I Got Glitter!

After I created my wreath from from the wild grape vine that nearly pulled my house down last summer, I got it in the back of my mind that I should decorate the wreath in some fashion, and hang it on the house to provide some visual interest during this wintry time of year.  Well, it only took one trip down the dollar store holiday decor isle on my quest for paper towels and scotch tape, for the this little wreath decoration desire to bloom into a full blown glittery be-ribboned wreath creation project!  

After investing an entire five dollars on a giant roll of red and gold ribbon, I was more than committed, and found myself outside yesterday in the twilight hours pruning my cedar trees to generate some classic evergreen wreath material.  I filled  a box with ceder twigs, and brought it in the house.  I predicted that wreath decoration on this scale was going to be a messy business, but working inside where it was warm, and where there are refrigerated tasty beverages and snacks, was a more creative atmosphere than outside it the cold darkness.

The kittens were instantly intrigued by this aromatic box of outdoor material, and I had fun teasing them with cedar boughs and jingle bells, even though I knew I was only teaching them to torment my future Christmas tree.   

By the time I made it back outside, in the dark, to retrieve the wreath, the cats were just as committed to this project as I was, and gave the wreath a good sniff'n to make sure it was safe. Ditto, my scaredy cat, was a little on edge at the introduction of so many new toys to play with.  What's the catch?   

I had to clear away the materials from my recent sock creature sewing project in order to make room for the giant wreath on the dining room table, and by the time I was ready to really get started, Jamie was home so I could recruit him into the project.   

With both of the table leaves in, the dinning room table was just big enough for us to lay the wreath on the table and begin to poke the cut ceder branches into the grape vines. 

It really didn't take that long for us to arrange our cedar boughs in our chosen design.  We decided that the grape vines looked so cool, that we should let them be exposed for portions of the wreath, so we created three green nest-like areas, to highlight my dollar store decor.  It was not the best idea to put our beers and snacks on the table with the cedar branches, since later I had to pick twigs from the sour cream and Jamie almost drank three cedar needles in his beverage.  

I couldn't resist taking a photo of one of my saved vegetable twisty ties in use, just so I could prove to Brandon that I am not a hoarder, but a creative person who needs material.  See, without my twisty tie collection, the wreath my never have been born!    

We incorporated some dried lotus pods that I collected this summer, and when we were brainstorming for other wreath additives, Jamie saw the basket of sock monsters.  Eureka!  

The wreath was so big and awkward to hold, that it was hard to know how our design was progressing, but we were pretty sure it was totally awesome and that we may have future career's as a wreath decorating team.  High five, brother!

It didn't fall apart when Jamie carried it outside.  A good sign.

We didn't have a hook near the door where I wanted to hang it, so we fussed around with three sticks until we created a tripod to hang it from, which would be reminiscent of a peace sign.  Of course, I used twisty ties to hold the tripod together, and then covered the ties with a big bow.  Since I unknowing bought seventy feet of ribbon, I was quite generous.  Then we stood back to admire our result.  Hmmm....Uh... I hate to ask this... but, does it look a little bit like a disaster to you?  Yes.

So, we took it's picture with a flash so we could go back in the house to re-asses the design and warm up.  We decided that the problem was all the shaggy cedar boughs and the interior bow.  The wreath didn't look round enough, which seems to be what separates a wreath from a pile, so we removed the middle bow, and the branches that were hanging in the interior of the wreath, as shown in the photo above, which I took this morning.  Much better.  Turns out we may need to do an apprenticeship before we're ready to form that professional wreath decorator team, after all.  

The wreath is a bit large for our small house, maybe, and possibly the rocks we are using to prop up the front stick of tripod could be spiced up a bit.    But really, it was so much fun to make, I'm convinced I would think it looks cool no matter what.

The tripod is made from sticks I pulled from a beaver dam, so they've had all the bark chewed from them and you can see the beaver teeth marks if you look closely.  The grape grew wild in the back yard, of course, and the cedar boughs came from trees that I transplanted to our yard from my neighbors yard when they were about six inches tall.  The lotus pods came from a wetland I visited earlier this year, the sock creature was one I made and kept for myself.  

Of all the pieces of the wreath, though, my favorite are the sparkly red and gold dollar store pine cones.  I didn't realize I was such a sucker for glitter!  It's a good thing too, since I now have glitter on everything in the dinning room, so I'm sure I will get to enjoy the glitter well into the coming year.  It's been a long time since I've been infected with glitter.  I'm sort of excited about that.  

Now that I look at my front porch with the giant wreath by the door, I can see that my front railing could really use a coat of paint and some pretty green garland with red ribbon... oh... and maybe some of those dangling lighted ice sickles from the gutters... I may have to go back to that dollar store!