Fall Wreath by Design Team Member Amanda Sherman

Hi!  My name is Amanda Sherman.  I’m honored to be the guest blogger today for Craft Warehouse.  I was so excited when my package arrived of materials.  You see, this is my favorite time of year.  The light has changed to that warm autumn glow and the nights and morning are crisp.  The sweet smell of harvest is in the air and it’s just a delightful time!  Ah…..
I thought these products would be so fitting for a Fall Decor project.  I know I love to bring the fall feel into my home this time of year, and I think I’m not the only one.

This is what we are working with:

• 2 sheets of My Minds Eye paper
• 2 sheets of Graphic 45 paper
• Green glittered paper
• Darice Fillable Charm Tubes
• Bo Bunny Rub-ons
• Feather
• Buttons
• Gold Stickles

To this I added:

• 1 sheet 12x12 chipboard
• Beacon 3 in 1 adhesive (love this stuff)
• some 8 mm crystals
• 3 headpins
• 2 pair round nose pliers

First we’ll cut a circle wreath blank from a sheet of chipboard.  The great thing about this is that it doesn’t have to be perfect.  And even if you don’t have a large circle cutter, that’s fine!  Plates work just fine.  I’m pretty sure that all of you have at least one plate in  your kitchen.  Trace the plates (preferably two of different sizes, otherwise you’ll have to free hand one circle to be larger/smaller than the one you traced).

Now that we have the circle, let’s have some fun.  We need to cut about 60 leaves.  Yup, I said 60.  Break out those scissors and feel the burn in your hand!  (Just think of it this way, it will burn about enough calories to treat yourself with a Hershey kiss when you’re done - (I really have no idea – I’m just guessing there, but treat yourself anyway ;) ).

After you have the leaves cut, we need to add some dimension to them.  Gently roll them in using your fingers to cup them.  Shouldn’t take much force, just gentle consistent and it’s done!

And you have a lovely pile of beautiful fall perfection!  (Don’t worry about having too many, because you could use them beautifully on either cards or just sprinkled on a table as more fall decor).

First, lets place some leaves on the circle so we can see the spacing and roughly how many layers we’ll need.

Once you have a  rough idea, you can start gluing.  The Beacon 3 in 1 adhesive is fantastic, but a hot glue gun would work great as well.  (I must put in my own disclaimer here and say I never use hot glue because I’m exceptionally good at burning myself….and I’m a complete wimp, so I’m thrilled with the Beacon adhesive).

Complete one  solid layer around the circle.  After that is complete and has had a few minutes to dry, begin to build a second layer around the wreath.

Once you have a second layer, fill in any “holes” or spots where you need to balance the color with additional leaves.

Now we can bling it out!!

Ahhh….Stickles….glitter of choice for clumsy people.  Oh, back to the subject at hand. Squeeze a glob (yes, that’s a technical term) onto a few leaves and smear it around with your finger.

While that’s drying, let’s add our final decorations.  Using this giant feather piece, apply a generous amount of adhesive to the back and apply it to the wreath.  Hold it in place for about a minute while it dries.

Now we need to use these charm tubes.  There are some basic jewelry making techniques involved here.  I thought it was best to use a video to demonstrate these, so here is is.  (If you already know basic jewelry making, you can skip this part).

Let’s make a bow from the glitter paper.  Cut four pieces to the following measurements:

• 1” x 8”
• 1” x 2 1/2”
• 1/2” x 6” (two pieces of this size)

Using your scissors, curl the 8” and the 6” pieces as you would curl curling ribbon.

Glue the bow to the feather on the wreath.

Using a button, a needle and some floss, lets tie our charm to the backside of the button. Begin tying the button by threading the needle from the front side of the button in the top left hole. Bring the needle back through the top right hole. Then across the front diagonally and through the bottom left hole.

Thread the needle through the eye of the charm. Then bring the needle through the bottom right hole.

Tie the floss leaving enough slack for the charm to dangle.

Apply a generous amount of Beacon adhesive to the backside of the button and apply the button to the bow.

Hang and enjoy the wonderful blessings of Fall!

Thanks for following along!  I had a blast making this project, and I hope you enjoy it too!!!  Happy Autumn.  Be blessed.

xAmanda