Do you have vacation souvenirs? If you're like me, you do. And they're in closets, just like your quilt tops, awaiting fame. This post is to encourage you to bring all your creative skills (yes, you have them) to light. Get your shells, your vintage thread spools, your driftwood, your thimbles, your spoons and anything else you collect and fashion them into a wreath.
When we lived in California I started a grassroots dried floral business from home. I would wrap the florals into picks and simply stick them into a wreath made of moss or hay. Today I'm going to show you how to make a wreath of shells.
Start with a hay wreath. Purchase excelsior or moss in either natural color or green. Other supplies are a glue gun and plenty of glue sticks, greening pins, scissors, and of course, shells. Optional are fish-netting, floral wire and a small wire cutter.
Cover the table with paper and begin your project.
First, glue a greening pin into the BACK of the wreath for hanging purposes (see below). Then, with a moderate amount of glue, start gluing the moss or excelsior to the front side. You can see in the picture, below, that I've already started the process.
I've used a full bag of moss on my 12" wreath, below. Warning: it's a messy process!
The picture is a bit fuzzy, but I wanted to show you the fishnet I'm applying next, as shown below.
I begin wrapping the fishnet around the wreath, securing with greening pins as I go. Surprisingly, a little of netting goes a long way.
Flipping over to the backside, I'm showing how I've made sure the back remains flat so it can hang against the wall when my project is finished. Use your greening pins to tuck the fishnet over the moss, keeping it at bay.
Continue to secure the fishnet...
...until all moss is contained and the wreath is uniformly covered.
If you haven't done so, clean your shells of salt and sand. Allow them to dry before attaching to your wreath.
Audition the larger pieces for use as focal 'weights'. They will balance your wreath no matter what varieties of shells you put in-between them. You can see I've used large sand dollars, a large piece of driftwood and a good-sized star fish as my 'weights', and I'm starting to fill in with smaller shells. All I am using is glue, even though I suggested wire. If I had a very big, heavy shell, I probably would have wired it. Glue seemed to work fine here. Gravity over time may loosen some pieces, but get the glue gun out and make some minor repairs.
Voila! Your wreath is done. The best part is your memories aren't just in your mind or in a box in your closet. They're out on a table or hung in a special place, giving cheer and cause to remember...often.
I hope you exercise the creative skills I know you quilters have, and make a wreath of your memories soon!
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