The Decor Mama - Page 4 of 4 - A DIY loving, decorating obsessed, mama of three

You guys!! I’ve been wanting a Magnolia wreath for a long time now! I mean, they’re so cute, super versatile, and you could leave them up all year long if you wanted to because they go with anything and everything! That sounds like perfection in the form of a wreath to me!! There’s only one problem though. They are sold at Magnolia Market for $98! Say what!? I just couldn’t, in good consciousness, buy that no matter how amazingly perfect they may be. Especially because the spot I had planned for them requires having two of them! Yikes! That would be $190 for something that we don’t need, but of course, I really, really want. That’s why I was so excited when I came up with my genius idea to make them myself! And, of course, I came up with this plan as soon as I laid down for bed, which meant I was up for hours with excitement ready to run to Hobby Lobby right then and there. Ha! If only they’re store closed at 2am! I did end up finally getting to sleep and going to Hobby Lobby during normal business hours like normal people would do, and made my wreath dreams come true. I’m still so excited about it, and I’m definitely going to let my husband know how much money I’ve saved so I can go spend all that saved money on something else that I really “need” like any good wife would do.😉 Okay, enough talk, let’s get down to wreath making business! I hope you guys are as excited as I was at this point!

First step: prepare yourself to finally achieve your magnolia wreath dreams. (or is that just me speaking for myself!?) Okay, well, if you’re as big of a wreath dork as me, prepare yourself. Otherwise, you can probably just skip this step!😄

Now that you’ve prepared yourself, here is a list of materials you will need before you get started:

-Magnolia Leaves. I know for sure they’re at Hobby Lobby and Michael’s. If you wait until they’re 50% off or use a 50% off coupon, they range from $6-$9 a branch depending on what craft store you go to. I would buy two branches just to make sure you have enough leaves so that your wreath looks nice and full.

-16″ wire wreath form. You can get smaller or bigger sizes depending on what you like!

-Hot glue gun. If you don’t already have one, this is a good one to get.

-Two different shades of green paint and a paintbrush. I used this to make my leaves various shades and to make it look a little more real, but this is definitely an optional step. I bought the FolkArt brand paint in the shades of Olive Green and crocodile.

Now that you have your supplies; lets do this!

Gather all your supplies and plug in your hot glue gun.
Remove all the leaves from the branch. I would start by removing the leaves from one branch because you may not need the other branch. This picture shows you what I started with. The leaves on the right are already painted.
If you wish to do so, paint the leaves with the shades of green you bought. I’m glad I did this step! The leaves look so much more real with the paint. I did leave some without paint to have that contrast in the leaves.
Once the paint is dry, position the leaves around your wire wreath form to see where and how you want them. I recommend varying the angles and placement to get a more natural look.
Tuck the leaf under the wire and hot glue it into place. As you can see in the picture, I would tuck it under first to see where I liked it the best. I found it worked better to only use the middle to wired to place the leaves on.
Continue step 5 until you have your perfect looking wreath.
Check for any loose leaves and apply additional glue if need be.
You did it!! Now pick out the perfect spot for your new perfect wreath!

Here is where I hung mine. This is why I needed two of them.

I am so happy with mine and I hope that you are with yours too! Thanks so much for coming! Enjoy your new $100 wreath (wink, wink)!!

Also, If you loved making this wreath, then go check out my DIY Lemon Wreath, and my DIY Faux Succulent Wreath as well!

XOXO,

Lauren

The Decor Mama

Hi everyone! I have to start off by confessing something to you guys; before this week I hadn’t made a wreath in a really long time, like not since my six and a half year old was a baby! I know, I was majorly slacking on the wreath making game, but now I’m back in it, and I have to say, I may be a little hooked now. Okay, fine, maybe a lot hooked! My point to this is that you just may be getting a lot of DIY wreath tutorials coming your way in the future. In my defense, it’s because I love them and want them pretty much everywhere around my house, but they are so dang expensive these days. I saw a pretty average version of this wreath for $80 in the store the other day! Say what!? Even more reason to love this new wreath I made for the spring/summer!! I love it so much that I’ve decided to hang it in my kitchen above the stove right where everyone can see it! I don’t plan for it to go there, but I love how it looked with my blue hood.

