Autumn Wreath

After my last post, I think I've felt a little too much freedom in waiting between posts. I mean, it's not like I haven't been up to anything. I just haven't taken the time to write it all down.

Anyway, a few weeks ago, I decided I wanted to make a wreath for our front door. I was inspired by all the cute yarn wreaths on Pinterest, this one in particular:

http://www.danielleburkleo.com/2010/10/diy-yarn-wreath-with-felt-flowers.html

I also saw this seemingly genius pin, which suggested using foam plumbing material from the hardware store to make your own wreath form. And since a styrofoam ring costs like $6-8 at the craft store, I was all about this $1 alternative.

http://www.thepennyparlor.com/2010/09/coffee-filter-wreath.html

My method was pretty simple... just keep wrapping cheap yarn around the foam. Every now and then I'd use a small dot of hot glue to hold the yarn in place, just so that it wouldn't slide around too much. Then, I made up a bunch of felt flowers using an assortment of tutorials I found by googling "felt flowers." I went with these:

http://www.danielleburkleo.com/2010/10/diy-yarn-wreath-with-felt-flowers.html

http://mrspriss.com/2011/02/03/tutorial-felt-pom-pom-flower-thingamabobs/
http://iammommahearmeroar.blogspot.com/2010/10/last-felt-flower.html

And here was my finished product!

I was really happy with it! ...for about an hour. And then it started to droop. And become misshapen. The weight of the felt flowers at the bottom was seriously causing the cheap, hollow foam tube to collapse. And stretch. By the next morning, my wreath was shaped like an egg instead of a circle. As the days went by, things only got worse. 

Oh, how I wish I'd taken a photo of my pathetic wreath. Every day when we would come home, Bryan would giggle to himself as he unlocked the door. Really, it was quite a sight! So this weekend, I decided it was time to try and fix the madness. In the end, I used a piece of cardboard, cut in a thin ring and glued to the back of the wreath to help it hold its shape. So far so good.

Moral of the story: spend the $6 on the foam wreath from the craft store.