Adventures in Burlap

I have been itching to make a burlap wreath for a while (did you get that?).  Fall is the perfect time of year to finally make one. Burlap screams fall to me...don't ya think?  After searching all over Pinterest I found a great tutorial here at Sunny Simple Life.  I just love the double layer of ribbon!!  Realizing I could change out the sprigy things and the flower for Christmas and Valentines crap, I went with the red chevron burlap for the second ribbon.  Here is my wreath in all its glory:

Cute huh?!  And here is the close up...cause you just have to have a close up. (Random thought, when there is a reflection in the picture do you ever squint and look closer to see the photographer?  I always want to see if they have a cuter phone case than mine or if they are uber practical and have an Otterbox. You can tell a lot from a person by their phone. You can't see my phone case in this one but I guarantee you...it is cute).

Now that you have looked it over, pinned it and goggled at how cute it is, go out and make one of your own.  To copy my wreath exactly you will need: 

1-12 inch wire wreath frame

*30-35 feet of burlap ribbon (my plain burlap was 4 inches wide)

*30-35 feet of chevron or another printed burlap ribbon (my red chevron was 2 1/2 inches wide)

Optional thinner burlap ribbon to weave through at the very end (found in the scrapbook section)

6 inch zip ties

Small safety pins

Decoratie stuff to fit your season (I used two full floral picks and the large flower is about 5 inches in diameter.)

Floral wire and floral shears if needed

All my supplies are from Hobby Lobby except the zip ties which I found at Ace.

I first laid out my burlap ribbon one on top of the other and pinned them together about every 18 inches (duh...put the pins on the back so you won't see them).  Then I just looped the burlap and zip tied it unto the wreath frame. I went inside to outside and then back again.

Make sure you keep track if how many loops you make in each section so the fullness of the wreath is consistent. Seven loops per section will make the end result very full. (I learned this the hard way...look closely at my wreath and you will see what an idiot I am). The best part? Zip ties can easily be snipped if you need to redo something!!  

When you are done, go through and make sure the zip ties are pointing towards the back and cut them.  Then poof and arrange to your hearts content.  Before I attached all the fall crap, I smushed the ribbon flat and then poofed it out after.  I am sure that makes total sense!   I just tucked that braided burlap ribbon in a random yet organized pattern when it was all done.

Don't rush me...I will post my Christmas and Valentines day ideas when we get there!!

*the tutorial I referred only had me start with 15 feet.  I just wanted mine to be more poofy and fuller than what 15 feet would allow.  Kinda sucks that the ribbon only comes in 15 or 30 foot rolls.  I just have extra now...cause I need more stuff cluttering up my craft room!

Check out the selection of printed burlap ribbon at Hobby Lobby! Gaaaawwwwggg so cute!