Holiday Wreath Project

19 comments:
 As luck would have it, I needed to prune the grape vines and I need a wreath for the front door...
who said timing is everything right!?

 The grapes get a really heavy prune after the leaves drop and then I tie the and shape the larger growth from last year, so the plants have more structure.  I'm not sure my pruning technique is perfect but I read a few articles about grape pruning and I think I'm pretty close.

 What I was left with was a huge pile of vine clippings...some 12 feet long and really supple 
 I sorted through every thing and picked cuttings that I thought would make for a nice wreath, including ones that have the little dried curly tendrils 
 Having never done this before...I figured it would either turn out great or 
be a Charlie Brown wreath...or most likely something somewhere in the middle
 I chose a really nice beefy vine to start with and tied it off using floral wire.
By the way, is was raining the whole time I worked on this, which actually was sort of fun
 You keep adding and winding and weaving the vines together.  I clipped off the stray ends to keep  it from looking too messy 
The wreath tends to pull and get a bit out of shape as you add more vines,
 so tying the whole thing together at different spots helpes to keep the shape circular
I saved a few smaller really long pieces of vine to criss-cross and wrap around the wreath and to cover up any areas where the wire was showing.

I actually didn't use much wire



 This wreath will have greenery and some dried things too,  but almost everything will be things that I can pick in the garden
In the next post I will finish it off and hang it on the door!
It is not perfectly round but I love the rustic natural look of the vines
and the best part is that it was free!

Cheers!
19 comments:
  1. Rustic perfection Kelley, the best kind, and it is recycling, and could hardly be more local. Are you going to make more - why stop now?

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  2. Your wreath looks perfect! I love the rustic natural look.

    Kathy

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  3. Hi Mary Ann, Tricia and Kathy! Well I wish I had the energy to make more but I think I'm good for about 1 wreath per holiday ; 0 )

    I am using some of the smaller cuttings to do some little decorative bundles which I saw on a crafting supply web site...I will show those too as soon as I get them done.

    xo kelley

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  4. So sweet! Love it!
    Lee
    Leeshideaway.blogspot.com

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  5. free AND you made it. how wonderful!

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  6. Great idea Kelly...cant wait to see what you do to it....

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  7. This is beautiful and I love the simplicity of it.

    Hope your holidays are off to a good start!
    leslie

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  8. It is PERFECTLY perfectly round and beautiful! I love that you made it yourself! (I found my big one out for garbage on the curb and now it's hanging in my garden in my front yard :)

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  9. Love your wreath! Brought back fond memories. When my college roommate got married we collected an enormous stack of grape vines on a flatbed truck. While the vines were supple we wrapped each one inside a 5-gallon white bucket (the kind you get at Home Depot or a paint store) and when dried, they held the circular shape. We made dozens of wreaths and they hung on the end of each pew at her church wedding and we still had enough to make grape vine basket centerpieces for each table at the reception (filling them with potted flowers and moss to hide the pots). Turned out gorgeous.

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  10. Less than perfect is always better than perfect!

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  11. I just realized that you had dropped off my blogging list. Another one! I found about a dozen others in the last day or so. I am connected again now. Crazy blogging lately!

    Your wreath looks lovely. Aren't they fun to make? Do you have bittersweet there? They make beautiful vine wreaths. My girlfriends and I used to go on a vine hunt every Fall and made lots of wreaths that we sold at fairs. xo Diana

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  12. looks fantastic...great idea! I went to the cemetery (shhhh) this year and got the most gorgeous cedar full with blue berries!

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  13. I love it! I've been making wreaths from all the greenery in my yard and i was pretty happy with them until I saw this! It looks great right on the fence, but I'm sure it will look beautiful on your door too!

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  14. nature provides the best decor!

    if you haven't already stopped by, hope you'll have a moment to enter the giveaway on my blog!

    http://hellolovelyinc.blogspot.com/2012/12/personalized-lovely-giveaway.html

    happy december to you!

    michele

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  15. I love your natural elements wreath. So pretty and to think you gathered all the elements from your very own yard, that makes the best kind of wreath!!
    Merry Christmas,
    Kathysue

    PS if you have a chance come by to see the snow globe I made commemorating our trip to Paris!

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