A Stretching-the-Season Fall Wreath

A few weeks ago, one trip to Hobby Lobby + one nap time + one Amazon Prime shipment = 

This

Not too bad, right? My favorite part about this wreath is the color scheme. It says fall, but the cranberry color of the apples not only ties in well with the maroon of our door (and shutters) but will keep this wreath looking seasonal well past Thanksgiving, buying some time before the season calls for something more wintery. As an added bonus, the browns in the pinecones and eucalyptus help tie-in the brown of any bare spots where the wreath shows through, making that look intentional, not sloppy. Wink.

Here's how I made it happen. I started with this tutorial, but with a smaller wreath, so I didn't need as many flowers. What I did need:

1 18" grapevine wreath
3 burlap roses
2 stems of crab apples
2-3 stems of brown eucalyptus
4-5 stems of cream chrysanthemums
1 stem of miniature pine cones
Floral wire
Heavy Duty wire cutters

Close ups of the florals used

My wreath wasn't perfectly round, so the most lopsided edge became my starting point. The fullness of the roses rounded that part out so it's not really noticeable anymore.

Station break for iphone "in progress" photos. You will need to vacuum the rug you build this on

The underbelly

As suggested in the tutorial, I was mostly able to weave the wire stems of the flowers into the vines to secure them. But for things that "stick out" like the eucalyptus and pinecones, I used wire to tie them down so they would lay where I wanted them.

These flowers are not going anywhere

For hanging the wreath, magnetic wreath hangers were useless; they slid down or popped off immediately. Double paned leaded glass might have something to do with that. Since our door is painted, I didn't want to use a metal hanger that could damage the paint as it rubbed. Amazon Prime came through with this intense suction cup, and though I was skeptical, it's worked like a dream.

Sturdy and not even very noticeable

So there you have it, a naptime-sized project of a DIY wreath.