Five Dollar Decor: Wreaths

Fall, for some reason, always feels to me like the beginning of wreath season. Perhaps because when I was growing up, hanging a wreath was part of the late-fall preparation for Advent and Christmas. Perhaps because trick-or-treating meant seeing a lot of doors and a lot of wreaths. Whatever the reason, I think about wreaths most when the days start to get shorter and the weather starts to get colder.

Coffee filter wreath by Craftberry Bush

It's hard for me sometimes to find wreaths that I like. Too much clutter or kitsch and I'm instantly turned off. But a lot of people are out there finding ways to make beautiful wreaths with not a lot of clutter for not a lot of money.




Note: I recently saw a very handy tip on making wreath forms at home. Instead of buying an expensive foam form at the craft store, just get a pool noodle or pipe insulation, cut it to the desired size, shape it into a circle,and duct tape it closed. Hooray! A wreath form for a dollar!

1. Argyle Wreath


That's right. You heard me. I said argyle wreath. If you don't understand why that is totally awesome, then I'm not sure we can be friends anymore.

Argyle to me says sweaters. It says fall, and coziness, and crackling fires, and that great first-day-of-school feeling. And you can buy that yellow one for $40.00 on Etsy, or follow these directions to make your own in colors that suit you for much, much less.

2. Marshmallow Wreath


If you were just describing a marshmallow wreath to me, I probably wouldn't be very interested. It sounds sticky and, to be honest, sort of silly. Fortunately, there are people out there with better vision than I, who realized how beautiful a marshmallow wreath could actually be.

I love the clean whiteness of it, and the pillowy, snow-like look of the marshmallows. I'm sure it smells amazing, too. I don't even eat marshmallows anymore because of all the sugar, but the smell of them still takes me to my childhood happy place.

3. Ribbon Wreath


This is billed as a Halloween wreath, because the example is made with black ribbon. It didn't particularly say "Halloween" to me as much as it said "lovely" or "would look great on the white door of a Colonial house."

It couldn't be simpler to make this wreath, either. Just cut ribbons and tie them around a foam form. I've seriously spent the last five minutes daydreaming about all the beautiful colors of ribbon you could use on a wreath like this.

4. Paper Cup Wreath ... Wait, What?


Initially the idea of a "paper cup wreath" struck me as... well... a little bit like a kindergarten project. When I saw the execution, though, I was proved to be wrong once again.

I love the clean white lines here. And, again, it's so very simple. Nothing but paper cups, stacked, shaped, and glued in place with a glue gun.

5. Clothespin Wreath


I'm a fan of the "sunburst" style that everybody in the blogosphere is going so nuts for lately. But I think in my house it wouldn't look quite right, unless it were altered or somethow understated. I think that's what I like so much about this clothespin wreath. It's got a very mid-century modern shape and design to it, but uses such simple, traditional materials--clothespins and embroidery hoops? Cheap, easy, and fun.

To mod this up even more, you could spray paint it gold, white, or perhaps mustard yellow. What do you think?