Have you figured out yet that I love making wreaths? It is very true, my goal is to have a wreath for each month to go along with the changing décor around our home. I decided recently to make a February wreath that had a head nod towards Valentine’s Day and my birthday without being over the top. I didn’t want hearts or any of the usual glittery garland you so often see in Valentine’s Day decorations but I still wanted it to be a touch romantic and also go along with my favorite color and supplies I like using. I think it turned out great and I cannot wait to share with you the process so you can make something similar!
What Supplies To Prepare
I started with the wreath base this time, it is a simple willow-style wreath which is a light gray and slightly warn. The more traditional willow wreaths would work well too if you cannot find one in this color. I chose a simple spray of cream and pink roses that came with leaves attached. It is important to try and find something simple and with only one or two steams max with several floral elements like this to make attaching it easy and keep with the simple feel of the design. The wood sign came next, it was in the wedding section of the sign area, so you may want to check there as well as in the general or holiday sections. I really like this saying but anything that is romantic and speaks to you will work well. The paint I used on the sign is a very light peachy color from Folk Art called “Cool Bisque.” I would recommend something similar in shade to whatever color scheme you are working with. If you have read my other wreath posts you know that I love to include birds in my designs and this time was no exception. I found two very pretty little birds in pink and blue that worked well with my color scheme and the theme of Hubby and I as he likes blue and I like pink. You do not have to add birds if you don’t like, but I recommend adding some additional embellishments like butterflies, pearl sprays, or even some smaller contrasting flowers. For tools grab your glue gun, a foam paint brush, and basic floral pliers.
How to Set Up A Simple Paint Job
Often when doing a project like this or some décor element for around the house, I need to paint one small element. While an important step, I hate getting everything set up for a full painting session when I only need to paint one small item. That is why I started keeping my small painting stash, which makes it much faster and easier when painting is just a small part of a much larger project. You can keep one handy too to simplify your painting time for these projects. In your stash you will want to keep a few pieces of scrap materials such as card stock, thin cardboard, and paper. You will also want at least one item that is made of plastic and can hold the item you are painting off the working surface with a very small area that touches the item being set on it, such as a plastic lid from a box of greeting cards. Having these items will mean you will be prepared for most eventualities and styles of painting you may need. I also keep a pack of one inch foam brushes on hand with a plastic bag. This style of brushes is great for painting small projects quickly and they don’t dry out much between coats. As you can see from the picture on the right, I also favor these because you can squeeze a small dot or line of paint on them so you can skip using a container to hold your paint. The plastic bag is important so you can wrap the brush in it when you are finished painting so you can hold off washing them until you are cleaning up at the end of your project. Keeping a paper towel or two in you stash also helps with any messes you need to clean up on the fly.
Putting it All Together
You will need to do a very small amount of prep work with the items you selected to start preparing your wreath. Remove all tags and packaging, cut the floral sprays to an appropriate length if necessary, and paint your sign. The next step is to lay everything out as best you can with out attaching it so you can decide exactly where everything needs to go. I wound the steam of my floral spray around the wreath base and clipped the birds on in the general area I wanted them to go. Then I laid the sign on the top part of the wreath to offset the floral spray. I then looked at it from a few angles and gently adjusted things until I was happy with everything. Next I used my glue gun to attach the spray to the wreath base (I do wish I had used floral wire as it would have been slightly easier.) I then used small dots of glue to keep the leaves and birds in the exact positions I wanted, be careful to not burn your fingers! Finally, I glued the sign onto the wreath base. This can be tricky if you try to put the glue on the sign but if you put it on the wreath base it may be visible so I recommend trying to mark the back of the sign where it will touch the wreath base. It took me several attempts but I was able to mark the back where the glue would need to go. Once you get the glue on, move quickly to put the sign in the correct place and adjust it to make sure it is level and even.
A Simple and Sweet Wreath
I really love how this turned out, and to be honest, so does Hubby! He actually saw the pictures before he saw it in real life and commented on how pretty he thought it was. I think you could use your wreath for more than just February, it could work well for your anniversary, a wedding, shower, or even year round if you prefer to keep just one wreath. I love how simple it is and that it still conveys a feeling of romance and elegance. I am just going to say it, this is one of my favorite wreaths that I have ever made! Let me know how your wreath turns out below and what you plan to use it for!
