DIY Christmas wreath with fresh foliage

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Hello,

This year I've got it in to my head that I want to make my own wreath for our front door - I've been in a bubble of babies for years and have given up my crafting as a result, so I am determined to get a bit of me back by starting on projects once I return to work after mat leave..My kids who will be 6,4 and 1 at Christmas, LOVE being outdoors collecting pine cones etc and I thought I could marry the two by asking them to pick some bits and I pull it together to make our wreath. I envisage pine leaves, cones, berries, maybe a chestnut or something and a ribbon.

My question is what do I need to buy to pull it off? I have looked at grapevine wreathes as a base but not sure if the foliage will just rot. Do I need a Moss base? Wire? A glue gun?? Totally clueless!

Any words of wisdom from some experienced crafter's would be great 😃

I used eucalyptus in one and it looked gorgeous.

I'm very amateur but I've always done mine on a metallic flat base thing... I'll try to find the shopping link. Then just used loads of ivy as the base layer and they generally last til just after Christmas, although I never make them before mid-December. Great fun!

Oh and loads of florists metal twist tie pin things to fasten stuff down!

Oh brilliant thanks @PensionPuzzle and @DustyLee123 great tips. I'd love to see flast base thing as I don't want the wreath to rot. I'd started looking at a metal ring but assumed I'd need lots of wire, then spotted a grapevine ring. It might be that the base you have might make it easier for my kids to be involved

I made one last year..went to a workshop. It was a plastic base with florist foam (previously soaked in water) honestly it looked amazing.....loads of green foliage and purple tiny baubles ribbons etc

I’ve always used a flat ring and then covered in with moss or straw secured with wire or string. Moss is slightly easier to deal with. Any sort of miss will do

Bring thick here but you collect your own moss? Just from trees etc.

Being dim but I want it to last if my kids are getting involved 😊

I buy moss. Amazon sell it. Sphagnum moss. I get a wire frame and then using thin florest wire wrap it round until it's covered. Then I go round with greenery, holly, ivy fircones, anything I've collected really wrapping it round to trap it in

I wire fresh foliage onto bases I make from nasty old fake trees that I pick up free on market place. I dry lots of flowers from the garden and use my ninja to dehydrate orange and apple slices and whole limes. I like pheasant feathers, cinnamon sticks and lotus seed pods. I make quite a few for friends and family as gifts and use whatever I feel. I have fir trees, eucalyptus, heathers, english ivy and Holly bushes in my garden and my sister has an oak tree for acorns. The only thing I forage for is pine cones. Mine are probably a bit OTT but I love Christmas.

I’ve made one before using Cornus stems twisted into a ring as I had some in the garden, you could use other flexible cuttings of wood. If I am including fresh flowers I use an oasis base.

For the Cornus base I use florist’s wire to attach the foliage , I usually do this about mid December having cut what I need and soaking it in a bucket of cold water outside. I use whatever I can find, things like pine, ivy flowers, rosemary, pittosporum, bay, viburnum tinus, skimmia, holly, pyracantha and dried oranges.

My husband makes one every year, soak willow or hazel for 24 hours then it becomes bendable and you can weave it into a circle (you can keep this to reuse).
Then he uses whatever evergreen we have. Last year there was a lot of fir and holly, you can use a fishing line to tie foliage to the circle and keep building it up. He has got better with practise

I use willow and bend it into a hoop,then use florists wire to hold it together. Then I add stuff from my garden: holly,rosemary, and anything else green or with berries really. I dry orange slices and add them along with cinnamon sticks.

This thread has just made me realise that last year's wreath is still hanging in the porch!!
I shall burn it at Hallowe'en and make a new one

Pack of 20 x 8" Wire Rings for Festive/Christmas Craft (Wreaths ETC) https://amzn.eu/d/7zJRPra

I've had this kind of thing (check the size though) and found it easy to get ivy through it for a base layer. I've done it with teenagers too and they've done all right but I've never tried it with little ones, they just help with the finding and picking 🙂

Look up wild rose Christmas wreaths on YouTube for a tutorial which will also show the materials

I bought one of these from Amazon a few years ago and just store it in the garage until next Christmas! I just walk the dog with my secateurs and snip bits from appropriate bushes/trees! Every year is different. This photo is the one I made 2 years ago. I just either shove the stalks into the gaps in the wreath or use florists wire to secure. Last year ( cant find a photo ) I twisted some of those thin wire LED lights around it and trailed the wire over the top of the door and taped the battery box to the inside! Oh and I have a suction hook to hang it on the door!

