Valentine's Day Wreath

Last year I did quite a few Valentiney things (and with V-day nearly a week away, there's still time, right??).  This year, I've been pretty busy with regular stuff.  Life with an older toddler requires a lot more mopping and vacuuming than it did last year.  I'm so glad we don't get many drop-in visitors because I'd have to turn off the lights and pretend nobody was home. One thing I did want to do is give a try to one of the more popular DIY blog and Pinterest crafts:  

   So here we go:

• Foam wreath form - there were a variety of sizes and shapes at the craft store, pick whatever you like
• Fabric for covering the wreath - I got a yard and a half and I have quite a bit left over
• Fabric for embellishments - I chose some coordinating quilting fabric
• Ribbon or Rickrack for embellishment
• Pins - no sewing or glue!!!

I started off by tearing a few strips of the fabric.  I wanted to tear because I wanted the slightly frayed edge to show as I wrapped it.  And because I chose a chevron fabric I tore the fabric across (rather than down) to keep the pattern oriented the way I wanted it to.

I just started wrapping the fabric, making sure it overlapped a bit all around. I pinned the strip and started a new one right there.  I started each strips on the same side of the wreath so that side would be the back side.  I had to trim the strips short to make it work.  

Once you have your wreath covered, make some fabric flowers.  I checked out Pinterest for DIY fabric flowers to get some ideas of how one might make some.  I mainly used these two methods both of which involve cutting a bunch of circles of fabric.   First off, to get a good circle I traced a cup onto some cardstock to make 2 different sizes of circles (for big and small flowers).  Then I layered the fabric and cut four circles at once.   Method 1 - layer 3-4 circles, creating a fringe edge with scissors.  I used 3 big circles with one smaller one on top to create a nice fringey look.  I attached the flowers with a pin.  I didn't do pics here...sorry! Method 2 - fold a circle in quarters and put it on a pin, repeat several time so that there are 3-4 ruffles attached to a pin.  Fold a circle in half and attach that to the pin.  Repeat several times.  Put a whole circle on the bottom.  Then attach it to the wreath.

Pin the flowers in as you go.  Rearrange however you like.

I used random little ruffles of fabric to fill in a few gaps, but that was it!

I hung the wreath on the door with some big rickrack and taped it to the top of the door.

Here's what I like about it -

• It's pink for V-day but isn't covered with hearts, so it won't have to be pulled down right on Feb 15.

• NO GLUE OR SEWING!  So all the materials can be re-used.  Look for version 2 of this wreath for spring/Easter time!

• Quick and free-form.  With raw edges, perfection isn't critical here, making this a good project for crafting novices.

Happy Valentine's Day!
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