Easy as 1-2-3 Custom Look Wreath

It's September, and you know what I'm doing...

This last week I started decorating for Fall, and one thing I wanted to do was put together a new wreath for the Dining Room mirror. I love a lush twiggy grapevine wreath with lot's of naturals and florals, but I don't want to pay a "custom" price for it. So, no matter what the season, I have an easy method to get a custom look.

Here it is out on the Sunporch. I'll be showing you the Dining Room a little later, but for now it's on one of my old "Fall" quilts on a wicker chair.

As you can see it's pretty wild, and pretty big;

Fall berries, leaves and Hydrangeas.

I've been making my own wreaths for years, and I almost always use this quick method.  One of the best things about it, besides that it's quick, is that this method is easy to take apart, redo, refresh, or reuse at another time.

 Start with your basic grapevine twig wreath. 

The more crazy twigs the better...

I like a wild, natural, just picked look.

Since I'm a bad DIY blogger, I didn't even think to get pics until I had that wreath hanging up on the mirror, and at that point I wasn't going to take it apart again to show the steps.

sooo...

I just used a few other elements to show how easy it is..

please don't get confused because there are two different wreaths.

I know...I know....

bad blogger.

End of Season sales are a great time to pick up those basic garlands and candle rings. I think this one was a large candle ring that came from Michaels a few years ago. The basic garland ring is of just little Lady Apples. I added the sunflowers a while back so I could use it on my front door, which requires a "skinny" wreath.

Then start layering. I left the Sunflowers and Black-Eyed Susans on the basic apple wreath then added in some Hydrangeas. You can add any blossom mix you like for your season. A Spring wreath might have Tulips and Lilacs on a Forsythia garland. This one I used faux Hydrangea stems, but on my Dining Room wreath I used real dried Hydrangeas. With faux Hydrangeas I sometimes trim the large blooms down.

Now you can see we're adding layers and depth and a lot of interest

 with the Apples, Sunflowers and Hydrangeas.

This grapvine twig wreath is actually a little small for this garland, but I wanted to show you how it all goes together. Just use some gardener's twine or floral wire to secure the garland wreath to the twig wreath. 

Here's the finished product. I just randomly put this together because

I'll be taking it apart again, but you get the idea.

1. A grapevine wreath for the base.
2. A garland or large candle ring on top, just tied on with gardener's twine.
3. Florals to tuck in for added interst and depth. Sometimes I hot glue them on, other times I just tuck them inside and through the vines.

This one is a little wonky since I didn't secure all the layers... just wanted to show you how easy it is to put a wreath together. I didn't need any special tools, and it doesn't make a big mess.
So here's my original again. It's a little more "Fall", whereas the "step by step" version is a little more "Summer".

You can put together a wreath like this in about 15 minutes.

Super quick and versatile.

If you want to change up your basic wreath each season it's easily done.

Just 1-2-3!

Now, have some fun making your own!

I'll be joining in on these great weekly parties:

Whipperberry
A Stroll Thru Life
Tuesday Treasures at My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
The Scoop at Cedar Hill Ranch
Tweak it Tuesday at Cozy Little House

Nifty Thrifty Tuesday at Coastal Charm

WOW Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style

Inspiration Exchange at Ella Claire
DIY by Design
Homework at The Everyday Home
Stone Gable Blog
From My Front Porch to Yours
Share Your Cup Thursday
The Shabby Creek Cottage
Shabby Art Boutique
Jennifer Rizzo
French Country Cottage
The Charm of Home
Amaze Me Monday at Dwellings

xoxo,

Everything's coming up...Sunflowers!

Now that August is upon us, I can safely call it "Late Summer", and late Summer always means Sunflowers to me. So here in the Dining Room I changed out the white Geraniums and the lighter tablerunner for my Frenchy Stripe tablerunner and the windowbox centerpiece full of happy little Sunflowers.

(does that sound too much like Bob Ross the 1970's painter with the big hair 
from PBS, and his "happy little clouds...trees...mountains"?)

I found this wonderful Sunflower Botanical pillow and I fell in love. My other Sunflower pillow in needlepoint was lonely so this one works great to balance out the church pew.

It needed a darker pillow behind it to set it off, so the black and white teensy check came in from the Sunporch.

Even though I hate the heat of late Summer, I'm always excited when we get to August because that means Fall will be here soon. Yep, watch out Fall here I come!

I have this wonderful old metal flower stand in the Dining Room that I don't show often, but today it has a reproduction seed box on it with a Sunflower wreath ready to be hung up somewhere.

Love my giclee print in muted tones on canvas of the sheep.

See what I was doing last year with Sunflowers, Here and Here. 

The Marketplace is going strong this week.

  Click Here to see what new items have been listed.

