A handmade wreath is a unique and cost effective way to add some serious Christmas curb appeal to your front door, plus it's a great activity to do with the kids in the lead-up to the big day.
We're joined by painter, maker and author Becki Clark who has shared her easy-to-follow guide to making a Christmas wreath, with room for your little ones to add their own individual twist. Don't forget to share their wreath creations with us on Instagram.
Images by Becki Clark
What You'll Need:
- Leafy foliage (this can be foraged or bought from a florist). You’ll need a base foliage and then stems of berries and other plant varieties. I’ve used a mix of eucalyptus, olive, rosemary, ivy, holly and hypericum berries
- Wire wreath base. You can buy these from any craft store or garden centre
- A selection of ribbons
- Floristry wire
- Scissors
Step 1.
Begin cutting your base foliage down to smaller stems that are around the length of the diameter of your wreath and group them together to create mini bunches.
Step 2.
Secure your foliage together with wire at the bottom, wrapping wire around the stems and leaving excess lengths on both ends. Using these lengths, attach to the wreath base.
Step 3.
Work your bunches around the wreath base until the full circle is completely covered, securing your bunches of foliage heading in the same direction to create movement around your wreath base. As well as using the wire to secure you can weave the bunches in and out of the wire frame to cover and create a full looking base.
Step 4.
Next, gather bunches of your other foliages, berries or flowers and, again, make small bunches. These should have an element of difference from the base of the wreath foliage so that they sit on ‘another layer’. Secure them with wire at the bottom.
Step 5.
Attach them on to your foliage base with your bunches pointing outwards from the middle of the circle.
Step 6.
Keep working around the wreath, attaching your mini bunches to create a full and fluffy looking circle.
Step 7.
Take your ribbon and cut different lengths in the different colours, tie bows and attach around the wreath. You can either attach by pulling a length of wire through the tie of the bow and then attaching this to the base or you can tie directly on to the wreath. I’d recommend one of those options if you are hanging the wreath outside to make sure they are secure. However, if you are hanging inside to decorate, you can also drape the bowls over the stems.
And there you have it! One beautiful bespoke wreath to hang in pride of place this Christmas.
Festive Outfits
The wreath-crafting fun wouldn't be complete without a festive outfit . . .