We are to the halfway point! Are you exhausted yet? Don’t give out on me now; this is a marathon, not a sprint! Stay hydrated folks!
The holiday season brings such a wonderful display of decorations that warm the soul. Trees strung with twinkling wonder, snow laden hills, trumpeting angels atop evergreens…the list could go on and on of the wonders of the holidays. With all these decorative possibilities, I often find myself struggling for decorations to put on my doors. I think decorating doors within your home is an easy way to add to the holiday feel of your decor, but I get tired of seeing wreaths. I need something different. And if you can’t find what you want, why not make it?
On the sixth day of Christmas The Stylish Steed gave to me, unique pieces to use as door hangings.
Fleece Square Wreath
The first item that we will look at is a whimsical wreath that brings a fun twist on the traditional evergreen. All you will need for this project is about two hours, some heavy gauge wire, and fleece in three shades of green (1 yard of each color).
After stretching out the fleece, I began to cut strips 4 inches wide. I wasn’t exact with this either, because the irregularity will help give your finished wreath extra fullness.
When all the strips were cut, I then divided the strips into 4 inch squares.
One at a time, I feed each square onto the wire (alternating the three colors), making sure that no piece laid flush with the last.
When all the squares were wired together, I tightly twisted the two ends together and filled in the gap by adjusting the squares. I covered the remaining gap with a red burlap bow. You could use any fabric to make a bow, or buy a premade bow.
To add another layer of personality, consider hot gluing red buttons in groups of three to the wreath to give the look of holly berries. After some fluffing, this wreath was ready to deck the halls.
This concept doesn’t have to be limited to the Christmas season. I think this idea would be great for other rooms in your home, year round. I could really see this wreath in a girls bedroom with coordinating colors from their bedding.
Snowman
You’ve heard of the abominable snowman, but this is the adorable snowman. This festive hanging is so easy and is such an eye catcher. An added bonus is since it’s not heavy “holiday” décor, you can leave him (or her) displayed until February. For this project you will need 3 canvases (12×16, 12×12, and 10×10), some craft paint, two sticks from the woods, a hot glue gun, and a strip of fleece/fabric.
To get started, you’ll need to water down some brown paint and brush the corners of canvases to give them some dimension.
On the bottom two canvases you will paint “buttons” (three on the bottom, two on the middle) by painting black spots down the middle.
Next, you will need to add some personality to your snow person by giving them their face. I watered down some red paint to give my snowman rosy cheek. By adding black coal eyes, a carrot nose, and a squiggly smile, my snowman is ready for winter.
Once the paint is dry, it’s time to secure the canvases to one another. I found that hot glue was best because it dries quickly and creates a great bond.
When the glue is set, all that’s left to do is add the finishing touches. Choose fleece or fabric that goes will with your décor and simply tie it around the neck, allowing the ends to hang to the side.
You can easily leave your snow person as is, but I chose to add some earmuffs to help Frosty brave the winter chill. To achieve this, I glued some heavy gauge wire on each side of the top canvas and then covered up the ends with my ear muff made of fabric.
It’s that easy! This adorable creation will be a great conversation piece for your guests during the holiday season. It packs tons of personality and is so easy to construct. And the best part is this Frosty won’t melt inside your warm and toasty holiday home.
Cheese Hoop “Wreath”
I hope you have your “repurposing” pants on because we’re about to turn out a cute creation from grocery store junk.
At our local Piggly Wiggly, they sell fresh hoop cheese. This zesty cheese comes in a round, wooden crate. After the store takes the cheese out they sell the empty crate for next to nothing ($2 to be exact). Now I fully understand that you may not have the privilege of being near a Piggly Wiggly, but I’m sure your local market that sells fresh cheese will have these crates also.
For this project we are only going to be using the lid of the crate. There are lots of things you can do with the bottom, but we will save that for another day.
I chose to paint my lid a festive, holiday red. You will need several coats of paint in order to achieve a vibrant hue. Otherwise, the untreated wood will soak up a lot of the color.
When I achieved my desired color, I cut a circle out of burlap using a large bowl as my tracing guide. Utilizing my trusty hot glue gun, I attached the burlap to the center of the lid.
In an attempt to hide the edges of the cut burlap, I glued twine to give it a more finished look.
After finding a cute snowflake design that I liked, I traced the outline and began to place a variety of white buttons onto the burlap. The beauty in this snowflake comes from overlapping the different buttons to create your masterpiece, giving it dimension.
If snowflakes aren’t your thing, you can use the process to create something that is more in line with your taste. Maybe a large block letter of your family name, a whimsical ornament, a star…the sky is the limit. Go wild with it!
When my snowflake was complete, I attached ribbon (you guessed it…with hot glue) to the top of the lid to add an extra pop to the design. Using a traditional wreath hanger, I was ready to decorate my door with my finished product!
Now that you have three options of wreath alternatives, there’s no excuse for a plain, drab door this holiday season. I hope you have fun creating these wreaths that are sure to last longer that your fresh greenery. So get busy preparing your wreath to deck the doors of your home as you continue, as always, to stay stylish!