Did that picture just make you so excited to get started, because it’s kinda making me want to make another one!?

So let’s do this already, shall we!?

(This post contains affiliate links, which means if you purchase anything from my links a small percentage goes to me at no extra cost what so ever to you. Thank you!)

Here is what you’ll need:

Foam Wreath Form *I cut mine thinner so I didn’t have as much siding to cover. I’ll tell you how in the directions.
Greenery of your choice *I chose the greenery from Hobby Lobby, number 857912, that was $6.99, and I got it for 50% off. I got three of them.
Large and small lemons *I also got these at Hobby Lobby for 50% off. They come in bags and they are located close to the floral department. At least that’s where they were for me. You can also get them at any other craft store, and I have even heard of them being at the dollar store, too!
Hot glue gun. If you don’t already have one, this is a good one.
Hot glue sticks *Very important, as I ran out half way into my wreath. AHHHHH!
Scissors

Now that you have everything, let’s get started!! Yay, for the fun part!!

Did I mention yet that I saw a lemon wreath at a store for $80!!!!! Just thought I’d throw that out there again to get you even more excited about starting this project!

Directions:

Gather up all your materials. When I first started crafting I found a clearance table cloth, and that is what I use for any potentially messy project for the kids and I. That is what I put all my materials on. You’ll see pictures of it below.
Plug in your hot glue gun and have those extra sticks conveniently ready to be used.
If you bought the foam form like me, then I would recommend cutting it thinner so you have less siding to cover. I took a ruler and made a little mark around the whole thing at 1/4 inch. I then took a knife and cut around the whole thing. If you are good with a saw, that would probably be a lot easier.
Cut off all of the branches from one stem so you have a bunch of what’s pictured below.
Start with only your long branches. Take the sharper, sturdier side of the branch and press it into the back of the foam near the edge. I would then glue that area that you poked the end of the branch into to help secure that branch. Then wrap it around spreading it as far as it will go heading towards the inside edge.
Once the branch is at a spot you like that would help cover the inside edge, glue down the last leaf in a spot that would cover the most amount of area.
Continue steps 5 and 6 until all the long branches are gone. Here’s a picture of what yours should look like at this point.You’ll probably notice the paint on mine. I realized this is not necessary so don’t waste your time! Oh, and that’s the handy dandy tablecloth I was telling you about!
Now it’s time to bring out the lemons! Yessss!
I used the glued down branches as a guide as to where I placed my lemons. I started with a big lemon, found an open area that needed covered next to a branch, and then glued the lemon there.
Then, you will want 2-3 small and medium lemons. Pick your small or medium lemon depending on the kind of space you have next to your already glued down large lemon, play with what direction you want it to face next to the large one, and then glue that down when you’re happy with the direction you put it in. You’ll notice in the pictures that I did mine all different directions, making it look very random, but that’s exactly how I wanted it to look. The picture below is to show you how I turned my lemons all different directions.
Once you get your 2-3 small/medium lemons glued down, grab another big lemon and continue steps 9 and 10 until your wreath is full of your lemons.
Now that you have your lemons in place, it’s time to fill in any spot you can see of the foam board with the rest of the leaves.
With the remaining branches, cut off each individual leaf and start gluing the leaves any place you can see the foam board. Continue this until all the foam is covered on the wreath. I would even glue leaves on top of other leaf clusters if that ‘s what it takes to cover all the foam. The above picture is also to show you how I cut the leaves off the branches to have individual ones for coverage.
Once you’ve finished gluing all of your leaves down, you’re finished!!! You now own your very own lemon wreath for way less than $80!!!

Now hurry up and pick out a perfect spot to showcase your new super cute DIY wreath!!! Here’s where I was going to originally put mine! Have fun!!

If you loved making this wreath as much as I did, then go check out my DIY Faux Succulent Wreath tutorial, and my Magnolia Wreath tutorial as well!

XOXO,

Lauren

The Decor Mama