The Rogue Wreath: Cheap Wreath, No Form!

I am not going to say I am cheap...but I do like to save money where I can.  I also like to buck the norm in some instances.  If things have always been done a certain way, I like to see if there is an alternative path. This time, I decided to tackle wreaths.  I really don't like the idea of buying forms, and I have seen a couple of great ideas using foam pipe stuff and pool noodles, etc.

So I was at Michael's today, and I noticed that Christmas Picks were on sale at 50% off.  Now, I usually call these decorative sparkly bits, so it was nice to know they really have a name...haha! I was messing with one and noticed that they are wired on the inside so you can form them.  One thing led to another, and I opted to find out if they could be attached to each other to form a wreath.

You will need to buy some Christmas Picks, I bought 6 longer ones, 4 smaller ones for the base of the wreath, and then picked up a 94 cent bundle of white snowy looking things from Wal-Mart.  You will also need red wire and wire cutters.

Now, you will notice that I originally put these two together base to base.  That did not work nearly as easily, and I ended up putting them together base to top.  That worked much better.

I cut 2 inch or so strips of wire (I happened to have red on hand) and wrapped it tightly around the two picks to put them together. 




I did this with the 6 larger picks I purchased.  After that, I attached the white puffy pieces, bending them through some of the berries.

After that, I attached the smaller sprigs between the white ones.

To secure it better, I flipped the wreath over and put E6000 everywhere that sprigs came together and everywhere I had wired.  Hot glue is also a perfectly acceptable answer. 

Believe it or not, I have never used hot glue.

Once it is dry you can rearrange some leaves and the bulbs or whatever else is in your arrangement in order to get it just like you like it.  This wreath ended up being around 8 inches wide I would say, maybe as large as 10.  I was looking for a small wreath to hang in my apartment.  You can essentially make it any size you want, it will just take some thought and planning while you are in the store.

The 6 large picks cost me about $3.87, the four smaller added $2, and the white was another $.94, bringing the wreath material to a total of $6.81 or so.  For a wreath...that is pretty darn cheap!

There are all sorts of picks you can get, you could make a wreath completely out of acorns, one that is sparkly, the possibilities are endless. Shop various stores, and you will be surprised just what you can come up with!
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