Making a simple Easter or spring wreath should not cost very much, and can be completed in a hour or so.
This project was one that I had enough props and ribbon for two, so I gave one away and sold the other.
For this wreath you will need:
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a grapevine or willow wreath as a base
(the grapevine will be dark brown, and the willow will be very light-colored)
a glue gun with glue sticks
at least two colors of suitable ribbon
a twig birds nest
two birds of felt, feather, or other materials
possibly a stapler
Many of the above items you could find at a nearby dollar store. I have small willow wreath shapes in a dollar store, which was an absolute steal. Many times ribbon that was intended for wrapping gifts is also suitable for craft work. And they almost always have silk flowers in assorted colors.
I am pretty sure I found the little twig nest and birds at the local chain garden n craft store. Many times the local craft supply shops run specials on seasonal decorations, so you might find a little cardinal or warbler on sale which you can stash away until March or April.
Traditionally the birds or nest would have been applied to the wreath with wire or wood picks -- a pointed wooden stick with a length of wire attached.
But now almost everybody uses the hot glue gun for a wide range of craft work.
The ribbon is applied first. Take two colors of ribbon and spiral-wrap them around the wreath in opposite directions, so that they cross each other. (see photo) They should end at the top or bottom -- whichever spot that you plan to place the large bow. You may pin the ends of the ribbon in place to check how it looks.
The bow is separate! This creates the most satisfactory results. But we will save that part of the job for last.
Temporarily place the nest and birds as you want to be. Play with the placement while you can, until you arrive at a pleasing final arrangement.
OK, now you have wrapped the ribbon as you wish, with the ends pinned. Take your glue gun and carefully apply glue to the ends of the ribbon and affix them in place. This is a key tip now: do not glue your fingers or hands!
Next affix the nest a little off-center near the bottom edge of the wreath. I say off-center because you may wish to place it closer to the mama bird.
The birds come next. Notice where exactly the back of the birds makes contact with the wreath surfaces, and place a gob of glue there.
The bow is made separately, as I said. Now sit down with your ribbon and either by hand or with one of those inexpensive bow-maker gadgets, create your bow. The secret of making a good bow is to not make it so large that it overwhelms the item to which it will be affixed.
Here I had two colors of ribbon that I thought looked well together. The one ribbon was narrower than the other. I laid one ribbon on top of the other so that the wider ribbon showed on either side of the narrow ribbon, and I kept them together as I made the loops of the bow. This is a bit tricky so if you have to use some waste ribbon on practice bows, go ahead and do that first.
Allow plenty of extra ribbon to extend from the end of the bow; you can use these to tie it onto the wreath, although you will clip the ends and use other pieces of ribbon to make the long decorative ends.
If not using a bow-maker, you can stabilize all the layers of ribbon in the bow with a stapler. To hide the staple, you make a little curl of ribbon inside the smallest loop, and place the staple inside the loop.
Cut separate lengths of ribbon, layer them as you did with the bow, and attach to the bottom of the bow's plastic base, if using the bow-maker gadget. If you are not using a bow-maker, attach the long pieces to the bottom of the bow with a stapler.
You can now glue the bow onto the wreath, or tie it on with the ends of the ribbon which I advised you to leave as long as possible. Obviously if you did not leave enough ribbon to tie it on, you will have to resort to the glue gun yet again. This shows the importance of reading through the directions before you start, hey?
So if the craftsy gods have favored you today, you now have a serviceable spring wreath that you can hang on the front door or in the living room or wherever you wish.
Alternative decorations for the wreath include little plastic or real eggshells that are hung from lengths of ribbon so that the egg is within the inner circle of the wreath. This usually takes from two to five such eggs, at different lengths, for a pleasing result.
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