Sweet Swan Songs: DIY Simple Fall Wreath Tutorial

Hi!
It is fall, the season of decorating and cozying things up for the colder weather. It is a time of celebrating; being thankful and preparing for the cold (or cold-ish, depending on where you live) winter, and Christmas. (but that's another post.)
What better way to get festive than make your own cute wreath?

I've been looking at fall wreaths lately on Pinterest, and have found quite a few that I like.

Like this gorgeous burlap wreath,

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This cute monogrammed wreath (also burlap),

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And some cute flower wreaths.

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Would you like to make your own fall wreath?

Here is how you do it.

Simple Fall Wreath

This isn't the finished product, just a prototype. You have to keep reading to see that!!

I know first off that I can't even hold a candle to those magnificent creations, but I thought I'd give it a shot.
I decided to make my own fall wreath using a grapevine wreath I already have. I bought it at Garden Center like 3 years ago around Christmastime and have been using it ever since. It was definitely worth the $3 or so that I paid for it!

I had wrapped these cherry blossoms around it for spring and summer, two years in a row. Faux flowers are awesome, as long as they aren't cheesy.

Okay, so get out some fabric, kraft ribbon (or any ribbon you like )and scissors, craft glue, a needle and thread. (if you have a glue gun, get it out instead of the needle and thread. I have a glue gun, but no glue to put in it, so I had to improvise!)

I took the kraft ribbon (that I got at Target 3 or 4 years ago for $0.24 on clearance) and wrapped it around the wreath at a slight angle. I tied the ends of the ribbon to a strong-looking piece of grapevine on the back of the wreath to hold it securely, then wrapped around and around, then when I got to the top again I tied that end as well.

Then I got out my fabric and scissors.
I simply cut about an inch into the fabric, then tore strips of fabric in varying lengths and colors (I used brown, purple and orange but of course you can use whatever colors you like.) If you have a thicker fabric, it may not tear as well and you might just have to cut it. Don't worry about jagged edges, they actually look prettier once you make the flowers! I tore fabric of varying widths as well, for different sized flowers.
Keep in mind that I completely winged it for this part of the wreath, so if you have a better method that works for you, by all means, use it! :) Side note: If you have kids, they would probably love to help you with this part. Mine had a lot of fun trying to cut and rip the fabric. Of course, don't give them scissors unless they are old enough to use them responsibly!

Then I began winding the flowers. This part is kind of trial and error; it took me a few tries to get the look I was going for.
You just take your fabric, bend one end over, and begin winding it around itself. I found it helps if you have the fabric on a flat surface, so you can smush and rearrange the flower as you go. I tried the first few holding them in my hand, and had to stop and start over because they kept unwinding.

It helps to not wind the fabric too tightly either. This gives it that nice rose shape.
After the flowers are wound, glue them to a nice little circle of fabric. This helps them stay how you just so carefully wound them!
Again, if you have a hot glue gun this is where you break it out and start gluing! I wanted to use what I had on hand here at the house, so I used craft glue. But a hot glue gun would be so much easier!

Just cut out a circle of fabric about the size of your flower, and glue it to the back of the flower, making sure the middle of it is glued down so your flower doesn't unravel.

See how that gives it a nice shape? I made the circle a little bigger than the actual flower, for an extra "petal" right around the edges. I love the way it looks!

After your flowers are all glued and cooled down/dried, it's time to arrange them on your wreath.
I chose to group a few together like this at first:

But then I didn't absolutely love it, so I tried something different.

If you have a glue gun, just glue the flowers onto the wreath in the arrangement you like best.
If you don't have a glue gun, you can do what I did and sew the flowers down.
Its a lot more time consuming, but it works. Just wrap the thread around a strong vine, and sew through bottom of the flower, not going all the way to the top. You don't want the thread to show! Then tack it down around the edges, so that the flower isn't wobbly. It really helps to sew the flowers to each other as you add more on, that way they have more stability. Of course, if you have glue sticks for your glue gun you just glue those suckers on!
And..you are done. Hang your wreath on your door and admire it!

P.S. If you're wondering where the re-arrangement happened from the first wreath picture; I just made a slightly smaller orange flower to put on the far side. I liked it better that way. :)
I was going to hang it on the inside of our front door, but then though aw, what the heck? No one will see it there! So I put a hook in our door and hung it outside. I think it looks much better there. The red just sets it off so nicely!