for about a dollar, or you could just get a pre-made hook for about $2 from a department store. I bent the metal with pliars until it fit my door. I'll spare you the details- message me if you want them.

So back to the wreath. I cut the insulation to the size I wanted and used duct tape to secure its ends to make a circle. At this point I recommend bracing it somehow, as mine quickly turned into an egg shape. I had to rig up several components behind the wreath later to help it keep its shape. You could even put something inside. Do whatever you have to do to make it a circle. Learn from my mistake & get creative!

ANYWYAY...

The fun part: I had an old bedsheet that I had actually used as a curtain when my daughter was a baby. She had HUGE windows, so instead of shelling out $20 per panel on curtains, I bought $6 queen sized sheets from Walmart and just hung them in such a way that they looked like curtain panels. We're in a new house (again), so the sheets have just been sitting in a box since 2009. So I cut them into strips. Each strip was about 4"x24". It turned out that the "curtains" had some sun damage on the back side, which added a cool color fade to the fabric. I tied the strips (double knot) around the tube, keeping all of the tied ends on one side of the wreath. It was so cute- I kept it like that over Thanksgiving. Simple. 

At Christmas, I just wrapped a bit of plastic garland and ribbon around it and secured it at the back. Easy! I was bound and determined to spend less than $5 on this wreath and then use only what I had at home to decorate it. Mission accomplished! All in all it took less than an hour. The most time consuming part was tying on the sheets- which I did in front of the TV while the baby napped. I love the shabby-chic look of upcycled materials, and I especially love the joy of making something from scratch. I hope this Christmas you find the wreath of your dreams- or, better yet, that you make it yourself!