Here's a new 2016 Elf Wreath tutorial that we put together this weekend. Love the whimsical elf embellishments kits from Craig Bachman.
We will have a few kits with all the supplies, but as these sell out, we will still leave the tutorial up since you can select different products and still follow the basic instructions.
11/11/16 Note: The kits containing all the supplies are all sold out and no more will be available but some of the individual items are still in stock and/or substitutes can be made.
Supplies:
XC9876 Elf Striped Hat and Legs
XX748837 Lime 24" Work Wreath
XB98710-16 10" White Silver Fabric Mesh Roll - 2 rolls
RG0120033 2.5" Giant Lime White Polka Dot Ribbon
X525909-09 1.5" Faux Burlap Lime Red White Ribbon (sold out, no more coming in)
X433640-12 2.5" Two-Sided Red Emerald Felt Ribbon
RG198234 2.5" Red Lime Green Checked Ribbon
A 24" work wreath was used for this project. You could use a work wreath or a pencil wreath and you could use a different color. Our 24" wreaths actually measure 15" across the widest ring. With the addition of mesh and other products, you wind up with a finished wreath of 24" or larger.
Cut your mesh. The mesh we used is a new product for this. It's a combination of polypropylene, jute and polyester. This combination really gives the mesh more of a fabric feel versus plastic. It didn't seem to ravel as much, even though all mesh products do ravel. The fabric mesh is 10" in width and 10 yards to a roll. We use a 24" x 36" self healing Omnigrid cutting mat on our table (available at Amazon).
Cut the 10" mesh into 10" lengths.
You can cut your mesh with a rotary cutter (available at Amazon) like we used, or scissors. Any way you cut mesh, it will still ravel. We cut
two layers at a time to speed things up.
The "curly" technique was used. Let the cut piece of mesh roll up into it's natural position.
Roll the curl a little tighter, with about 1.5" diameter.
Pinch the curl in the center.
Take a cluster of three curls and attach in a twist. We started on the outside, but it doesn't matter if you start on the outside or inside, just your preference.
Secure the cluster in a twist by giving the twist a couple of turns. Continue to work around the outer ring adding a cluster of three curls to each twist. Then move to the inner ring and continue adding clusters.
Our next step was to cut ribbon strips. It's always a good idea to test your ribbon length before you start cutting up your ribbon. We chose four different Christmas ribbons for this project. You can choose other colors, other sizes. We used three 2.5" ribbons and one 1.5"
We cut our ribbons 12" in length after our 12" test strip looked okay. To attach a ribbon strip you just pinch it in the center, open up a twist, lay the ribbon strip down (face up) and re-secure. If this is the last layer of items you are adding to your wreath, you can give the twist 3-4 turns now.
Ribbons can be added to your wreath in many different ways. You can use as little or as much ribbon as you like. We chose a pattern of using two ribbons together and placed them in every other twist. Then we went back with the other two ribbons and filled in the remaining twist. But this is just an option.
Before we added our ribbons, we did a chevron cut to the ends. You can do this, or just angle the ends, just whichever way you prefer. To do a chevron cut, fold your 12" piece of ribbon in half, then fold again lengthwise, cut on the fold edge away from you to make the chevron finish.
The most import thing about adding ribbon strips is to open up the twist, make sure the curls stay in place, and lay your ribbon cluster down on top of the curls. Then re-secure the twist.
After the ribbons have been placed, you can position the elf hat and legs. The material on the hat and legs STICK to the mesh, so handle it gently. We had to clip it free a few times with the scissors)) It helps to hang the wreath up the decide on positioning of the hat and legs.
The hat has wires in the back so that you can attach it to your wreath. Just find your placement and slip the wires to the back so you can wire the hat to the wreath form. You may have to do this from the back side. Try not to lay your wreath face down too much or you will really flatten out your ribbons.
You can position the legs from the back of the wreath, or for this wreath, we put them in the center of the wreath and then secured from the back. The legs and the hat both have wire so that you can shape them.
After your wreath is completed, fluff out your ribbons and clip any strings. It's helpful to clip strings versus pull them. Stand back and look at your wreath and if you need to add more ribbon, just keep adding until you are happy with it)))
You can make a hanger for the wreath by putting a couple of zip ties or chenille stems together as a hanger. Don't forget to check the back for any sharp edges that might scratch your door.
The wreath measured about 25" in width, not counting the hat or the legs.
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