It's almost Spring!

Last Fall, I bought a wreath stand at Pier One. I had many plans for what I could put on that puppy. I figured I would get sick of seeing the same thing and would be inspired to make new creations for every season. Figured it could be my crafting catalyst... Well, so far, that hadn't exactly happened. UNTIL... I got another crafty bug this week and decided to make some Spring decorations and more specifically, to do a wreath for my fancy shmancy holder. I did a little bit of internet trolling, ummmm, I mean SEARCHING for wreaths... and found a few inspiring ideas at The Casabella Project and at Blue Sky Confections. I have been seeing burlap used in all sorts of ways lately and I have also noticed a trend in alphabet letters and numbers, so I figured that would be a good starting point.

I started at Dollar tree but wasn't all that excited by what they offered at that visit (which is a rare thing,) so, I ventured over to Joann's and picked up a few things. They practically had their whole store on sale since it happens to be "National Crafting Month!" Didn't even really know there was such a thing, but figured it was serendipitous.

I started by wrapping the "A" in twine, a little tedious, but piece of cake once I figured out how to keep the hot glue off my fingers. (Ain't that the truth...)















Then I cut a piece of burlap, long enough to go around the perimeter of the wreath form and the glued it down. I kind of gathered up the edges as I went along to give it a nice, well... gathered look. I glued it down on the back as I overlapped the edges.

Here is how it looked all covered. Just in case you wanted to see the magic that is a burlap covered wreath form. ;-)

















Then I started making a gazillion little fabric flowers. If you haven't made these before, there is a trick to them. I, however, don't really know that trick so I found myself winging it. A LOT. I started by cutting some strips of pretty spring colored fabric, about 25 inches long and about 1 inch wide and then cut some circles of burlap and started twisting and adhering the fabric strips (wish I had some felt handy 'cuz I probably wouldn't have burned my fingers as much as the glue exuded itself through the holes in the burlap.)

Next is to start arranging, rearranging and then arranging again, all those little flowers you made. Oh, and don't forget to embellish. You must embellish! ;-) I added some flat backed pearls, some colored rhinestone brads and some seam binding ribbon leaves. I just played around with the placement until I liked what I had. I ended up needing to make another flower or two because I had some that just didn't live up to my (relaxed) standards. Last step was adding a ribbon to the A and attaching a ribbon for hanging. Then I still questioned whether it was done or not. I had a couple of suggestions for adding another flower or something to the letter. I see what they are saying, but I am not sure if it would look too busy or not. As it is, there is a lot going on. Not sure if I want to complicate it or not. If I feel bored later, I may play around with it some more. Who knows. But the crafty bug has a short life span and there is still much to be done before he goes away. Thanks for stopping by and visiting. See you next time!