January Wreath

Ha ha, I bet you thought I forgot about making a wreath this month, or blogging about it, but I did not.  I got a group of 3 other women (because $$ just divides so easily into 4, and we'll be buying some stuff in bulk.  Plus these ladies are awesome and just as excited as me to be crafty and social.) and we meet the first Thursday of the month.  So with any luck blog entries will follow shortly thereafter.  With this wreath we ran into some supply troubles, and I didn't get the rest of my supplies until yesterday, hence the late post.  It really bummed me out, too because this wreath is so beautiful I want it on my door as long as possible.  Good thing I will have these wreaths for years because it will be so sad to take it down in February.  Hopefully, I'll feel that way with all of them, though.

Enough preamble, onto the main event.  Here was my inspiration for this wreath.

I figured with blue ribbon instead of pink it could look winter-y.  Plus I was hoping to find some snowflake ornaments after Christmas to hang inside making it unmistakably winter-esque.

Supplies:

• 1 12" foam wreath (I actually used a 14") $5 @ Michaels.  $3 w/40% off coupon
• 5+ yrds. of 1 1/2" ribbon (again, my ribbon was 7/8", but I had 25 yrds.  I used about 20).  $1.79 @ going-out-of-business sale in Salt Lake a few years ago
• 3 lbs. clear gem stones.  4 bags @ Dollar Tree = $4
• After Christmas ornaments @ Walmart = $2
• Glue gun and 8-10 glue sticks

Total

a little less than $13

1. Hot glue ribbon to the wreath and wrap. Hot glue the ribbon intermittently to avoid starting over.  

2. Glue the stones around the wreath, leaving the back blank.  Be sure to hold your wreath at different angles to make sure all the visible parts are covered.  Warning, this make the wreath very heavy.

   3. My stones were oblong, but everyone else used round stones.  It's easier to fit them around when they're round, but it's nearly impossible to get them to fit perfectly at the end.  That's okay. (Awkward spot?  What awkward spot?)

4. Hang your ribbon around the wreath where the stones meet.  

5. Add any bows or embellishments. 

6. Check for hot glue strings.

7. Hang on door.

What I loved about this wreath was how glamorous it looked.  And how great it looked with so many variations.  One woman used light blue ribbon and tiny stones--awesome.  One used grosgrain ribbon--beautiful.

The other used dark blue and a mixture of clear and blue tinted stones.

This is the one pictured above.

It also looked good with just a third of the wreath covered in stones.  

I think the oblong stones made mine look especially icy.  So I call this the ice princess wreath.