Wreath Making - Poor Planning, Over Spending Tutorial

You know you are going to make something, you have the idea in your head, but it is just an idea. You haven't fully prepared, but you venture out anyway to buy your supplies.....

Ominus music  - *dum dum dum.......*

This is the unprepared hell I live in. Walk with me, if you dare :)


I am making a wreath for my Mom for Christmas. Don't worry, she doesn't use the interwebs. It is still a magical place that only a special few are invited to see, so we don't have to worry about her seeing the pictures.  I want to make her one of those big poofy wreaths. I like them, and she does too. Anything that is over the top is perfect for my Mom.

I do a bit of poking around to find out what supplies I may need as opposed to doing my research while shopping. This gives me a ruff idea of what will be purchased as opposed to what I have,  and out the door I go.  First stop Dollar Tree to see if they have any wreaths. A lot of times they have some really fun stuff, but today, I think everyone else is in the same mood. Off I go to the the hell that is Wal-Mart during the holidays.

Of course I grab the trolley with the wonkey wheel and instead of gliding thru the throngs of shoppers (where are they all coming from on a weekday afternoon!) I have to with great effort, push my cart.  Picture me in the same body posture as pushing a lawn mower, that was me,  thru the isles of this retail purgatory.

In my head I have a list of things that I need beyond the crafty items -  toothpaste, socks, bread..ya know those things that you always need. I tell myself, "Get those on the way out", I really need to focus on the task at hand. Off to the craft department. There is a specific list rolling thru my head, fanciful pipe cleaners, festive material, beautiful wired ribbon and a wired wreath. It is all coming together and looking beautiful in my noggin studio. I must find these things!

The wreaths are picked over, the material choices are nil, ribbon is freaking expensive, and no fanciful pipe cleaners. Panic kicks up a notch, not quite at DefCon 1 but I could get there quick. Time to make sacrifices and work on different choices.

When it doesnt' go the way you want it to, it gets frustrating. Instead of making it a game, and searching for fun and cool alternatives, I felt rushed and made hasty decisions. Did I say, I am giving this to her tomorrow? Now, I make panic'd choices, and fill my cart with too many items, and then we hit DefCon1. I can't filter thru all of these things to make a proper choice. I am overwhelmed! So I wander. I wander around looking at snow tires, and fishing poles to clear my mind, then go back and start to glean what I need. I am really excited that I did venture into the Christmas department during one of these mind clearings. I found ribbon for a fraction of a cost!

So $71  later here is what I got::

1. There is the reciept - $71?? What the heck was I thinking???
2. Batteries - while clearing my head, I remembered I needed batteries
3. Snickers peanut butter and Dr. Pepper - for medicinal purposes only
4. Pattern for a purse.......It must have just fallen into my cart, I have no memory of looking at patterns
5. Material for the wreath, and my dog a coat, and some awesome shear rainbow material that will make something awesome!!!!
6. Wreath. Couldn't find a wire one, but the vine one will work just fine.
7. Ribbon from the garden center that was so flippin cheap!
8. Sheer netting and glittery gold ribbon. Perfect compliment to the material
9. I couldn't decide on one pattern, and besides it is for my Mom, she likes it wild!
10. Stencils......um...I NEED THEM!
11. Little ornaments for the wreath
12. Pipe cleaners. I had to buy 2 packs, because I needed more than 10 gold pipe cleaners........

Time for fun!

Tie pipe cleaners on the inside ring of the wreath - all points of the compass, 8 pipe cleaners. Then do the same on the outside edge of the wreath (just a bit offset from the inside of the wreath) - 8 pipe cleaners.

Wreath = $4.47
Pipe Cleaners = $2.47 per pk - I used 16 of them - total .64

I bought 2 yards of fabric at $2.97 a yard, only needed 1. Fold the fabric into thirds long ways and cut it into strips. This is roughly the same width as the red mesh spool of ribbon. at $3.77 a spool. Once that is done, sew the ends together. This will give you a bit over 6 yards of fabric.

Take the end of the fabric and secure it to one of the inside pipe cleaners, and work your way around the inside of the wreath. Twist the pipe cleaners around the fabric, keeping it tight and close to the wreath. There is plenty of pipe cleaner sticking up, you will use a lot of it. Use 8 - 10 " of fabric between each pipe cleaner, it will make the fabric bulk up.

