A wreath tale.....

Christmas 2011 I had the bright idea that I was going to make a wreath for all of the mail boxes on my block. This was quite the undertaking and I had to call in reinforcements in the form of my Mom and Aunt Peggy. We had a huge assembly line going for 12 wreaths. Needless to say they were a HUGE hit with the neighbors and our block ended up winning the best decorated street award. Well last Thursday I went to neighborhood bunco and heard my wreaths were the talk of the home owners association meeting. I ended up being asked to create wreaths this year for three different blocks within the subdivision. Lol
So wreathapolooza 2012 is in the works! In the mean time.........

I love after Christmas shopping and can not pass up a bargain! For 2012 I decided to change the Christmas decor in the family room to red, green, and gold with a Santa Claus theme. So the day after Christmas I started hitting the stores for those 1/2 price must have ornaments, wreaths, ribbon, garlands, and other holiday embellishments.

First project up for Christmas 2012 is a 4 foot wreath for over the fire place. I bought the wreath at Hobby Lobby for 80% off (final cost $10) and the blown glass ornaments at Macy's, Hobby Lobby, Dillards, JoAnn's, and Michaels for between 0.50 to $3.00. The ribbon I found at The Christmas store in Arlington for $5 it was 30% off and came in a 100 feet roll. I will have enough left to use the same ribbon on the garland and table arrangements as well.

Start off by making the bow for the top of the wreath and then attach it with floral wire. Next I added the big Santa that sits in side the wreath. I have to confess to using chopsticks as a brace for the back of Santa. He is a heavy guy and needed the added support. The chopsticks also gave me something to use to wire Santa into the wreath.

Last I did a dry placement of ornaments before I wired and hot glued them into the wreath permanently. I have priced wreath's this size with a lot less decoration and they were $300 and up. I spent a total of $50 for all of the supplies and have enough stuff left for a garland and table arrangement. I told my husband I saved him a boatload of money by spending some. He actually agreed. Lol