December Wreath

Sorry about the late posting.  I really did this project early in the month, but our internet service has not been letting us upload, and writing a blog with dial-up speed is not really possible with my attention span or crazy life.  

Here is the inspiration picture for this month.  I got it from the Better Homes and Garden website:

Supplies:

• 12" foam wreath - $2.50
• 50 carnations - 5 flowers/stem, 1 stem = $.96 - $5
• pliers
• hot glue
• ribbon

Total = $7.50

Step 1) Glue the stems to the flowers.  I guess you can skip this step, but after a year of making wreaths, I can say erring on the side of caution usually pays off.

Step 2) Cut the stems to about an inch or so.  I cut mine very short because I only had a half circle wreath, so I didn't have room to stick them in very far.

Sorry about the fuzziness, I shot this one-handed and the camera wouldn't focus. Yes, that's my thumb.

Step 3) Divide the wreath into halves or quarters with some markings and divide your flowers into the same, that way you will have even pacing and not make one section fuller than another.

Step 4) Put hot glue on the stem and stick it into the wreath.  I found three carnations would fill out the top, inside and outside to make a row and I just did one row at a time.

Step 5) Add a bow.

Step 6) Attach a ribbon to the back to hang.

Step 7) Hang it on your door.

The Better Homes and Gardens website said to use 80 carnations for a 16" wreath, so a 14" wreath uses about 70-75, in case you wanted a bigger one, or several different sizes.

I love how this looks, that it was really cheap, and that it breaks up all the evergreen wreaths on my windows.