Wreaths are a great way to add some color and curb appeal to the entry to your home. There is nothing like a wreath to add a welcoming feel and a pop of color to your door. I like to customize mine to fit the season. Our old home had a a single door so the wreaths I had in the past no longer work because I now have two doors. I created new wreaths for our double doors this summer. I decided to switch my boxwood wreaths out for something that can stand up to the summer heat and humidity.
Custom wreaths can get expensive, especially if you have double doors like I do. So I like to make my own. For the base of the wreaths I an using a 17 inch grapevine wreath that you can find in the floral department of any craft store. I like using grapevine because it is inexpensive, holds up well outdoors, and its woven base makes it ideal for adding greenery or silk flowers.
A key element in making a wreath is making sure the scale of the wreath is large enough for your door. You don’t want a tiny wreath because it will get lost on a big door and if the scale is off it just looks silly.
Once I get my base, I start thinking about what colors I want to use. I like using a bow on my wreaths and generally I let the color and pattern of the ribbon dictate the style and colors I choose. Since this was a Summer wreath I decided to go with a crisp navy and white. When I am choosing ribbon for a wreath, I like using wired ribbon. It holds up well and the wire allows you to shape a pretty bow. You can find wired ribbon at your craft store, fabric store or you can even find it online. Some Etsy stores even specialize in ribbon.
The ribbon I chose for this project is made by Sunbrella, so it is treated to stand up to the sun and moisture. I like to mix ribbons together, so for this one I used a wider stripe with a slightly narrower navy solid. I made my bow using five loops since odd numbers tend to look good when you are mixing ribbons. Each bow took a little over a yard of each ribbon to make. So if I am making two bows like I did for this project, then I like to make sure I have about 3 yards of each ribbon. My loops are made from about 8 inches of ribbon. Looking at the front of the bow each loop is 4 inches from the center to the fold. I use a pipe cleaner or floral wire to wrap around the center and hold the bow together. Make sure you leave some extra on the end so you have enough to secure your bow to the wreath.
Once I get my bow I set it down on the wreath to begin deciding how to add my greenery. I decided to make an asymmetrical wreath with the greenery making a C-shape. If I am making a single wreath I tend to to put the bow and greenery on the right side. Since I was making two wreaths for double doors, I made mine mirror images of each other. One wreath had the bow on the left and the other had it on the right so the bows and greenery faced into each other.
Here is the bow and some initial greenery I placed to set the the length of the C shape. I cut my greenery using heavy duty scissors or wire cutters. When I cut my pieces I make the end long enough so I can tuck it securely in the weave of the grapevine. This keeps the greenery in place without having to use glue.
Next I added some berries. Since it is summer and I have a blue front door, I used these faux blueberries. I then cut and tucked their wire bases in the grapevine just like I did with the leaves.
Finally I added these silk spirea branches I had from Pottery Barn several years ago. I used to have them in a vase in the old house. I didn’t have a place for that vignette in this house so I decided to use them in this wreath. These flowers worked well because they are smaller in scale so they go well with the small blueberries.
Here is the wreath without the bow so you can see how I layered on the greenery, berries and flowers. When you are finished you want to attach your bow with the pipe cleaner or wire and trim the ends of the ribbon. I cut the ends of my ribbon on the diagonal and made sure the ribbon in the center of the bow covered the wire that was holding it together. Then you are ready to hang it on your door and shape the ribbon loops so they look just right.
Here are the finished wreaths so you can see what it looks like to make two wreaths that are mirror images of each other. I was happy with the finished look and best of all, because I took apart some old wreaths and used some flowers I already had this project cost me nothing but a little time. Hopefully this project will inspire you to make a custom wreath for your front door.
