Birch Wreath

Hi All, I have actually had this idea in my head since summer, but you know how that goes...

I was aiming to get this post ready for Christmas, but that didn't happen either.  So here is it January & I'm finally getting around to editing the photos to post. 

You may not know this, but I'm a little obsessed with Birch Branch Bark.  Almost as bad as I was with Crackle paint in 1998 -  I'm trying not to take it quite that far (FYI - I'm still living with some crackle furniture that I can't afford to replace & an not sure if I can paint over it).

Here are some things I have made from birch:

 

  



 Birch Ornaments from my blog from 2010.

So on to the Birch Branch Wreath...

You'll need:
Large Wreath:
Heavy Gauge wire (I used 16 gauge  from JAF)
40 2" Birch Branch discs with a  1/4" hole drilled in the center (Thank you Bradford for all the cutting of a Birch Branch for this project!)
4 1.5" wool felted balls
ribbon (or something to hang wreath with)
pliers

Here is an easy tutorial to follow to make Felted Wool Balls if you do not want to buy them pre-made.

Small Wreath:
Heavy Gauge Wire
20 1" Birch Branch discs with a 1/4" hole drilled in the center
8 jingle bells
ribbon
pliers

When I first rec'd my box o' wood from my Brother In Law Bradford,  it was still pretty damp from being freshly cut.

 So I spread then out on a window screen to dry for a few days.

Then drilled 1/4" holes in the center (sorry no photo, but I think you can visualize).
For the Large Wreath, I grouped 40 2" birch discs together in 4 piles of 10.
I then put 10 birch discs on the heavy gauge wire thru the drilled hole...

 Followed by a wool felted ball & kept repeating that pattern until I had used up all 40 birch discs & all 4 wool balls.

 For the Small Wreath, I grouped 20 1" birch discs together in 4 piles of 5.  Placed 5 on the wire followed by 2 bells & repeated pattern until all 20 birch discs & 8 bells were on the wire.

Using my pliers, I bent the 2 ends of the wire into a little hook, looped them around each other & pinched the hooks closed.  I tried to close the entire hook as much as possible so that the wire would fit thru the 1/4" hole & not be seen.

Tie on some ribbon, raffia, twine or scrap fabric.
Hang & Enjoy

Thank you, Karla

Halloween Wreath revisited

Remember my LY Halloween Wreath ???

It is still cute & one of my Fav Projects. But this year I stepped it up a bit.

I added this big guy...

And this glittery little lady spider...
+ a few scary cob webs & I'm all ready for Halloween.

A much more impactful wreath - I'm making another for my sisters classroom because everyone was so generous to keep saving bags for me.

If making wreaths is up your alley, here are 2 blogs that you have to see for ideas...

Tatertotsand&Jello

Nesting Place

Can you guess which one is my Favorite???

Click HERE to see

Thank you, Karla

4th of July Wreath - the flip side

Do you remember the EASTER WREATH ???
Well flip those clothes pins over & Mod Podge the other side with RED, WHITE & BLUE scrap book paper & you have a fun 4th of July Wreath.

Instead of spelling out your celebration - I added family photos from this summer.

Happy 4th of July - Hope you all have a safe & fun Holiday!

Karla

Easter Wreath

I'm not a big Easter decorator... but thought I would make a little something to bring some spring into the house. I started with pastel cardstock, clothes pins, & Glitter Mod Podge & a large brass ring (no clue where I got this ring from... I think it moved with me from Ohio) but you could probably find one at JAF or other craft store. I cut the scrap book paper to the size of the clothes pin & Mod Podged it on... Careful not to touch (some kids just don't listen!)

Let it dry & clip them on to the ring.

Then I used heavy weight scrap book paper in fun pastel prints & patterns to cut egg shapes. I have a little cutter tool that I used, but you could easily print on out from on-line OR

if you are lucky enough to have a Cricut, you could cut them out in a jiffy. I used a glue stick to glue on letters on to the egg. Again, I had these letter in my scrap booking stash. You could use a stencil or your Cricut to cut them out.

Then just clip the eggs in to the cloths pins on the Wreath to spelling out HAPPY EASTER & add a bow.

Thank you, Karla

One red wool sweater

I love working with Felted wool... I've had these projects on paper since last Christmas & thought "You've got months to work on them!" Well, here it is December (it totally snuck up on me) & I'm just working thru my "TO DO list".

I started with one red wool sweater & washed it in HOT water & dried it in HI. The One Sweater will easily give you the following 3 projects:

TREE: Out of card stock, I cut 14, yes 14, circles (the largest circle was 6" diameter, the smallest circle was 1.5" diameter). Each one is about 1/4" smaller ... Don't worry if they are not perfect.
So I'm anal (if you did not know that already) & I punched a hole in them & put them on this handy little ring for safe keeping.
I then started cutting circles from the felted sweater. I cut 2 of every size & 4 of the smaller circles for a taller tree... 38 circles total.
Everyone loves to help with this project - Also save your scraps - we use every little bit.
I used some craft wire & a button for the base & started threading the largest circles on to the wire.

Just keep stacking them up & topped it off with a bell ~ This tree ended up being about 10" tall.

Peepers thougtht this was a fun little tree for him to play with.

WREATH: Cut up your scraps pieces into squares roughly 3/4" x 3/4"
Thread 10 squares on to a 12" piece of craft wire. The add a bell.
Continue with 10 more squares and a bell until you have used 40 squares & 4 bells. Twist the ends of the wire to create a hook

MITTENS: You probably want to do these before you do the wreath. I found this pattern in the latest FAMILY FUN magazine. Download the template from there & cut out your mittens.

I used an 11" ribbon & strung them together

And hung them on the tree.

From this one (Size Small) red wool sweater I made 1 tree, 4 wreathes & 7 pairs of mittens.

I have a bunch of felted sweaters just waiting to be made into something beautiful!
Hope you are inspired to make some Holiday crafts ~ Karla