Having a festive wreath hanging on your door is really welcoming to come home to. This moss based wreath is super simple to make. The beauty of it is that you can make it your own. Use foliage you can get hold of easily. Maybe you have some you can use growing in your garden. Maybe you know somewhere you have permission to go foraging. Even if you end up buying your foliage, it is amazing to have your own creation hanging on your front door to welcome you home on these cold winter days.
You will need:
A wire wreath base. Size here is completely up to you. Mine is a 12″ wreath base.
Florist wire. Buy it by the spool, rather than the cut lengths. Colour again is completely up to you. You are not likely to see it in amongst the foliage when you are done.
Sphagnum moss. This is a great base, and will keep your foliage hydrated during the festive season. Just remember to keep it damp.
Foliage. You can choose what you can find or what you have to hand. Spruce and other firs work well. as do holly. Maybe find some mistletoe to add in amongst other foliage.
Decorations. Dried orange slices, cinnamon sticks and pine cones are classic decorations.
Start by creating a moss base for your Wreath
Twist your wire around the wreath frame to secure it. You only need a few twists. Just enough to anchor the wire.
Grab a handful of miss and place it next to the anchored wire. Wrap the wire tightly around the moss and frame. Grab another handful and place it next to the first. Wrap the wire around to secure it. Keep going until your wreath frame is full of moss.
Go around your wreath again, wrapping the wire tightly to tidy up your moss. If there are any areas that are a bit thin, add a bit more moss as you go.
Add some foliage
Keeping your wire attached, start layering your spruce, holly and mistletoe on top of the moss. How you position them is completely up to you, but I would recommend working backwards so that you work towards the cut end of the foliage, away from the prettier ends. When you are happy with how your foliage looks, cut your wire, stuffing the sharp end into the moss. Don’t be afraid to take it back a bit and adjust things until it looks right.
At this point it is a good idea to have a think about which will be the top. If you’d like to add a hanging loop, cut a length of wire, fold it in half, twisting it to create a loop. Fold the twisted end through the wire frame and twist again to secure it. You can also hand the centre of the wreath onto a wreath hanger or large hook. Once you have decided which is the top, adding the decorations will be easier.
Add Decorations to your Wreath
Add orange slices, cinnamon and pine cones as you like. To secure these, cut a long length of wire, wrap it around the cinnamon stick, around base of the pine cone, or gently pushed into the centre of the orange slices. You might want to group these. Odd numbers generally look better than even numbers. Have a play and see what looks good on your wreath. When you are happy with their placement. Wrap the wire around the wreath and twist together at the back. Tuck the ends of the wire into the moss to hide them.
Add a Bow
To add the bow, divide your ribbon roughly into 3, holding the 1 third and 2 third points. These points will form the top of your bow loops. Slide your hands down slightly to create “ears”.
Fold one ear over the other. put one hand through the loop at the bottom. grab the top ear, and gently pull it through the loop.
Rearrange your bow so that the front of the ribbon is visible, and the loops and tails are the right size for your wreath. Trim them as necessary.
Cut a length of wire and thread it through the back loop of your bow. Wrap this around your wreath when you would like the bow to go, twisting it at the back to secure it in place. Tuck in the ends of the wire.
Congratulations. You have made a festive wreath!
Make sure you keep the moss damp to prolong the life of your wreath. Enjoy.
