The Thankful Mom: DIY Valentine's {or Any Time} Wreath

I love crafty activities... and I love doing them myself.

LOVE.

IT.

I guess they have a sort of calming effect for me.

A way to relax, if you will...

A favorite crafty venture that I enjoy is making wreaths.

For me, it's just fun to say to the world, "Hey, I'm celebrating ______ "

Ya know? Maybe I'm just crazy...

very possible, people.

Anyway, I've been asked before to share a wreath tutorial.

Well, here it is!

Supplies you'll need:

- 1 yard of fabric of choice {burlap or fleece work well}

- scissors

- wreath form

Here's my wreath form. You can choose any size, but mine's a 12-inch from Joann for 2.50

I love using burlap for these wreaths. This time, however, I didn't have any.

So.... rather than load my posse up, I decided to use what I had.

Today, that was fleece. It's a reddish-pink, and I really liked the result!

{1} To begin, I cut my strips of fabric. My strips were 3 1/2 feet by 8 inches {long, I know}

{2} Next, I start at the end and fold over a piece by about 3 inches and bunch it together

{3} You are going to slide that bunch through the wreath, starting with the inner ring next to the separation where my finger {below} is pointing.

Like so...

{4} Now, scrunch that little bunch toward the separation {seen below}. You got it!

{5} Now, while holding that piece in place, pull the piece below up into the middle ring and through until it is the same length as the first piece. Again, scrunch the bunch...

{6} Continue doing this around the entire wreath. The sections of my wreath each took 6 scrunched bunches... How many times can I say that, right?

{7} As you go, adjust as needed. You may want to fold your end under each bunch for the fluffier look that I've achieved. You may want larger bunches, you may want smaller. YOU decide. It's your wreath! Also, some people use pipe cleaner to hold their bunches in place. I haven't found a need to do this with fleece or burlap. They stay in place for me!

Your final product will look {something} like the images below.

They're not going to be exactly the same! You wouldn't want that. Promise!