Some projects claim to be do-it-yourself, but then you get started and realize the project takes expertise you simply don’t have. Making a great holiday wreath for your front door requires no expertise except for the ability to pick out colors. The rest is easy! In about an hours time, you will have a gorgeous piece to hang inside or outside of your home.

What you will need:

• * Wreath base (either faux or real but be aware that faux has the wire built in for attaching items)
• * Ribbon (can be any width, style, or color)
• * Decorations – pick 3 or 5 of each item (ornaments, toys, pine cones, sprigs from your garden, anything at all!)
• * Thin decorative wire
• * About an hour of free time

Step One: Shopping

I enlisted the help of Michael, our in-house designer, to guide me on the project. He immediately handed me a shopping basket and told me to go grab things I liked. He saw my hesitation with picking what I wanted and said to me, “Don’t over think this! If you like something, it will work.” I stopped stressing and went to town grabbing decorative picks and garland and ribbon and pine cones.

Step Two: Picking Your Wreath Base

I decided to work with a faux wreath as my base. There are pros and cons to both but the biggest pro for me was that a faux wreath provided the wiry branches for me to weave things into which made the project even easier for me. There are a myriad of bases you could choose for your wreath but for the purposes of this project we decided to stick to an evergreen base.

 Step Three: Ribbon

I chose a burlap ribbon as I’m currently completely obsessed with burlap. I’m terrible at tying bows, so instead, I decided to loosely loop and weave the ribbon throughout the branches. After you’ve placed the ribbon or bows where you want them, you now can begin adding in the layers of other elements you chose.

Step Four: Adding Everything Else!

After the ribbon, Michael explained that the other layers should be added in groups and that it’s best to use 3 or 5 of each element depending on how big the item is. You can work things in symmetrically or randomly arrange them, it’s really up to you and your taste! Simply twist the branches around the items you chose or, if you’ve opted to use a fresh wreath, use thin wire you can purchase at your local craft store to secure the items.

For added scent and texture, bring things in from the outdoors (real pine cones, sprigs of holly). Floral tubes can be used for things that need to be kept in water and then wired to the wreath in whatever arrangement you feel works best.

The great thing about making your own wreath is that once you’ve picked out the elements you love, you can then use them throughout your home and tie all of your decor together. Create a matching garland for your mantel or centerpiece for your table. The same wreath you make for your wall or front door can double as  your dining table centerpiece with a few candles placed in the middle.

The holiday season is here and there’s no better place to start decorating for it than your front entrance! If you’re still feeling uncertain about how to make your own, enter our Pinterest contest and we will make a wreath for you. Click here for more details on how to enter.

Happy Holidays!