Vintage Christmas Wreath

I was approached by Country Baskets to take part in their 2013 Christmas Blogger Challenge – Festive Face-Off to create a beautiful decoration for the home or garden. I was kindly sent a big basket full of crafty goodies to use in my creation which arrived last week. 30 bloggers have been invited to take part and I’m really looking forward to seeing what others have made using their stash of crafty things!

The theme of the craft supplies was very vintage – faux flowers and foliage, wooden stars and jingle bells, lace and ribbon, buttons and beads…and more! So much to choose from! As I pulled everything out to take a look I was ooh-ing and ahh-ing all over the place at the delights inside the basket! It was very hard to decide which things to use – and what to make, but in the end, I decided to make a Christmas wreath. I love making wreaths! I make them for Halloween, for Easter, for Christmas, for Autumn, I even make them out of rubbish bags!

We were allowed to use our own craft supplies if we so wished, so I raided my stash and pulled out a few bits and bobs that I thought I could use. I often go into craft projects with a rough idea in mind, surround myself with everything I think I’ll maybe use and the end result evolves as I go along. In the end, I didn’t need to use anything of my own – the supplies from Country Baskets were just perfect and I am so pleased with how my wreath turned out.

The one thing I did use of my own was an foam insulation pipe that I turned into a ring to form the basis for my wreath. You can buy these relatively cheaply from DIY shops, quite often in packs of 2 or more – enabling you to make lots of wreaths if you want to!

I knew I would probably use the burlap in my decoration, so cut it down into strips to wrap around my foam ring and made sure to add a loop at the top to hang the wreath when finished.

I then wrapped some lace around to give a natural looking candy cane feel to it – at least, that was my thought process!

There were several stems of faux flowers and foliage in my basket, so I cut some down and hot glued into place. I was then able to pop in some fluffy, glittery pom poms and silver apples. Finally, I clipped on some very pretty pink butterflies.

I am always torn at Christmas time with either bright, glittery, gaudy and kitsch or traditional, natural, subtle and vintage! I love both looks, and since Christmas comes but once a year, I tend to have a mix of both throughout the house!!

What I love most about the wreath that I have created is that it could be used throughout the whole of the winter season and not just Christmas – perfect for the dreary dull January/February days when Christmas is long over. The house always looks so bare at that time of year, so I often decorate with wintery type decorations just to cheer the place up!

I’ve also got lots more Christmas Crafts for Adults for you to try out. Right-click and open a new tab to read next.

If you’re wondering what the prize for this challenge is…

The lucky winner will receive £250 voucher to spend at Country Baskets, online or in store which can either be used by them, or given away to their craft fans/readers. They will also be asked to nominate a charity close to their hearts, to which will donate a selection of the decorations plus an additional cash donation to give them a boost this Christmas.

….so not only does the blogger win, but so does their readers, and most importantly, a charity of the bloggers choice! Christmas has come for all :)

Please Share This Post!