Dare to... deck the halls!

I've been excited for this week's Dare to DIY challenge since the first week!

It means that I get to pull out my Christmas tree (yes, it's a fake), rediscover all of my little rustic ornaments (most of which were purchased at Target last year), and embrace the Christmas season.

I put on some Christmas tunes... Frank Sinatra, Louis Armstrong, Dean Martin... and decorated the tree while trying to convince Louie that it's not okay to eat light bulbs. Or fake pine needles. (I wish I was kidding.)



Then finally I was able to get in the mind frame to figure out what I wanted to DIY!

The first almost-too-easy quasi-DIY decor I added this year involved pine cones from the Ponderosa pine trees in my yard. I actually collected them last year with great plans to do something with them, but then lost track of time.



I didn't do anything to them, just placed them on some of the empty branches of my Christmas tree.



I might add some gold to the edges in the future, but for now I like the simplicity.

That was just a warm-up.

My real DIY project took some of this...



and turned it into two of these...



I knew I wanted wreaths to hang in front of my two window-mirrors as soon as I hung them on the wall. They just screamed for something lovely and festive.

Most of my Christmas decorations are rather "rustic" with reds and creams and a bit of gold so I figured the wreaths should be the same.

The yarn is one of the Holiday Homespun yarns from Lion Brand... it's a creamy not-quite-white color with a thread of gold tinsel through it. I wrapped the wreath base in a single layer of yarn (with a dab of hot glue every now and then) and then went back and did another spaced-out layer for a different bit of texture/dimension.



Once my wreath was wrapped (and I loved it) I played around with my decorative goodies (rustic bells, little pinecones, floral berries, floral tin picks, red ribbon with glittery edges-- all from Joann Fabrics) to find the perfect combination and layout.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Everything in odd numbers!"][/caption]

 

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="I curved the berries to follow the wreath shape"][/caption]

 

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="I couldn't resist these rustic little bells!"][/caption]

 

I decided to put the decorations on opposite sides of each of the wreaths...





So when I got them up, they looked like this:



I absolutely LOVE how they turned out! Even better than what I had envisioned... which rarely happens.

(Please ignore the clutter reflected in the mirrors... and my draft-blocking blanket over the side door.)

Here are a few tips I "discovered" if you want to try this for yourself:

• Hot glue is still HOT even if you are using a "low temp" glue gun.


• It went a bit faster for me if I wound a bunch of loops around the wreath and then scrunched them over to where I wanted them.



• A smaller portion of yarn is easier to work with than the whole skein... or pre-roll it into an actual yarn ball. (I didn't have the patience to do that.)








• If you use the Homespun yarn, knot either end so it doesn't unravel. (This may also help with other types of yarn.)


• One layer of yarn works fine if you use a light yarn (cream, white) but if you use a darker yarn (such as red) the white wreath base might show through the little gaps between yarn strands.

It took me about 2 hours to finish the first wreath and then only one hour to finish the second. A bit time consuming, but not as bad as I thought it would be--and definitely worth it!

Did you dare to deck the halls this week? Don't forget to link up over at the NewlyWoodwards for the Dare to DIY party!