One Wreath for all Seasons

I call it my wreath for all seasons.

Last year I realized that, each season, I gave myself way too much stuff to do regarding outside and porch seasonal decor.  I've always celebrated the seasons despite the way I feel about each one of the (they are  not all equal in my heart) and changing my door wreath has always been part of that routine.  With time, though, and with everything else to take care of I've had to cut down on the extensive seasonal decor.  I've also had to cut down on the amount of stuff I want to store.

So last year I found this great idea on Pinterest.  Unfortunately, I don't recall the site where I got this idea but as I wrote this article I went back and I found a lot of tutorials on making this wonderful drop clothe wreath.

What I really like about this wreath is that it will withstand humidity, wind, rain, etc.  No wilting.  All the maintenance this wreath needs is an occasional shake or vacuum to remove the dust!

It's also inexpensive and easy to make-a no brainer.

Here's what you need:

-A wire ring found at your local craft store (Michael's, Walmart, etc.)
-Drop clothe (found at the local hardware store in the paint section)
-scissors

Optional:
-a glass of wine or other drink to celebrate crafting and if you want, a movie or friends to share this with :)

The size of the drop clothe that you get depends on the size of your wreath.

The size of my wire ring is 18" and I got a small drop clothe was enough to do my wreath

So once you're all set up and decided to do this (because I have to be honest it gets long and tedious) take your drop clothe and cut it in strips of about 1" (2.5 cm).  Then cut those strips into lengths of about 6" (15 cm)

An easy way to get this done is to cut about 2-3 inches into your drop clothe and then tear the rest.  Not only will you maintain your sanity but the frayed edges of the fabric when it is torn adds character.  The action of tearing can also lets your frustrations out (if you might be having some at the time).

All ready to go!

Once the tearing is done, refill your drink and sit down comfortably and start tying the strips of drop clothe onto the wire ring making sure to squeeze all the strips together to get a nice bushy look (you want to avoid seeing the wire).

All done!  
All nice and bushy.  The sunshine was dancing through the stained glass panel when I took this picture and I decided to keep it!

Then when you are finished you can either admire its simplicity and hang it up as it is,

add a ribbon, or

Even with little effort the wreath looks great.  A different coloured ribbon can also do the trick when you want seasonal change!

as I do, add seasonal elements that inspire you.

I found these little pears in my stash.  I couldn't find my little apples  for my Fall look and in September I'm not ready to go with the bold Autumn colours so I opted for softer colours, for now, and I will probably add more elements as the Fall seasons progresses.

I drilled holes in the pears to be able to string them with wire.

Using wire makes removing them easier.  I avoid gluing on my wreath because I want to be able to change it as I wish and I don't want to ruin it with globes of dried glue.

I decided to add bits of Hydrangea from my garden.

I really like the frayed edges on the fabric resulting from the tearing!

The hydrangea was simply tucked into the fabric.  My wreath is pretty much protected from wind and rain so I don't really fuss and worry about things wilting or flying off.

Voilà!  My Pre-Fall look.  The softer colours still remind me that there's a little bit of summer left!

To break the monotony of winter I replaced the pears and hydrangeas with pastel colored eggs.

I love the soft colors!

Let me know how yours turned out!