'Tis the season for festive faffing and there’s nothing quite like a little bit of DIY decorations, and we’re taking it to the level of luxury with a step by step guide on how to make your very own Christmas wreath. We visited the very talented Donna Willingham at The Country Garden Florist to have a little lesson of our own.
Step 1. Gather your supplies
You can head out to your garden and gather your very own supplies or purchase a kit which has everything for you. We’re using the Christmas Wreath Kit - Luxury from The Country Garden Florist which comes with everything you need to make a beautiful festive wreath:
- Frame
- Reel wire
- Selection of foliage - we have eucalyptus, blue spruce, pine
- Pinecones
- Dried fruit slices and whole fruits - oranges and limes
- Velvet ribbon
- Feathers
- Cinnamon sticks
- Moss
Step 2. Add your moss onto the frame
When creating a Christmas wreath, you want to start by adding moss to your frame. Begin by wrapping your reel wire around one of the posts of your frame until it is secure. Take handfuls of moss at a time and lay it over the frame, you don’t want these to be too thin or too thick as you need to be able to wrap the wire around the moss as you go along. Continue until the entire frame is complete and covered in moss. Don’t cut your wire off just yet as we will use this to attach the foliage too.
Step 3. Lay bunches of foliage onto your moss base
Now your base is ready you can begin to add your foliage to your wreath. We’re using cuttings of blue spruce, pine, eucalyptus with feathers. Take a small bunch of foliage and layer it onto your wreath, then wrap your reel wire tightly around the base of your bunch, securing it to the frame. Make sure all your bunches are roughly the same size as you continue with your wreath and that you are consistent with your angles, you're looking to lay it on at a 45-degree angle.
Step 4. Continue adding your foliage
Work your way around your wreath, staying consistent with the size of your bunches so that you don’t end up with having too much foliage on one side and not enough on the other. Remember to wrap your reel wire nice and tight around each bunch to keep it secure and firm. As you continue to add foliage, check your wreath by holding it up to a mirror to see if the shape is looking right.
Step 5. Tuck your final foliage bunch in
When you get to your last foliage bunch make sure you tuck the stems well underneath, so it creates a seamless circle. Once you have finished adding your foliage, you might notice some gaps or the shape may be a bit uneven, but don't worry you can fix this by simply pushing foliage into the wreath and the moss will hold it in place for you.
Step 6. Make a loop on the back with your reel wire
To ensure that you can hang your wreath, you’ll need to make a loop. Cut your wire, leaving about 30cm left to make your loop, then feed your wire through the reel frame and wrap the remaining wire around the base of the loop you have created to hold it in place.
Step 7. Add your decorations to your wreath
To add pine cones to your wreath, wrap the wire around the base of your pine cone and then twist under the pine cone to create a stem which you can then push into the moss, take it through to the other side and wrap around the base of your frame to keep it in place.
Step 8. Next, we’re adding oranges, limes and slices
When it comes to wiring your whole oranges and limes, you want to go through the gap and out to the other side, then like you did with the pine cones, twist at the bottom to create a stem, which you can again push through your moss, out to the other side and then wrap around your reel frame.
Step 9. Finish your wreath with a bow and sticks of cinnamon
We're onto the final steps, and we've tied a few sticks of cinnamon together with twine and then used wire to attach it to our wreath as we have with our previous decorations. For the finishing touch, we've added a beautiful bow to our wreath and used wire to secure it in place.
Step 10. Hang your festive wreath on your front door
Now that your wreath is complete, you can proudly hang it on your front door for all to enjoy!
You can watch the full tutorial from Donna here:
Have you created a DIY Christmas wreath this year? Let us know how you got on in the comments below!
