CraftyBridge: July 4th Wreath

Hi all! Is it finally Summer? Yup… July 1 New England hit 90degrees and Summer finally rolled in… a week after J and I went on vacation. Oh well, what can you do? After a week of camping (in the rain), I still feel refreshed and rejuvenated. And all of a sudden, July is here and July 4th is in two days. I had the day off, so I ran to JoAnn’s Fabric for some inspiration and patriotic deals (close to the holidays they always mark down their holiday and seasonal stuff… I just can’t justify spending full price for, well, anything). I headed straight for the clearance isle and with a wreath for the holiday in mind, I nabbed some awesome ribbon (70% off, woop!) and patriotic fabrics, and an .80 mini flag. Giddy with inspiration I hurried home and threw together this wreath… and I’m loving it. Do American’s have a wreath problem? Yes. Let’s not deny it fellow DIY/ craft bloggers… and now that I own a house, I too have an addiction problem; for wreaths and Home Depot purchases. Alas, the wreath:

Supplies:
- 14” wreath (mine happened to be straw and this size… use whatever you have)
- 1 yard burlap (got crazy and bought a bolt a year ago, please don’t do that unless you know you’ll use it)
- Ribbon – I used 3.5 rolls of 12ft, 2.5” wired ribbon
- mini American flag
- scissors, ruler

1. If your wreath has a top… with a hook or anything in it, find it first. Mine did not, but I have made wreaths and forgotten about this and been very sad at the end. My wreath is a straw wreath… I left the plastic wrap on it, just in case. Not sure if it would rot after getting wet in the rain outside.

2. Cut your burlap into 4” x 24” strips (I used a total of 16 strips). It’s cheaper to buy the burlap and cut it, but you can always buy the burlap ribbon and use that instead. I probably would have done the latter if I did not have a lifetime supply of burlap in my closet (thanks to my other problem, impulse craft shopping).

3. Cut ribbon into 30” strips. Don’t worry about being exact… My wreath came out fine and I know for sure I was not precise in my cutting here. But if you have OCD, like many of us do, go ahead and use that ruler.

4. Get to work – tie your burlap around the wreath, overlapping as you go. The more you use, the fuller the wreath will be.

5. Tie on your ribbons between each burlap tie using the method below. It will ensure that both strands of the ribbon are showing and creates a fuller wreath.

6. Spread out your ribbons, fluff your ends. Then, cut little triangles out of the ribbon ends. This is optional of course, but I like how it gives the wreath some texture and interest.