January Vine Wreath Tutorial

 Hello everyone!

With all my Christmas decor taken down, things looked a little sparse. So I decided to use the Grapevine and Virginia Creeper vine in my yard to create a festive January wreath out of natural materials. I also have quite the craft stash to design my Ren Faire costume pieces for Cosplay! I used the following materials to make my wreath:

• Silk floral 
• Dehydrated berries
• Dehydrated floral - Eucalyptus, Pussy Willow
  
• Dried Hydrangeas (from my garden)
  
• Glue Gun
  

I wanted to keep the winter theme so I decided to stay with different shades of green, white, brown, taupe, and cream. Using natural elements from my yard made this project inexpensive and I'm sure if you use materials from your yard or local park you could create something gorgeous as well! Of course, if you don't have access to vines, feel free to stop by any craft store and buy a pre-made vine wreath but for this tutorial I'm going to show you how to make it from scratch!

Step one: Gather a handful of vines and make a loose sphere. (The great thing about Virginia Creeper is it is so supple, you do not need any floral wire to hold it together.) Start weaving it by twisting the vines around each other. Gather loose vine tendrils and weave in between vine strands or snip off. 

Once you have a basic circle shape, you can use a loose vine to wrap around the bundle of vines, creating structure. I also like to create a hook at the top of my wreath using a loose vine that I fashion into a loop and secure to the base. Once this is done, I generally let the vines dry out for 24 to 48 hours before adding foliage with a glue gun. 

You can use whatever type of foliage that fits the look you are going for. I decided on eucalyptus and pussy willow because I wanted to have this January wreath carry into spring. (In February, I plan to add dried pink roses, carnations, and chrysanthemum from a super market bouquet.) Some ideas for a January wreath are:boxwood, pine, pine cones, lambs ear, eucalyptus, hydrangea, any evergreens from your yard or surrounding winter landscape. 

I like to mix and match dried floral with silk floral so I tend to use both in my wreaths. I decided against ribbon this time, opting for just foliage. For a more detailed look at how I whip up wreaths for decorating my home, please see the tutorial below.

 

Thanks for checking out my corner of creation!

                                                                                                                                    All the Best!

                                                                                                                                        Marissa