Forgot to add this. I twist florist wire into the lower bit of the pine cones and poke them in!

I run tutorials in school for parents and at the community centre. You can do this cheaply and this is a much abridged version but hopefully helps.

you need a wreath frame - it looks like a wire circle - you can buy cheaply on eBay/Amazon and re-use.

rake/buy lots of moss. Most average lawns have plenty at this time of year!! Or at least will by December. Do the whole thing outdoors - much easier. You’ll need a roll of florists wire.
you grab handfuls of moss, make it into a sausage shape over the frame and wrap the wire round, over and over, like a spiral, all the way. Pack in all the moss you can and lots of wire. You should end up with a mossy, spiral wrapped wreath. from here, your design is your own - literally can be free if you use stuff from the garden -
laurel, holly, eucalyptus, conifer, all work well. Push sprigs in at an angle all the way round, building layers. A layer of laurel or conifer on the back with holly at the front looks very traditional. Stick in any decorations you want using remaining florists wire - just wire the item and poke it in. No science to it.

A hanging ribbon is necessary, and a bow if you fancy

I buy a half bag of moss from a florist (most local ones do a roaring trade in wreaths so alway have spare) then cover a copper wreath ring with it, using florists wire. Make a strong hanging loop from the wire and attach to the top of the hoop. I cut the bottom two branches off our xmas tree, divide it into stems, then wire 3/4 of those together until I've got 8/10 bigger chunks of pine. That's the base of the wreath. Then I wire up holly sprigs, dried orange slices, pheasant feathers, mistletoe, small baubles, etc and shove them in at random until it's all looking festive. Keep picking it up and checking it's even.

During one busy wedding season I attended three hen party wreath workshops...

Wow thanks so much everyone, I am so excited now. It looks like there are a few options I can investigate.

Another dim question, I assume the moss needs to remain moist? But i guess it retains its moisture in December as the air will be wet having said that.

I think this year my kids will be in charge of collecting and I will do the "putting together" bit 😃 although inevitably my son's will try to persuade me they should do all the cutting ✂️🙄

And oh my, the tried and tested wreaths on here are stunning 😍 mine will definitely not come out this good but I promise to post piccies later this year

Oh I forgot to ask, when in December do you make them? Someone mentioned they wait til mid Dec to make sure it lasts ?

@TGGreen I need you to come teach me. That is stunning and I'm definitely "more is more" for wreaths !

I learnt how to make a wreath from a Mumsnet video

I've used other methods, but I always come back to this one.

I’ve done the wire and moss on metal frame at a florists class but you have to pull the wire v tight to bind in the moss so at least that stage not chid friendly. I think the grapevine with ivy threaded through to bulk it up would work fine and then short lengths of florist wire to attach stuff and a big ribbon maybe .I don’t think it would rot in a few weeks. Or you could just maybe use lots of long pieces of ivy as a base, woven in and out like the grapevine wreath.

What I currently do is use the same cheap plain artificial wreath (plain pine effect, just checked and looks to be under a tenner) every year and add ivy and holly, pine cones, any evergreen foliage etc with wires, or just woven in and out, especially the ivy. The bits of the artificial wreath are like tinsel on wire so can be bent around to hold things in .

In the uk the cold damp weather seems to keep it fresh and you can’t see it’s artificial underneath. You could always give it a few sprays of water if it’s warm and dry and your door it gets a pot of sun.

Wires might be safer than glue gun. You can add any Christmas baubles etc. I guess hobbycraft might sell a pack of wires. I also wrap some battery operated led lights around and hide the battery pack behind the ribbon. There will be stuff on line about how to wire a pine cone, they tend to open up in the warmth I think that makes it easier.

Another more glitzy option that I’ve used indoors with kids is to make a ring of scrunched up newspaper fastened with sellotape and then wrap a piece of tinsel round and round to cover it. Then decorate a bit to taste!

I think your idea of collecting bits and pieces of natural things with them and making a wreath sounds really lovely - might become an annual tradition!

I just stretch out a wire clothes hanger to a circle and go from there. I like my wreaths wild and natural looking though. I tie smallish bunches of holly, bay, yew etc then attach them around the frame so they form a continuous mass.