When you have gone around the inside of the wreath and are back where you started, continue on, now on the outside of the wreath.

Now it is a matter of repeating your steps. I put the red and gold mesh together, and worked it around the wreath, just like the fabric. This is why you need the extra length in the pipe cleaner. The red and gold mesh worked out to about .08 a yard  - approx 6 yards each, we will round it up to .50 for easier math. so $1.

Don't stop yet! There is still more ribbon. Work it around the same way, but this time, skip around the pipe cleaners. Let the ribbon wander around the design.  I bought 2 of the red/gold ribbon at $2.47, didn't use the whole roll, it worked out to aprox .16 per foot for a total of  $1.44. The same for the White ribbon with the design - $1.44. Finish it off with some ornaments, 2 packs at $2 each and you are done! Fluff your ribbons and material to really bulk out the design. Now you need to tuck the pipe cleaners thru the back of the wreath and twist them down tight. You can clip any excess or just tuck it back thru. 


 Moral of the story - I spent $71, $20.51 more than I should have. If I would have went into it only buying exactly what I needed I would have spent,  $50.49 -  to make a $16 wreath. If I would have done a better job of planning and scouting deals, I could have trimmed off maybe $5 or more. Upside, I have an older wreath, that I can dismantle, and I still have enuff things (minus the ornaments) to re make this wreath. So, I almost got a two for one deal!


Did I have fun and enjoy myself - you betcha!!!!

This and That Destash

A while back some of you may remember I tried to start up a Share you Wares concept from my blog. It didn't take off like I had hoped, well, it didn't at all - but ...

On Facebook there is a great group I have joined - This and That Destash.

It is a group of hording crafters just like myself (and you - you know who you are), who are trying to do just that - de stash some of their items.

In the group you will find pictures of items people are trying to sell, or trade for other items, along with posts for people who may be needing items that you may just have!

It is small and growing and could turn into something fun!

Here are some examples of what I have seen -









Want to join in on the fun?

Rings & Things Choker Challenge - 5

I really have had the best time with this challenge. I want to thank Dave at Rings and Things for approaching me with their blogger outreach. It has pushed me into new areas of design that I though were not possible. I can't believe how much it has helped me grow in thought process, and design mechanics in such a short time - Thanks again!!!

I have had this idea rolling around in my head for several days. This morning I sat down to try and bring it out. I documented the process so you could see how it is done.

Used in this challenge:
Rings & Things part number #52-030-18-05 - Choker, Cable, 18" SmoothEnd (Red/White)

This choker cable has a barrel screw clasp - very exciting. That allows me to create a bigger bolder design and be confident that the clasp will stay secure. I went through my craft room and gathered up some random goodness of black/red/gray/white. Piled it on the kitchen table and began to create. I used a base metal wire - approx 26 ga from the looks of it - cut a good length for wrapping - 4 inches - and made a wire wrapped loop at the end.


Cut a lenght of ribbon and cording to attach to the cable - 12 inches or so each. Pinch the ribbon and cord onto the cable and secure it with your fingers. Use the wire wrapped loop as the base of the wrap, and start wrapping up the cable. Keep your wraps close and tight.







Give the wrap a bit of a 'mash' to help tighten it up.



Do an 'over and under' around the cable with the ribbon and cord. It doesn't have to be perfect.


Secure the other end with the same wrapping style that you used to start it.

Begin stringing your design. Keep the design random an fun. This will be the focal of this piece. The beaded section should hang at the same level as the choker cable. It will be heavy and want to drape, don't make it too long. Beadalon is the beading wire I used for this example. Use a crimp bead and attach the beading wire to the wire wrapped loop at the base of the wrap that was used to secure the ribbon and cable. Run the tail of the beading wire back thru the beads to help anchor it, and then trim the excess.


In the search for some fun beads, I had some pewter spacer beads that have charm links attached to them. I also added them randomly thru the design to add charms to the look.


Cut a 2" piece of the wire, and fold the end back onto itself to create a head pin.

Decorate the head pin with your beads and make a bend at the top to push thru the charm loop on your spacer bead.

Finish with a basic wrap to secure the charm to the link.






Here ya have it kids - The finished product. I intentionelly put it off center - that is how I see the world :)

Ya Ya