2017 Primitive Halloween Wreath Tutorial

New Primitive Halloween Wreath Tutorial. This wreath is a little different for Halloween since Carrie and Rachel used some primitive style embellishments. Supplies: XX7488W4 24" Burlap Work Wreath RE130202 10" Black Deco Poly Mesh RY800148 10.5" Natural White Poly Jute Mesh RG0135202 2.5" Black Beige Wide Strip Ribbon XD16197 Primitive Half Moon Sold out - no more coming in Note: No kit was created for this project but all the items used are currently available on the website. The tutorial will be left up even after some or all of the supplies we used have sold out, since other products can be chosen and the basic instructions followed. Summary: Work Wreath: Carrie and Rachel chose a 24" Burlap Work Wreath for this project. You could use another color or style, like the pencil wreath style and have the same effect. A 24" wreath measures 15" across the widest ring, with the addition of mesh, ribbons, and/or other products, you wind up with a finished wreath about 24" in width or greater. Mesh: We used two styles of mesh on this wreath to create a primitive look. We didn't want to use anything that was bright and shiny or that had foil. The RE130202 is plain black mesh with no foil and the RY800148 was a natural jute color with a thread of white. The RY800148 is a new combination product that is made of Polypropylene, jute and cotton which really gives it a nice texture. All mesh ravels and there really isn't much you can do about it other than cut it as little as possible and handle as little as possible. We had watched Lori "Hard Working Mom" make a ruffle wreath using one 30" piece for a ruffle rather than three 10" pieces and this most definitely cuts down on the raveling. Since we were using two colors for this wreath, we decided to cut 20" pieces and put two ruffles in each twist. The mesh was cut, doing both rolls at the same time. We cut enough 20" pieces to go around both rings of the work wreath. The 24" work wreath has about 18 twists, so we cut 18 pieces of each color of mesh. We used a Omnigrid Self-Healing Cutting Mat which is a great tool for wreath making. The mat is reversible and has measurements on it. (Sorry about the quality of the images, but they were grabbed from the video frame.) The cutting tool Rachel has in her hand is a Fiskars 60mm Stick Cutter. This also is a great tool for wreath making. You can easily cut through two layers of mesh at the same time and this really speeds things up and make a clean cut. The cutter has blades that can be changed out as they become dull. We used to sell both these items on Trendy Tree, but honestly we just can't compete with Amazon, so we'll share our affiliate links with you in case you are interested in purchasing. Just click on the highlighted items and it will take you to Amazon. To make a ruffle, just let the mesh roll up naturally on the table, smooth it out and starting at the center of the cut edge (selvage edges to the sides) scrunch up through the center, pinch it making a ruffle. Make the ruffles separately, one black and one natural. Rachel alternated the colors as she placed them on the wreath, but this is just optional. You could just put them together randomly, or make the bottom layer all natural and the top layer all black. She placed a cluster of two ruffles (black on the bottom and natural on top) into a twist, starting on the outside ring. In the next twist, she placed a cluster of two ruffles (natural on the bottom and black on top) and just continued this pattern around the outer ring. We were not planning to add any ribbon strips to this wreath, so you the twists were secured with 3-4 turns as the ruffles were added. You might want to try doing all natural for the bottom layer and all black for the top layer, depending on what color embellishments you might be using. Half Moon: The Half Moon which is a primitive style decoration is stuffed and has a couple of bats on it along with a paper label that has some Halloween wording. The style of the moon is a grungy, primitive, antique like look. Rachel ran a couple of pieces of thin floral wire through the back of the moon in two places and secured the moon to the front of the wreath by securing the wires to the twists. How you attach your embellishments just all depends on the piece you are attaching. Sometimes you need to attach items directly to the work wreath frame, especially the heavier pieces. The moon is very lightweight so it was secured using the twist so it would lay on the front of the wreath. The moon does have a ribbon hanger with a rusty safety pin, but this really wasn't an option to use to secure to the wreath. We have several other primitive style pieces that would look good with this wreath, or just used along side the wreath for added decoration. The Primitive Pumpkin Man is fairly large and could be used as a table top decoration or you might could squeeze him in the center of the wreath and let his long skinny legs dangle. The pumpkin does have LED lights on the inside, but just a few. The pumpkin is made of a grungy, antique look fabric and it's on sale right now too! The Primitive Pumpkin Pillow I think is too large to attach to a wreath, but it would really look cool on your front porch in a chair beside the door, or on a heart. It too is made with that grungy look. Perfect for Halloween decorating when you don't want a flashy shiny whimsical look. The Witch Hat is a skinny style hat that measures about 16" and also made with a grungy, antique look. It has some labels on the brim with different wording. The tall hat is stuffed lightly and it would look great on the wreath. It has a label on the front that says Happy Halloween and the picture of a pumpkin. The primitive witch boot with lace is of the same style, lightly stuffed and has a bell on the toe which was sewn on which is a nice touch. So many times, items like bells are just hot glued on and can come off. The boot is sold as a single, so if you are thinking of using two as witch legs, it's really not a good idea since they are identical and if you turn one around, the back side is plain. So if you used this on a wreath, it would be better to just use one. You could place it on one side and the hat on the other, or just attach a bow and use it as a door hanger by itself. Two smaller pieces would be the black crow and the mummy pumpkin. These would be great accent pieces and could be used in conjunction with one of the larger pieces, or on a smaller wreath. The crow is sort of a faded black and has a little note on the front "do something to crow about." It measures about 7" and is lightly stuffed. The mummy pumpkin is smallish at 6" but would look cute in a 10" wreath or as an accent. He has eyes peeping out of his mummy wrapping. Bow: To finish off this wreath, Rachel made a simple loop bow out of the 2.5" black and natural wide stripe ribbon. This is a great ribbon for Halloween, it has nice texture and is wired which makes bow making a little easier. Rachel made about a six loop bow and left the tails rather long, with one tail being longer than the other. She tucked the tail pieces into the wreath and secured them in a couple of places with the twists. She used floral wire around the bow to hold it together and to secure to the wreath. It was secured to the front of the wreath to a twist. Sometimes if you try to secure you bow too tightly, it will pull down into your wreath and scrunch up the bow. After your wreath is completed, always check the back for any sharp edges on the wreath that might scratch your wall or door. Turn anything sharp to the inside with needle nose pliers or cover with tape if needed. Make sure when you hang the wreath on the door, that none of the ruffles have rolled to the back or to the inside. You may have to push the ruffles out of the center (do this from the back of the wreath). Fluff your ribbon and check your embellishments to make sure they will withstand door closings. You can make a hanger for your wreath using a chenille stem or floral wire.

Happy Halloween! Stay tuned - we have more tutorials coming out soon!

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