4th of July Wreath

During the summer, I have to keep myself busy or I will go crazy.  Every year I try to either teach summer school, work summer camps, or start some DIY projects.  I really enjoy getting inspired and creating something from start to finish.  Yesterday, I got inspired to make a wreath for 4th of July.  I’m usually not the type of person that decorates for every holiday.  I will put up lights and a tree at Christmas but that is usually the extent of my holiday decorating.  I’m also not the type of person to hang a wreath – ever!  But last week, I saw a post on Facebook where a friend of mine had made this really cute Easter egg wreath.  It seemed easy enough and got my creative juices flowing.  So I started searching the internet for 4th of July wreath ideas.  I found several that I really liked.

 

This one was honestly one of my favorites.  It reminded me of fireworks.  The materials needed were very simple and inexpensive and it seemed easy enough to make although I have never made a wreath before. I tried making a sample medallion using paper I had at home and it took about 10 minutes to make just 1 medallion (more crafty people could probably do it much faster!)  I knew this one would take a while to make but it’s summer and I have some time on my hands.  But I didn’t have scrapbook paper that would work and I couldn’t find any at Hobby Lobby when I went so this one was out of the running for my 4th of July wreath.

 

The red wreath was another top contender because I could see reusing it for different holidays.  Change the ribbon and you have a Valentine’s Day, Christmas, or Memorial Day wreath.  I think it is so pretty!  It is made from felt.  Each of the little felt pieces on this wreath started out in the shape of a star – hand traced and cut.  It looks great with all the little points but I wasn’t sure I could duplicate it without an extreme amount of time and effort so I decided to skip this design for now.

 

This one was the winner!  I love how it is patriotic and festive but not in your face holiday decor.  The directions were simple and it didn’t need a whole lot of materials so I decided to go for it!  The step by step tutorial is on this blog.

 

 

 

 

I started by cutting out squares of the white fabric using pinking sheers.  LOTS of fabric squares!  I didn’t really measure, I just kinda eyeballed it because it didn’t really matter if they weren’t exactly the same size as long as they were pretty close.

 

Then, I sat in front of the TV as I started attaching the squares to the wreath form one by one.  I have become a little obsessed with the TV show I Survived lately.  It creeps me out but I can’t stop watching it so this was a good activity to do to keep my hands busy while I was watching.

 

A couple of episodes of I Survived and 1 episode of 16 and Pregnant later and I had finished my first ever attempt at wreath making!  Here is my final product hanging on my front door!  I love how it turned out and am already thinking about the next one!

I’d love to hear your ideas for DIY wreaths!  (I think I’m hooked now!)