1/22/17 Re-Purpose a Christmas Wreath to a Valentine Wreath

Several weeks ago we did this Santa wreath tutorial and okay, I'll admit it.......it was STILL in my living room and February is almost here. I had placed this wreath on a tall wreath holder by the fireplace and was thinking that I needed to put it away and thought....love that black and white fabric mesh......it would make a great Valentine wreath! The added plus to this is, you save time and money when you can re-purpose a wreath and give it a fresh new look. This doesn't work for crafters who make their wreaths to sell of course. But for the DIY person.....take a look at what you have hanging in your closet. You may have something similar to this Christmas wreath. Take it out and give it a second look. The wheels will start turning and you may have something that you can strip down, turn into a Valentine wreath, patriotic or even something for Easter. Here's the Christmas wreath before we started: So the first thing we did was remove the Santa and the ribbons. Beware, the Santa beard sticks to the mesh so it had to be clipped free in a few places. And, somewhere along the way, my Santa lost an arm......strange, very strange. No doubt one of the grandchildren "needed" a Santa arm.....go figure. But if you have grandkids....you know what I mean. That may not be what happened to the Santa arm, but it's always a good excuse to have))) After everything was removed, we just clipped strings as needed, which were really very few, and re-fluffed here and there. Perfect colors for Valentine)) The basic wreath was made from 10" black/white fabric mesh using the ruffle technique. Here's a link to the Santa wreath tutorial if you'd like to use that method for a basic wreath: 2016 Santa Wreath Tutorial. We measured one of the ribbon strips that came off the wreath to use for the new ribbon. The strip was 13" in length. We chose about three different styles of ribbon that worked for Valentine and cut 18 strips of each ribbon. We cut the ribbon strips three ribbons at once to save some time. You can finish your ribbons ends off with an angled cut, or chevron, just whichever you prefer. Next we made a cluster of three ribbons. All these ribbons were 2.5" in width (10 yards on a roll). You can mix up your ribbons and use 2.5" with 1.5" There are many different ways to add ribbon to a wreath. Ribbon strips are just one of the easiest way and your project comes out fairly uniform which make it a little easier for a new wreath maker. These were all wired ribbons which are easier to work with. We made a ribbon cluster by pinching each ribbon in the center and attached the ribbon cluster by opening one of the twist on the wreath. Lay the ribbon cluster down on top of the ruffles (making sure the ruffles stay in place) and re-secure the twist with three or four turns. We placed a ribbon cluster in each of the 18 twists around the wreath, the inner and outer ring. Make sure your ribbons are all facing right side up and spread them out a bit. Next we decided we decided on where we wanted to place the wood and metal heart sign we chose for this wreath. The sign is from Burton & Burton and measures about 13" x 19" You can position it dead center or angle sideways, just whichever you like it the best. Sometimes it's easier to hang on the wall to check placement. The sign is made of wood and metal and has a wire hanger at the top. You could use the wire hanger to attach, but we were afraid it would stick out at the bottom, so we placed two small "eye" screws into the back of the sign. Each sign or other embellishment you choose will be different and you just have to evaluate the best way to hang on your wreath. Even though this sign is wood and metal, it's still fairly lightweight. We placed the two screws into the sign. An easy way of doing this is to get the screw started, then use a small screwdriver to twist the screw in. You may not need this help....but older fingers may)))) Take a chenille stem or floral wire and insert through the eye screws. Use the stems or wires to attach the sign directly to the work wreath frame. You don't want to just attach it to the mesh bunch or twist ties. And there you have it! A new, re-purposed, Valentine wreath......I'm already thinking what else can I use this basic black/white fabric mesh wreath for again! Here's what it looks like on my front door))) Carrie and David are away at Dallas market this weekend, and I stayed home this trip......and worked.....so I think that justifies keeping this wreath tutorial for myself....don't you? So glad you agree))))) Happy Valentine's Day! Save Save Save