Thursday, July 22, 2010

CHRISTMAS IN JULY: Craftaholics Anonymous Christmas Wreath

Wow, this week sure has been fun - don't you think?
A warm welcome to all of you new readers!

One of my favorite parts of preparing for Christmas
(and other holidays, too) is decorating!
I love the transformation that takes place by
sprinkling your creative juices all over the house.

Today, Linda from Craftaholics Anonymous is here to
show us how to make her fabulous Burlap Wreath.
Perfect for Christmas or any time of the year.
Be sure to visit her and leave some comment love.

Be sure and stop back by later today for our next
Christmas in July giveaway! It's a GOOD ONE!!!

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Hi there! I'm Linda, the addict behind the blog, Craftaholics Anonymous. I'm excited to be here today to show you how to make a Burlap Wreath with No-Sew Fabric Flowers. This wreath is stunning and a little different from your average Christmas wreath. Plus it's easy and cheap to make. {both great things!}



The white burlap contrasts so nicely with my red front door. Looks fabulous! You could make it using forest green or red burlap for a completely different look.




I added these cute fabric flowers. I think they are just so cute. Ok, so I'm a sucker for any fabric flower! BUT these are so dang easy to make and no sewing is required. {yay!}




These are the easiest fabric flowers I have made... hands down. All you need is:
  • scissors
  • fabric (can be scraps)
  • hot glue gun
  • buttons, jewels, or beads



First, cut a circle out of fabric. Mine is roughly 5" in diameter. I used a roll of scrapbook adhesive and cut around it for my circle. No need to make it a "perfect" circle.




Fold in both sides to find the middle of the circle.



Keep your finger on one side and hold it down.
This will be part of your first pleat.
(sorry for the fuzzy pic)




Take the next little bit of fabric and fold it over to create a pleat. Be sure to keep your finger in place to hold the pleats down.




This is give you an idea how to make the pleats in case you were lost.




Keep going around the circle and making pleats.




Adjust the pleats so that you like the shape of the flower. It will most likely be a little lopsided. But that's part of the "cute factor", so don't stress about making it completely perfect.




Put a couple dots of hot glue under the pleats to hold them in place.




Then put a circle of glue in the center of the flower and attach a button, bead, or jewel (or whatev bling you choose).




There you go! Easy, huh. These would be cute for headbands, clips, handbags, pins, etc.

Now a quickie on how I made the wreath:

  • I used a 14" round hard foam ring
  • Paint the foam ring white (or the color of your burlap) so that the green foam ring doesn't show through. I used craft paint.
  • Before you cut your burlap, lightly spray it with a water bottle. This helps with the mess. a little. :)
  • I cut about 1 1/2 yards of burlap into 1"x16" strips.
  • I very highly recommend using a rotary cutter to cut your burlap. You can use scissors and a yardstick, but I'll just warn you, your wrist will hate you after!
  • I wrapped the burlap strips around the foam ring and then tied a double knot. I overlapped the strips and bunched them up as I went.
  • If you try to undo a burlap strip after you've tied it, the burlap will shred! :)
  • When I was done with the wreath, I just hot glued the flowers onto the burlap.

For more great tutorials and tips, check out my blog, Craftaholics Anonymous .

Merry Christmas in July!!

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I've added another Christmas In July button
to the sidebar. This one is from Larissa over at
Just Another Day in Paradise. Go pay her a visit!

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Christmas In July Week Giveaways


And don't forget my shop special: FREE SHIPPING
on all orders placed through Sunday, July 25!
Click here to start shopping.

3 comments:

  1. Such a cute, festive wreath. I love that light colored burlap. It's a bear to work with, but the texture is fabulous.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love this with the burlap! Very cute. And thanks for the tutorial on the simple pleated flowers. Those are so useful!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi,
    I love this idea and I have just featured it on my blog
    Thanks for sharing.
    Great tutorial.
    http://thatcutelittlecake.blogspot.com/2010/08/christmas-in-july-find-christmas-wreath.html

    ReplyDelete