Remember the tulip wreath I made a couple of years ago? I pulled it out of the attic this spring but didn’t hang it because, hello, bright orange-red door + hot pink floral wreath = clashboombang But, I had a plan. I’d go to Hobby Lobby (where I bought the pink tulips), grab the same number of white tulips, pop the pink heads off and replace them with white. Sounds easy enough, right? Right. Only it wasn’t that easy. Is it ever?
Why? Because apparently Hobby Lobby now sells a different brand of tulip stems than they did two years ago so not only were the stems a little thinner this year (boo!) but I had a really hard time getting the pink heads off the old stems without ripping the flowers. I was so bummed. So what did I do? I just made a whole new wreath.
[Don’t worry, our ceiling isn’t actually slanted as it appears in the above picture. It’s just the curve of the camera lens playing its tricks…I haven’t yet learned how to reign those in!]
I made it a little differently this time though. The old one held up great but there were a couple of tulips that slipped out while I was moving the wreath because they had become unstuck. I needed something a little more durable than hot glue. After a quick brainstorming sesh I came up with the perfect thing; a thing I wasn’t sure existed. Zip ties! Those would hold my flowers on! But, not any zip tie would do. I needed some really small ones. After a quick internet search, I found that, not only do mini zip ties exist, they also come in a plethora of colors. I search the big box stores first (Lowe’s and Home Depot) for the best prices but then stumbled upon this pack of 100, brown mini zip ties on amazon (affiliate link). They were cheaper than any other mini zip ties I could find and my hope was that they’d blend in with the brown grapevine. I bought two packs and anxiously awaited their arrival.
They came, my friend Jesse came over with some vino, and we had ourselves a little wreath-making party.
Want to make one of your very own? Here’s how!
First, I followed my earlier tutorial by cutting the tulip stems off the bunches so I had a lots of individual stems.
[I used three bunches of tulips, just like last time. Each bunch had about 11 blooms on it.]
Then, also per my other tutorial, I stuck tulip stems in and through the wreath, all the way around. When I had all the tulips in and where I wanted them, I carefully turned the entire wreath over so that the tulips were face-down on the table.
Then, also per my other tutorial, I stuck tulip stems in and through the wreath, all the way around. When I had all the tulips in and where I wanted them, I carefully turned the entire wreath over so that the tulips were face-down on the table.
Here’s where the zip ties come in.
I attached each piece of stem that was sticking out the backside of the wreath with a zip tie. I wove the zip tie underneath each tulip stem plus a few of the grapevine twigs closest to it.
Then I zipped it shut, making sure it was nice and tight. See how well the brown is camouflaged? I circled it to make sure you wouldn’t miss it. ;)
After I had zip tied all of the stems to the wreath, I went along and cut the excess plastic off all the zip ties.
The stems of the tulips were sticking a good three to four inches out the back of the wreath so I grabbed a needle-nose pliers and shortened them with the wire cutter at the base of the pliers.
After I was finished zip tying and trimming stems, I plopped a blob of hot glue over each zip tie for extra reinforcement and to ensure all of the stems were stuck and stuck good. If a hurricane every breathes it’s strongest breaths upon this house (praying that never happens but…), you’ll find this wreath in one piece wherever it lands. I guarantee it.
I attached each piece of stem that was sticking out the backside of the wreath with a zip tie. I wove the zip tie underneath each tulip stem plus a few of the grapevine twigs closest to it.
Then I zipped it shut, making sure it was nice and tight. See how well the brown is camouflaged? I circled it to make sure you wouldn’t miss it. ;)
After I had zip tied all of the stems to the wreath, I went along and cut the excess plastic off all the zip ties.
The stems of the tulips were sticking a good three to four inches out the back of the wreath so I grabbed a needle-nose pliers and shortened them with the wire cutter at the base of the pliers.
After I was finished zip tying and trimming stems, I plopped a blob of hot glue over each zip tie for extra reinforcement and to ensure all of the stems were stuck and stuck good. If a hurricane every breathes it’s strongest breaths upon this house (praying that never happens but…), you’ll find this wreath in one piece wherever it lands. I guarantee it.
We have a screw on our front door in prime position to hold a wreath…I’m guessing that was the previous owners intention when they put it there and left it. So, all I did to hang the wreath was tie a piece of twine to the back and hook it right up on that screw.
And that’s a wrap wreath!
Here’s my friend Jesse’s:
How great does her porch look?! She not only made the wreath but also whipped up those uber cool planters!
Hannah also sent me a picture of the two wreaths she made using this tutorial and look how great they look!
Her double doors are amazing, no?
Hannah also sent me a picture of the two wreaths she made using this tutorial and look how great they look!
Her double doors are amazing, no?
And then came more wreaths. You see, I’ve a had a bunch of floral stems stashed away for projects and decor that I recently took out of hiding to sell and they sat on a resale site without any interest whatsoever. So, I grabbed a medium-sized, grapevine wreath from Hobby Lobby and these two from a yard sale…
My favorite is the pink and white one! I really want to keep it but then I’d back right into the whole pink and bright red dilemma I just escaped. Maybe next spring I’ll duplicate it with something more coordinating.
. . .
Are you a wreath-maker or a wreath-buyer? Or maybe you’re just not a wreath person at all which is totally cool. A lot of people down here in the South hang big monograms on their front doors to mark their territory. Form and function! :)
I love the pink and white wreath! You should definitely whip up something similar in colors that won't clash with your door. I'm a wreath person. I always find the ones I create a bit underwhelming. I might try to duplicate your tulip wreath. I like the simplicity of it and I'm a bit bored of my everyday wreath.
ReplyDeleteYou should Taylor! Send me a picture if you do! :) The great thing about wreaths is that, if you get sick of the one you have, you can always make a new one and probably sell the old!
DeleteI LOVE your white tulip wreath!! I made myself a yellow forsythia wreath that is similar to your pink & white one, in terms of how much yellow forsythia I used on the grapevine wreath. It's my Spring wreath and I was just thinking this week I wanted to make a Summer hydrangea wreath. Our house was built in 1890 and we also have an old wooden shed in the back that is the same age, I put 2 grapevine wreaths on the shed door in the summer and stick American flags in them. I'll try to email you the pic or DM it to you via IG :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Kathleen! A hydrangea wreath sounds amazing! Please send me a picture if you make one! I might need to copy! And I'd love to see the other two grapevine wreaths too! What a great idea to stick American flags in them! Might need to copy that too... :) Thanks for the inspiration!
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