Five Minute Friday: DIY Vine Wreath

I love the vines that grow all over this old house we live in. In the fall the leaves turn all the perfect shades of red and yellow and orange. But then the winter comes and they just hang there all leafless and drab.

So I said to myself “Self!, don’t just let them sit there all sad and unloved” (its not so bad if they do, we cut then back in the spring for fresh new growth) put them to good use. Give them a job.”

Enter my love for using wreaths in home decor. I feel like all doors should have a wreath on them all year long, they are just too plain otherwise. I also like being able to change out the wreaths depending on the season (making things multi-functional is key when living in a small space).

Instead of just leaving that vine on the side of the house all winter long I decided to give it a second life, as a beautiful wreath. In about the time it takes to get in the car and back out of the driveway (on your way to the craft store where you would spend $5-10 on a similar product) I made my very own.

Materials:

• Long strand of bare vine
• Gloves
• A wire hanger (optional)

How To:

• You need to cut down the vines about a week before you plan to use them then set them in a sunny spot to dry out.
• Once they have dried out a little, tear off any remaining leaves.
• Certain types of vine are softer than others so you might want to intertwine the vines with a wire hanger to give it more rigidity (this could also be used to create shape; hearts, squares, pumpkins, perhaps a tiger? it’s your wreath do what your want!).
• Use the thickets piece of vine first, wrapping it in a circle, then winding the other pieces into the wreath.  It can be helpful to have two people; as you can hold the shape while the other person winds (I checked the spelling of wind several times and it is spelled the same as wind and it is kinda driving me nuts, anyways back to the point) all the vines together.
• I let mine dry out a few more days in the garage then got busy decorating them.
• Decorate accordingly; add flowers, or ribbon, bunting, small plastic unicorns, there are endless possibilities and soon you have a great conversation piece.

• I also wrapped some vines into smaller wreaths for using with candles and on cake stands, and with my favorite coke crate.

Now The Hubs brought up a good point as we were winding all our wreaths up, “What if people don’t have vines growing on their property?” (He is always the logical one). So we brainstormed.

Trespassing and stealing=BAD IDEA.

Asking a neighbor or friend who might have vines in their yard=GOOD IDEA

How do you guys use wreaths in your home decor? What is your favorite medium to turn into a wreath. Let me know in the comments.