carveit15

I think I’ve said this before: wreaths are possibly the most popular submission item to Dollar Store Crafts, year-round. As I made this wreath, I was reminded why they’re such a popular crafted item: because they’re fun, easy to make, and infinitely customizable. You can use your favorite materials (whether they’re clockwork gears, yarn, monster fur, or radishes), you can add basically anything to serve as an accent piece, and in just a few minutes’ time, you can have a fun and functional piece of decor that is as unique as you are.

Because wreaths are so popular and all of you are so creative, I’ve decided that we need to have a Wreath Contest (two ways to win)! Thanks for entering, but the drawing is now closed!

But first, the tutorial! I channeled my inner Ruffles & Stuff and Living with Lindsay and made a ruffle for this Burlap Ruffle Wreath!

Project Estimate:

  • 15″ wreath, $1
  • Burlap, on hand or about $1
  • Wooden plaque, on hand or $1 and up
  • Ribbon, on hand or $.50
  • Sewing stuff (machine or needle & thread)
  • Hot glue gun

Total: $1 and up

carveit01

A word about the supplies:

  • Wreath: The dollar store has faux greenery wreaths that are not terribly realistic, and not terribly full and lush. But let’s face it, you aren’t going to spend a buck and expect the greenery of the wreath to be the star of the show. No, the one dollar wreath is definitely a background player, which is a great canvas for your creativity!
  • Burlap: So I’ve been reading all the good frugal decor blogs lately, and I have seen a lot of burlap! I was excited when I received this plaque from Jack at CarveIt.ca and the package was wrapped in burlap. I was able to recycle the burlap packaging into the materials for this wreath!
  • Ribbon: I had it in my stash, and I’m sure you do too. If not, you can get it at your craft or big-box store for about $.50, or at your dollar store for $1.
  • Plaque: Get a custom plaque from CarveIt.ca, or make your own from a dollar store plaque (I’ll leave you to figure out how to do that yourself!)
  • Substitutions: You can use anything from your stash instead of my suggested materials.

To Make:

The Wreath:

carveit04

Pull out the spokes of the wreath to extend it to its 15″ size.

carveit05

Here’s the wreath at its fully-extended size. See what I meant about “not terribly lush”? Still, what a bargain for a buck!

Burlap Ruffle:

carveit02
I cut strips from my burlap fabric (about 3″ wide). I sewed two of them together to make a longer piece.

carveit03

Adjust your sewing machine straight stitch to the longest length and sew along one long edge of the burlap to gather into a ruffle. If that isn’t ruffly enough for you, you can manually pleat the ruffle as you sew it. If you don’t have a machine, use your needle and thread to sew a long basting stitch through the long edge of burlap and gather into a ruffle.

Burlap Bow:

carveit07

I had a bit of burlap ruffle left over, so I gathered it into a circle to make a bow.

carveit08

Pinch the circle in the middle.

carveit09

Tie in the middle with a piece of ribbon.

Assemble the Wreath:

carveit06

Hot glue the ruffle to the center of the wreath. Trim any excess burlap that covers the wreath too much.

carveit12

Wrap the ribbon (or any other adornments) around the wreath.

carveit13

Secure ends of the ribbon to the back of the wreath with a bit of hot glue.

carveit14

Squeeze some hot glue on the back of the plaque and place on top of wreath. You might want to turn wreath over (as shown here) and add some extra glue. I did, because I felt like the hot glue was already starting to dry by the time I put the plaque on the wreath and I wanted to make sure it was secure. Since hot glue is pretty easy to remove, I am not worried about using it on the plaque. I’ll be able to remove it and remake it when I feel like it.

carveit10

Place a long cut piece of burlap for ties, glue it, and then glue the bow on top of it. I put mine off of center, side-ponytail style! You’re done! That was easy, wasn’t it?

Wreath Contest

Thanks for entering, but the drawing is now closed! Click here for drawing results

See the pretty plaque in the center of my wreath? It was made by Jack at CarveIt.ca, and he has generously offered to provide a couple of custom plaques (8×8″, the same size as this one here) for my readers! You can design custom signs at his website or email him custom art and he makes awesome signs. Check out this amazing sign Cathe at Just Something I Made designed. Super sweet!

One custom plaque will be awarded at random to a commenter in this post.

  • To enter, comment on this post and tell me what your favorite wreath would look like (or DOES look like), or a material you’d like to use on your next wreath, or any wreath-related opinions you have, or a link to a cool wreath you’ve come across while internetting it up.
  • Contest ends Wednesday, December 9, 2009 at 8pm Pacific time.
  • I will choose a winner by Random.org drawing and announce it on Thursday morning
  • Winner receives an 8×8 plaque like the one shown here, with custom text.

The other custom plaque will be awarded to someone who MAKES a wreath.

Jack has also offered my readers a discount on a custom version of this sign with your last name on it.

On the website, the sign shown here (8×8) costs $45 + shipping (painted and finished). Dollar Store Crafts readers’ price: as low as $25!

Offer Details:

  • $35 + shipping painted and finished (A $45 value)
  • or $25 + shipping unpainted unfinished (A $35 value)
  • Shipping is around $10
  • These prices are in Canadian dollars, so slightly less in US currency (Click here to find the conversion)
  • Email Jack at [email protected] with the subject Dollar Store Crafts and the text you want on the sign and he’ll send you a preview and invoice