Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Crafting - A Fun Autumn Wreath!

In all the stores, Autumn has Arrived (so has Christmas, but please, let's not go THERE right now!!)!  It put me in the mood for some crafting.  I need a new look on my door for the season, and a wreath is the perfect thing to share with you today.  Everything can be attached with floral pins - no hot glue necessary - -  so Lets Begin!
 You will need:
  • One Straw Wreath (mine is a 16 inch wreath)
  • One package of floral pins (Michaels or Hobby Lobby have them in stock)
  • A Scarecrow head (I found mine at Hobby Lobby, but Michaels has them too)
  • One 4 ounce package of dried corn husks (found in grocery stores, ethnic foods)
  • A small fake pumpkin, cheap gardening gloves, fake leaves, fake crow, and excelsior or dried moss (Dollar store purchases)

1.) First, separate the husks, then soak them in a pot or tub of warm water to make them pliable.
2.)Next, take old newspaper and lightly stuff the garden gloves.  You can use worn out gloves instead of new, if you like.  Recycle!!!
Fold
Fan Shape
Pin Fan to Wreath
Adding fans and continue pinning
Check positioning for starting and finishing ruffles
Layers of Ruffles
3.) Take a corn husk and fold it in half, then fold it into a fan shape.  Pin it to the wreath with a floral pin, near where you will want one of the gloves to be.  Lay out the gloves and head, to get an idea of where the corn husk "arms" will go.  When this is done, it will give the idea of a scarecrow encircling his arms around a bountiful fall harvest, so align to get a better idea of what the finished project will look like.
Arm Ruffles, leaving spaces for head and gloves
4.) Continue to fold and fan the corn husks, pinning each in place to cover previous pins and creating a semi-circle from outside the wreath to the inside of the wreath.  Work your way around, stopping where the scarecrow head will attach, leaving a space for the head, then continue around, making sure that the fan tips point towards the top of the wreath.
Top of "sleeves" - puff husks to hide the pins!
5.) When you have those "sleeves" nice and fluffy, you will then attach a few final husks near where the head will be, but make the tips of the fans point the opposite way.  When you have that completed on each "neck" area, lift the center of the fans to puff out a bit, and pin again so the puffs hide the pins used to attach them.  We don't want to have any pins showing!
Pin Head!

Adding Pumpkin, Crow, Leaves, and other decorations
6. Put a floral pin in the back of each side of the Scarecrow head, and pin it onto the straw form securely.  Do the same with each glove, making sure that each glove is on the correct side.  Secure a couple of the fingers in the same way.  Poke a floral pin behind one finger, then push it into a portion of the bottom of the pumpkin.  Don't put it towards the center because the pumpkin will probably just fall out.  You want to balance it against the secured glove and the straw base, then attach with another pin.
Finished Scarecrow Wreath
7.) Grab some excelsior and stuff it behind the gloves and around the rest of the straw wreath that is showing between the gloves, pin in place.  Take fake leaves and pin in place.  I had dried bearded wheat that I used as well, and if you have additional flowers, fake grapes, and dried weeds or pods, those would be wonderful to place in this wreath. Use what you have on hand and be creative!  Last but not least, I placed a lovely crow into the mix - how glamorous he looks!

Now the wreath is ready to be hung on your door using a wreath holder - and doesn't he look dapper?

Happy Fall, Y'all!

9 comments:

Angela said...

You did a great job on your fall wreath! It really does look like the scarecrow is holding the pumpkin and things. How cute! Thanks for giving us the step by step directions along with great pictures!

Have a Great Day!
Angela

Country Wings in Phoenix said...

Oh Sweetie...
Hi and I am so in love with this tutorial. I too might be able to make a pretty for my door. I love the use of the corn husks, and who would have thought they could be so darn pretty. I love the natural look.

I am going to have to make a list and see about picking up supplies this weekend. What fun.

Thank you so much for sharing sweet friend.

How are the girls today? It is so darn hot here in Phoenix. Our air went out last night, and we are still waiting on them to come. They may not make it here until tomorrow. It is already 96 degrees in the house and still climbing. Living in the desert can have some drawbacks.

Have a gorgeous day sweetie. Thanks again for the beautiful share. Sending many hugs and much love, Sherry

Becky K. said...

So fun! You did a great job and offered a wonderful tutorial.

Becky K.

^..^Corgidogmama said...

With September knocking on the back door, your wreath making tutorial is right on target!
Great job Monica. Very clear and concise and the pics helped a lot.
What a crafty ol' wrangler you are!

Chatty Crone said...

I can't believe you made that from scratch - from the first piece on.

I loved it.

My only problems is thinking fall and winter here as we are still in the 90's.

sandie

Tales From My Empty Nest said...

Thanks for visiting. When I was a little girl, my Grandmother had chickens and I loved to play with them. We have the cutest picture of me as a little girl holding one of my Grandmother's chickens. As a child I got baby chicks and ducks for Easter. If I lived in the country, I would love to have chickens and ducks. The closest thing I have to a chicken right now is my sweet little yellow canary named Sunny! Your wreath is so cute! Love & blessings from NC!

Patti said...

I wanted to thank you for visiting my blog earlier this week. It's nice to "meet" you.

Your wreath is really sweet and cute. I must tell you, though, that I am one of the few gals here in blogland who is NOT looking forward to fall. In fact, I am not even going to get out my fall decorations until November. You see, I'm a Florida gal, currently living in the mountain West. I absolutely cannot tolerate cold weather, and since it didn't really get warm here until the first week of June, I'm simply not ready to even think about it getting cold again. So, I have determined that if I keep my spring/summer decorations out until November, I can pretend it's still summer!!

Your wreath is really cute, though, and it looks easy to make. Thank you for sharing how to do it.

Blessings,
Patti

devin said...

thanks for stopping by my blog with your sweet comments! i'm your newest follower and i can't wait to check some more of your blog out!

kim said...

Hey this is kim at sillshill.blogspot i found where you made a wreath. I like that, it very pretty and I like the scarecrow head and i have a pumpkin like that. I have finished my wreath and will post a picture of it later this week. Thanks for showing us how you made yours.