Last week this gorgeous Winter wreath from The Purl Bee popped up on my Facebook timeline. Diana posted that she loved it but wouldn’t be shelling out $98 for it… and since I wouldn’t spend that much on a wreath either, I had to click through to check it out.
Sure it’s a gorgeous textured wreath in warm winter white wool felt, hand-sewn with embroidery thread and gold accents, but it’s a KIT that you have to assemble yourself! Now I’m all for a great DIY, but $98 for a wreath I have to assemble myself?!! I don’t think so.
Determined to DIY it for less, I headed to my local craft store and went straight to the felt section. Unfortunately, they didn’t have a warm winter white, but they had white, and for .45cents a sheet, I picked up 14 of them just to be safe. I happened to find the very last foam wreath ring for $7.99 and grabbed a bulk pack of glue sticks for $3.99 just to be safe.
The gorgeous Winter Wreath KIT for $98 {that you not only assemble yourself, you hand-stitch and embroider yourself} has gold beads and sequins, which I thought could be replicated with gold and silver glitter glue, which I already had at home, so I headed to the register to total up my supplies.
My felt was just under $7 + my $7.99 ring = just under $15 total. I used 12 of the 14 white felt rectangles… I didn’t end up using any gold accents because I liked it better without, I used a ribbon I already had as a hook, and barely put a dent in my glue sticks. I’m also guessing if you’re in a city with a larger craft shop {or shop online ahead of time}, you can find felt and a wreath ring for less than I paid for mine.
Though it took me the better part of a day, I’m super happy with my pretty white winter floral wreath that cost just about $15…
Here’s What You’ll Need…
- White or winter white felt: At least 10-12 rectangle sheets {or any color of your choice}
- Foam wreath ring, large {or any size of your choice}
- Hot glue gun and glue sticks
- Matching ribbon to hang {if you like}
- Scissors and pinking shears
- White fluffy pom pom balls {make really cute flower centers}
- Paper and pen/pencil or found floral templates printed from your computer
- Beads, sequins, OR metallic glitter glue {though I did not add accents, they are an option
Steps…
First, if you like the look of a visible hanging ribbon, loop it around your ring leaving your ends at two different lengths, and simply stitch it together. Fold your ribbon legs over and stitch them in place as well. I also glued the ribbon to the ring at the base so it would stay put.
NOTE: You can skip this step and simply use an over the door wreath holder, an existing nail, or create a small hidden loop from which to hang it from on the back of the ring.
I quickly illustrated a few flower designs to trace onto my felt, but then just eyeballed the rest. You can easily find free printable flower templates if you like, or just freehand your flowers if you feel comfortable doing so.
I used up every inch of my felt sheets. After cutting my large, medium, and small flowers out in various designs, I cut single leaves and circles with my regular scissors and my pinking shears as well as 1in x 3in long rectangles.
I used many of the same techniques I used for my pretty Paper Flowers Mirror DIY…
For instance, my 1″x 3″ rectangles, I cut fine slits, then rolled up and glued in place to create floral bursts for texture.
I also created various sized circles with the same narrow slits all the way around and either used them flat with layered smaller circles or shapes on top or pinched and glued to create smaller center bursts.
I began layering my largest flowers one at a time sporadically and spaciously around my ring, gluing each layer to the next…
Then I decided to make a few cute medium sized floral designs separately {and all at once} to save time and give a sense of how many more I was really going to need…
I LOVED the cute white pouf balls as centers. I used one medium sized pouf or 1-3 tiny ones. SO CUTE!
Once all your flowers all secured, fill in the spaces with your single leaves and bursts.
I used my large “bursts” in between flowers and my little bursts as flower centers.
Continue layering felt flowers, leaves, circles, and bursts until you get the look you want. I layered around the edges enough so the my ring was completely hidden FROM ALL ANGLES when hung, which gave my wreath a nice full look, but did NOT go around the back.
If you want to add gold accents by sewing or glueing on beads, sequins, or other notions, feel free. I liked mine simple without the accents, but you can easily achieve the look with festive glitter glue and use any color you like!
And… Voila!
Using blue yarn & leftover tassels from my DIY Tassel Shades, I hung my pretty winter white wreath from my large circles mirror, around the center mirror in the guest room and added a few more festive snowy items to make it a fun space for our Friendsgiving guests.
Have Fun & Happy Holidays!
* Find all my DIYs here
* Find all my Holiday DIYs here
