52 Weeks of Pinspiration {Week 12}–Spring Deco Mesh Wreath

Welcome to Week 12 of my 52 Weeks of Pinspiration series! I would have posted this earlier in the week, but I left my camera and memory card at my friend Carrie’s house.  Gasp! Horror!  All week long I’ve felt as if I was missing an appendage. 

So a few weeks ago, I spied this gorgeous wreath on Pinterest.  The only problem is that when I went to this gal’s Etsy site – this wreath costs $165 and by the time I added in the shipping costs of $22, I’m in for almost 200 bucks. For a wreath. And that’s just not going to happen – I have a child in college to support and a serious addiction to Sephora I’m dealing with right now.

Anyway, like with most crafty home decor, I figured {say it with me now!!} – I can make that! – and decided to give the ol’ Poly Mesh wreath a try.

Since I knew we were going to Houston for Spring Break, the first thing I did was Facebook my friend Carrie with a link to this wreath asking, “Hey, do you know how to make these?” to which she replied, “No, but I’d be willing to try!” One of the many reasons why I love Carrie. 

So while we were in Houston, I made a trip to Carrie’s local Hobby Lobby for supplies. I found the deco mesh in the floral supplies aisle, but I was disappointed in the selection of colors. I was hoping to find pink, green, and yellow mesh ribbon, but all they had was pink. So I grabbed a few 10” rolls of that and found some green and yellow tulle ribbon nearby, plus I also got a roll of printed grosgrain ribbon (wish it had been wire-edged). I also grabbed two wire wreath forms and some fine gauge wire for attaching the ribbon to the form. Finally, with the base of the wreath pretty much covered, I went on the hunt for some flowers and other fun embellishments. All total, I spent about $60 on supplies for two wreaths.

Since Carrie is the most creative person I know, I figured surely we could make something out of all my supplies – even if it wasn’t going to look exactly like my inspiration. I showed her what I bought and then she said, “Wait, I’ll be right back” then proceeded to go upstairs to her attic. She came back downstairs with two giant Hobby Lobby sacks full of silk flowers and leftover bits of craft projects. Then out of her garage she pulled out a giant tub of Spring/Easter decorations!

I thought “Oh Dear, I’ve unleashed the craft monster.” 

So with a gorgeous, sun-shiny morning and a little Sirius radio set to the 70’s station, Carrie and I set up shop on her back porch and got to crafting.   Here is how we made our wreaths.

{Disclaimer… I have no idea is this is the right way to make a deco mesh wreath, but this is how we made it work.}

First, start by taking a 12” long (approximately…Carrie doesn’t have the need to measure things like I do) section of ribbon, then make a loop and pinch it together at the ends. With a piece of fine gauge wire (approximately 6” long) attach the loop to inside edge of the form. Be sure to twist the wire and attach it tightly to the wreath form. Make another loop and attach it to the outside edge of the form approximately 3-4” from the first loop. Continue attaching loops, alternating between the inside and outside edges until the entire form is filled.

I should tell you that I bought ginormous wreath forms (bigger than what I had wanted, but I was limited by the selection) and it took two rolls of the 10” wide poly mesh to cover it. And since I only bought three rolls of poly mesh, Carrie decided that she was going to get uber-creative and take her wreath in a different direction. So she covered about one-third of her wreath in poly-mesh and then she devised this ingenious way of attaching a Styrofoam disc to the wreath form. Then, using a leftover silk plant arrangement, Carrie separated the individual stems and inserted them into the foam.

Seriously. Only Carrie could come up with something that cool.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch –er other side of the table, I took loops of tulle ribbon and, using the same fine gauge wire, attached the loops in around the deco mesh loops filling in the gaps where necessary.

Once I finished with the ribbon, I started adding my embellishments. I loved these shiny spike thingy’s and bundled individual stems together in groups of two or three with the wire and then attached them sporadically around the wreath. Then I did the same with the silk flowers.

{Don’t worry if you need a Band-Aid, stitches, or a Tetanus shot by the time you’re done with all the wiring –it just means you’re doing it right.}  😉

While I was busy wiring and bleeding, the creative Craft Monster struck again! I should have known better…never, ever, ever! leave Carrie unattended with a glue gun.

Back in the day, Carrie was a serious crafter. She used to make the most adorable bunnies, and to this day I still say she makes the cutest bunny faces.

Anyway, I finished up my wreath by attaching my cute bunny basket and mini terracotta pot. I liked it, but it needed something more. So I pilfered through Carrie’s stash and found some white, sproingy (yes, that’s a word) stuff – I think it’s actually called ting-ting.  I still prefer sproingy.

Oh and take a look at Carrie’s wreath! Shut the front door!  That is gorgeous!!

Even though my wreath didn’t turn out exactly like how I had planned, it was the perfect accessory for this bare wall on my bare side porch.

I just knew doing this project with Carrie would be so fun – it reminded me of the time, years ago, when she and I stayed up half the night crafting and gluing dried flowers to just about everything in her house that didn’t move.  That’s a funny story for another day.  🙂

Anyway, I just love my wreath and it makes me so happy…

…just like my friend Carrie.

Peace, Kelly

**Update December 2012.  I finally figured out how to make the deco-mesh wreath I had envisioned in my mind with this Christmas wreath.

***Update March 2013.  I love my new spring deco-mesh wreath with supplies I bought from  Amazon.com