Hey there, Someday Crafters! I'm excited to be sharing my own project today. I haven't had a lot of crafting time since the twins were born in December, and this was an easy craft that I was able to (mostly) get done while the baby was sleeping.
I don't have a lot of wreaths, but I've always thought it would be fun to have a special one to put up around our family birthdays. When BurlapFabric.com contacted me, and I started looking through their products, I immediately fell in love with the burlap ribbon. I loved the idea of using it on a wreath, and thus the idea of this birthday wreath came to be.
I loved the selection of burlap ribbon that Burlap Fabric has to offer. They have about 9 different sizes, and so many colors and patterns to choose from. Ultimately, I ended up choosing the Orange, Chartreuse, Jungle Green, and Red burlap ribbon in 1.5" and the Burgundy in 2.5". I really loved the combo of those 5 colors together, so I overlooked the difference in width. And really, once they're all on the wreath, you can't really tell unless you're looking for the difference. I also adore the frayed edges. I think it adds such a fun texture to the wreath! The ribbons rolls come in 10' lengths. Doing 5 colors, I used up about 2/3 of 4 of the rolls and all of 1 of the rolls.
So, to do this wreath, here's what you'll need:
- Wreath form
- Burlap ribbon rolls
- Decorative Clothespins
- T-pins
- Twine (not pictured)
- Chipboard (not pictured)
- Adhesive-backed cardstock (not pictured)
- Scissors
I started by lightly wrapping the wreath form with the burgundy roll. I chose the T-pins as an extra measure to secure the burlap to the wreath. Because of the naturally weaved holes, glue didn't seem like such a great option, and neither did regular flat-head nails. I wanted the pins to lay across at the top so that the loops don't fall off the wreath. Like this:
I also say to lightly wrap the wreath form so that there aren't any spots of bright white peaking through. Because I used it to wrap the wreath, I used up the whole roll of burgundy burlap ribbon.
After wrapping the wreath form, I kind of played around with how big I wanted the loops on my wreath. I ended up cutting strips of ribbon to be about 3.5".
Once the strips were cut up, I just started layering the colors onto the wreath. I would form the loop, with the ends overlapping by about a centimeter or so. Then I would push a T-pin through both layers and stick it to the wreath. I don't have a picture, but I hope you understand what I mean.
I started with one color (in my case, the jungle green), placed it randomly around the wreath, then moved on to layering in the next color. I tried to get them as close as possible so that 4
(Here's where the pictures start to get a little dark. Like I said, I craft at night. It may be quiet and peaceful, but it isn't conducive to taking great photos.)
After I filled in the wreath, I got to work on the banner. I used my Silhouette to create the shape for the banner and cut that part out of chipboard. The next part is a little complicated and uses the print and cut feature of the Silhouette. I copied those same banner pieces and made them a bit smaller. I typed out the letters in "Happy Birthday" and put one letter on each banner. I then turned off the cut lines for the banner pieces and sent it through my printer on an adhesive cardstock. After it was printed, I turned on the cut lines for the banner pieces and turned off the cut lines for the letters. I sent it through the Silhouette to cut out the banner pieces.
I peeled off each of the banner pieces from the cardstock and put each on a piece of chipboard.
I wanted the pieces to be really sturdy on the wreath. The wind can get pretty nasty around here and my other wreaths take quite a beating, especially my Christmas wreath. To achieve this, I decided to go with twine and hot glue.
I put down a layer of hot glue, put the twine in the hot glue, and then put a few more dabs of hot glue over the twine to "seal" it in.
I also tied each end of the twine through a burlap loop before putting the clothespin over it. I knew that the decorative clothespin wouldn't be enough to keep the banner attached in the wind, so a knot seemed like a decent solution. I just pinned the clothespin over each knot to hide them.
And that's the wreath. My little boy loves it and can't wait to hang it up for his birthday next month!
I loved using this burlap ribbon from BurlapFabric.com. It was easy to work with and the colors are so deep and rich. I don't think my camera does them justice.
BurlapFabric.com has been nice enough to offer a $40 credit to one Someday Crafts reader. This post is long enough already, so I'll have the giveaway in a separate post. Within the next week, I'll also have a coordinating full-size birthday banner up on the blog! Be sure to check back!!
(This post is sponsored by BurlapFabric.com. They sent me products in exchange for creating a project of my choosing and writing a post with my opinion. All opinions in this post are my own.)
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