I'm joining in on these great parties this week:

Tweak it Tuesday at Cozy Little House

The Scoop at Cedarhill Ranch

Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style

Inspiration Gallery at Yellow Bliss Road

DIY by Design

Blissful Whites at Timewashed

Stone Gable

From My Front Porch to Yours

The Charm of Home

French Country Cottage

Shabby Art Boutique

Jennifer Rizzo

xoxo,

Summer Florals

I've mentioned how I like to keep my floral arrangements current with the seasons, so a few weeks ago I got around to changing out all my silk flowers to be in keeping with Early Summer. I like the look of "just picked and stuck in a container with casual abandon". To me, that concept makes all those faux flowers look a little more "real" and a lot less "faux".

Daisies are the flower du jour here in the Entry, 

along with some budded branches.

I like keeping this heavy old iron urn here with the sticks,

then I just change out the flowers for each new season.

This is a spot where a "complimentary" print on the console

also changes with the season.

On the other side of the Entry next to the door is my big white wicker basket

filled with green hydrangeas and the grape vine twigs.

That big basket on the little Eastlake dresser keeps the kitties 

from using it as a perch for front porch viewing.

(especially in nesting season)

I have found it on the floor on numerous occasions

when they feel like putting their little furry carcasses in grave danger.

Here's an old basket with wheels that I haven't shared very often.

It still has some faux Dogwood branches, but they were white so they're still here.

(Dogwoods in late June? what's wrong with me?)

In the Living Room I traded out the windowbox for the basket,

now filled with another boatload of green hydrangeas and ivy.

(when in doubt, a hydrangea will work)

(the windowbox is currently back on the Dining Room table

with a Patriotic theme)

Love this old Frenchy look laundry basket.

Last Fall I had a running joke about my mantel...

I had the "Early Fall" mantel,

the "Fall" mantel,

The "Fall/Halloween" mantel,

and then the "Fall/Thanksgiving" mantel.

This would be the "Early Summer" mantel...

Whitewashed Wolff pottery vases filled with

 flowering branches and white Viburnum.

Another hint that it's still "Early Summer" is that there are still "birdie" nests out.

This will change soon.

I have an idea brewing.

Next up will be Black-Eyed Susans and Sunflowers,

with a little color added.

...stay tuned.

I hear thru the grapevine that soon Google Reader will be gone,
so if you follow me there, please switch over to another reader
hanging out on the sidebar.
thanks you all!

Joining in with these great parties:

Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style
Inspiration Exchange  at Yellow Bliss Road
Homework at The Everyday Home Blog
Blissful Whites at Timewashed 
Treasure Hunt at From My Front Porch to Yours
House Party at No Minimalist Here
Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson
TTT at Stone Gable
The Charm of Home
French Country Cottage
Inspiration Gallery at Craftberry Bush
Shabby Art Boutique
Blitzed on Pinterest

xoxo,

Snow and lilacs...

...those two things don't go well together.

I guess I could say we were lucky as compared to others of you out there.

Lot's of precipitation, but no accumulation.

Where we are in SW Missouri, it snowed and sleeted all day yesterday but didn't stick much. At one point yesterday evening the flakes were HUGE. It was really beautiful... just not for May. So I decided since I wasn't getting out, that I'd redo the faux florals in my urn here in the entry. I'd had daffodils and forsythia in this for early Spring and Easter.

Easter

I have a teensy pet peeve...

I like to keep my faux flowers seasonal.

I can't have geraniums at Christmas

or tulips in the Fall.

They have to stay seasonal and current.

I'm sure these will be changed out again by the end of the month...

maybe daisies by then.

(I'm hoping I'll have daisies by the end of the month...)

Here's a snow pic from the deck and my kitchen window.

Can you see the lilac bush on the other side of the fence?

(bad photo, I know. I don't have a zoom lens for distance.)

yes...it's not mine, 

and it's in my neighbor's yard.

a bachelor...

and it drives me crazy. 

But my arms aren't long enough to grab a branch

and harvest a bouquet.

I have to admit I've had fleeting thoughts of sneaking over the fence by cover of darkness. We watched Zero Dark Thirty last night and I think that those high tech night vision goggles and other gear might work for this kind of mission. (just kidding...I wouldn't do that...just a little temptation of the blooming kind). What can I say...I was spoiled when I was young. We had two massive bushes of lilacs and we had fresh bouquets all over the house, this time of year.

So I just have to look at it and imagine a wonderful fragrant lilac bouquet

filling an ironstone pitcher or a large crystal vase.

I've thought of planting my own bush, 

but I haven't found a good spot for one.

excuses...excuses.

so I'll try to enjoy some silk ones and maybe find a room spray 

or candle that will make me think they're real.

and while we're here,

you can see that some of my birdies are back here in the Entry.

This is what you do if it's too cold for the sunporch...

...and you're really lazy.

good thing there are two sofas...

one for each lazy kit kat.

joining in with these parties this week:

Amaze Me Monday at Dwellings
Nifty Thrifty Tuesday at Coastal Charm
Mod Mix Monday at Mod Vintage Life
Tweak it Tuesday at Cozy Little House
Wow us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style

Hope you're having a great weekend,

I'll try to behave...

xoxo,