DIY Winter Wreath

I know, I know. We NEVER include DIY on StyleBlueprint. But…we’ve wanted to. So, starting now, look for a very simple DIY project every now and then. This one is so fun and arrives just in time for the January blues. You know, when holiday decor has been taken down and the house feels terribly lonely, the sun barely shines through the thick clouds and the days are oh-so-short? Whip up some hot cocoa and enjoy this project!

Yarn Ball Winter Wreath

Consider making this wreath with red, pink, lavender and white yarn and hearts for February; red, white and blue yarn with wooden stars for July; black, white and orange for Halloween; green and red for Christmas. This idea was inspired by the blog, Two Junk Chix.

Over Christmas break, my family headed to Childersburg, AL, to my in-law’s farm. The menfolk hunted and I sat around and wrapped foam balls for my wreath. It’s an activity best done in conjunction with another activity: watching TV, chatting with family and friends or even as a passenger in a car.  It’s not a good one to do “on the clock.”

A beautiful day at the farm to make yarn balls!

You’ll need:

• One large round foam wreath. (I covered mine in burlap, but I’ve seen others use a wire coat hanger stretched out and fashioned into a circle. Grapevine wreaths would work, as well.)
• Variety of foam balls, sizes 1 1/2 inch, 2 inch, and 2 1/2 inch. (I used 60 total balls. To make this part cheaper, you can simply wad up some newspaper or foil to wrap with yarn.)
• 5 different colors of yarn of your choosing. (I liked having different widths of yarn. Contrary to what you might think, depending on the size of ball you are covering, the thicker yarn is not always the easiest. A trip to Dollar General might prove fruitful here, as quality yarn is not mandatory.)
• Glue gun
• Some elements of nature to incorporate

Burlap covered foam wreath. Pin, staple or glue gun to secure.

Simply wrap each ball with yarn until all foam is covered. I tucked the final piece of yarn under a tightly wrapped section to secure.

I chose colors for my wreath based on a winter forest.

Once your balls are all wrapped, it’s time to glue gun them to the wreath. I secured the largest balls first and worked down to the smallest.

Hmmm, there are not enough balls for my wreath....

I realized I did not have enough foam balls, so back to Michael’s I went, where I bought 30 more.

At this point, I just started finding places to glue more balls in with no rhyme or reason besides gut instinct for what would look best. This is where perfectionism will destroy the project -  just go for it, but know when to say, “This is good enough!” I added the prickly sweet gum balls as my finishing touch.

I wrapped a piece of yarn around the finished wreath and proudly hung it on my front door. Now, my house doesn’t feel quite so lonely…

My front door

If you want more inspirations for yarn ball wreaths, check out my Pinterest board: http://pinterest.com/liza_graves/yarn-ball-wreaths/

Happy New Year!