The feeling of warmth from the sun on my skin is such a comfort when I venture out these days. It inspired me to think up a tutorial for an easy, as well as economical, Summer wreath to celebrate the first day of Summer. I can’t wait to hang it on my front door when Summer arrives!
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Here are the supplies I used for my Summer wreath:
- 1 roll Celebrate It™ wired Yellow ribbon -$4.99
- Americana™ Neons Pink Acrylic Paint – $2.49
- Craft Smart Robins Egg Blue acrylic Paint – .79
- Craft Smart Bright Yellow acrylic paint – .79
- 1 Floral Stem – $2.99
- Craft Smart mini glue gun -$2.99
- a roll of Red Heart™ sparkle yarn in lemon– $7.62
- a roll of Offray™ 1.5 in. wide grosgrain ribbon – $3.97
- 1 Florocraft™ 13.8 in. styrofoam wreath form – $8.15
- Word ‘Hello’ Unfinished Wood Cutout 6 in. – $7. 00
- 1 ArtSkills™ 12 in. x 5.5 in. barnwood sign – $2.50
- 1 set of ArtSkills™ 3.5 in. x 5 in crafting stencils – $2.75
- scissors
- measuring tape or ruler
- assorted paint brushes – sm. tapered, 1 in. wide, round sponge brush
- tape
- wire-cutters
- a small nail file
- craft glue
Step 1 – Prepare Your Materials
Prepare your workspace by covering it with paper to protect the surface. Tape in place.
Gather your materials. Use the scissors to cut the yellow wired ribbon into eight 16-inch strips.
In order to keep the ribbon ends from becoming frayed, use a toothpick to line the edges with craft glue.
Step 2 – Paint and Wrap the Wreath Form
Place the styrofoam wreath form on a covered work surface. Use a 1 in. wide brush to paint the facing areas with the yellow acrylic paint. Allow an hour to dry.
When wreath form is dry to the touch, you can begin wrapping it with the Red Heart™ yellow sparkle yarn. It’s waterproof and a great choice for an outdoor wreath.
Find the loose end and hold it in place against the back of the unpainted surface of the wreath with your finger. Allow 2-3 inches of the loose end to hang.
Then, hold the roll of yarn with your other hand and begin weaving it around the end held in place. Continue in this manner, pushing the threads as you go to close any gaps until the whole wreath form has been wrapped with the yarn.
Hold the roll of yarn a few inches above from where your stopping point is. Cut, and join it with the end of loose yarn and knot them together.
Step 3 – Attach the ribbon
Take one of the strips of yellow ribbon. Place it anywhere on the wreath and tie in place with a double knot. You may want to adjust them later so allow for some movement. The 2 ends of the knot should be of even length and facing outward. Evenly space the remaining pieces of ribbon, and knot in place.
Step 4 – Paint Wood Cut-outs
Place the ‘Hello‘ wood cut-out on your work surface. Paint the top with the pink acrylic paint. Use the small tapered brush for hard to reach areas. Allow to dry.
Place the barn wood sign right side up on your work surface. Pull out the stencil letters needed to spell ‘SUMMER’. Remove the punch outs and lay them across the front of the barn wood sign. Since I only had one ‘M’, I substituted a different letter, this is for the purpose of checking spacing. Letters can be taped in place.
Take the round sponge paintbrush and dip the end into a small amount of yellow paint. Hold the stencil in place and lightly press and lift the brush over the cut out areas of the lettering, reapplying more paint as needed. Mistakes can be erased by immediately wiping off with a damp paper towel. Repeat for each letter.
Allow to dry. Apply a second coat of paint to add brightness.
Now, dip the small tapered brush some of the blue paint and paint a water line across the bottom of the sign. Use a light touch when going up. (You can do it!)
Step 5 – Attach Items to Wreath
Use the wire cutters to trim the floral stem.
Plug in the hot glue gun and allow to warm up. Squeeze some glue onto the trimmed end of the floral stem and tuck into the underside of one of the ribbons.
Make sure the paint has dried on the barn wood sign and ‘Hello’ word cutout. Plug in the glue gun, and allow it to warm up. Squeeze hot glue onto the lower half of the word cutout. Press it in place in the upper left corner of the sign until glued in place. Then, flip over the sign and and place a nickel-sized amount of hot glue onto each of the corners.
Decide on the placement of the sign on the front the wreath and press into place until glue has dried.
Step 6 – Use Ribbon to Make a Hanger
Next, cut a 32 inch piece of ribbon from the blue/white ribbon. Hold one end of the ribbon insert it through the middle of the wreath form. Place a dime-sized amount of hot glue on one end of the ribbon, making sure there aren’t any twists. Then, press the opposite end over the glue. Try to keep your fingers from touching the glue as it may be hot. Hold in place until dry.
You may wish to make a bow from the ribbon as well to adorn the wreath. Or, add additional decorative items. At last, your Summer wreath is complete!
Did you find this project to be as easy and economical as I did? Here’s to Summer and brighter days ahead 🙂 -Elena