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Christmas gives us a chance to reunite with friends and family and to remember all things that are special to us. Creating decorations, gifts and food gives us a perfect opportunity to slow down, share experiences and enjoy the sensory nostalgia that so often we whiz past. Using natural decorations is not only more eco-friendly but it fills the room with heart-warming smells of orange, cinnamon, pine and cloves. Take some time this year to make your own wreath with family and friends. It's really not hard and it is so rewarding. Here are my tips as to how you can do it:
Firstly you will need;
A wreath base (natural is best). Either make your own or buy a straw wreath that you can reuse
Wire on a reel
Florist wire
Florist scissors or secateurs
Foliage – Spruce, Fir, Ivy, Bay, Eucalyptus, Rosemary, olive
Natural decorations or home-made decorations– Pine cones, dried fruit, chillies, dried flowers, nuts, cardboard stars
To begin, wrap the end of the reel wire around wreath base and secure it against itself.
Make a posy of foliage not more than 20cm in height containing 3 different types of foliage. Hold this against the wreath with the top of the posy at a slight angle towards the outside of the wreath and secure by wrapping the reel wire around the base of the posy and the wreath 2 or 3 times. Overlap the base of this posy with another to cover the stems, this time with the top of the posy towards the centre of the wreath. Alternate until the whole wreath is covered. Secure and cut the reel wire.
Poke in decorative or aromatic greenery such as viburnum berries, holly, rosemary, lavender or sticks. To do this, clean the base up to 4 cm and cut at a slight angle to make a point. Push this into the greenery of the wreath until it feels secure.
Add decorations using wire.
Pine cones – wrap the top of the wire around base of the cone slipping the wire between the scales and secure the wire against itself. Leave the tail of the wire long to secure to the wreath.
Fruit pieces – push the wire through the fruit near to the edge and wrap the wire against itself. Attach two or three pieces of fruit at a time for a more dramatic effect.
Cinnamon bundles – push a wire behind the raffia at the back of the bundle. Secure the wire back onto itself.
For spiky or delicate or awkward shape and sizes, use a glue gun sparingly.
Finish with a beautiful bow at the top or the bottom. Make a bow and secure it to the wreath using wire. Loop the wire through the main loop of the bow at the back and wrap the wire against itself leaving a long tail of wire that can then be attached to the wreath.
Top Tips
Lay decorations on top of the wreath before attaching to get an idea of the overall look.
Stick to odd numbers when decorating. 3’s or 5’s usually look work well on a medium-sized wreath.
You can also cover the whole wreath in lots of small decorations or decorate just the bottom of the wreath.