You will need:
- 1 wire coat hanger
- Some flexible stems from the garden eg red cornus stems, lengths of holly, pieces of trailing ivy. Each one should ideally be about 30cm long
- OR some lengths of red raffia
- Some decorative bits such as pine cones and ribbon
- A can of gold or silver glitter paint to add extra sparkle (optional)
- Some fine wire (ideally) or cotton thread. Brown is the least noticeable colour.
Also you will need about an hour to make up the wreath. However it can be done in stages.
First take a walk…
First collect your materials from the garden. If you’ve not got anything suitable, you could take a walk in your local woods and pick up pine cones, conkers, sprays of fallen leaves – anything really that might be decorative. But please don’t ransack live plants if they’re not yours!
Get creative…
Bend the coat hanger into as near a circle as you can. If you’ve found some flexible stems, such as bright red cornus, then bend them into a circle too. Using fine wire or black cotton thread tie them around the coat hanger in about 6 evenly spaced places. Use plenty of wire or string so that you can leave the ends long.
If you’ve not got any flexible stems then, once you’ve bent the coat hanger into a circle, spray it gold or silver following the instructions on the can, and leave it to dry. Then take 6-8 lengths of red raffia and, holding them together, wind them around the coat hanger in regular coils, leaving some of the coat hanger to show through decoratively. Tie the raffia tightly behind the hook of the coat hanger. Use wire or thread to tie the raffia tight to the coat hanger in about 6 places – this helps stop the raffia slipping.
Finishing touches…
Now add the other things you’ve collected. Maybe spray a few teasel heads or beech leaves with a hint of gold. Even add a bundle of cinnamon sticks from the kitchen. Whatever you’ve got. Tie them on to your wreath using the ends of the wire or thread you’ve left hanging down. Cut off or tuck away the ends. I like to add a ribbon bow but it’s entirely up to you.
Ta dah!
Make sure you tie your wreath securely to the door so that you don’t lose it down the street if it’s windy. Then stand back and admire!
