Some of you may see this and think "been there, done that."  In the blogging world, we see no shortage of wreaths made out of just about anything these days!  Does that mean the joy should be sucked out of me making my own?  As I always say, "No way José!"  I wanted to give another wreath a go - after all, circles are such a pleasant shape, aren't they?  I'm finding we have more and more rounded edges around the house, and I have to say I like it!

Here's the story with this wreath: The more I see other bloggers putting up their tutorials, the more I see materials I do not seem to have/want to pay for.  The foam wreath structures are, as far as I'm concerned, a bit pricey at places like Michaels.  $12?  Really?  That just did not sit right with me.  After all, the goal is to make beautiful things at the lowest possible price, and $12 competes too aggressively with pre-made wreaths I have seen at Home Sense lately for around $15.  If I'm going to spend money, I'd rather not also spend time and if time is to be spent, well the cost best be low, right?  So here is what I used:

• One of the 7-8 embroidery hoops I got a few weeks back for $2.25 at Goodwill.  (No, I do not do any embroidery - I bought them with wreath daydreams in mind!)

• An unattractive old book I purchased this weekend for $3.  Never judge a book by its cover, right?  The pages were beautifully aged with rich copper tones at the edges AND there were some illustrations.  Perfection!

• My trusty glue gun!

In the spirit of my usual candidness and honesty, I have to say this:  I HAD NO IDEA WHAT I WAS DOING!  Further honesty?  This is true in the beginning stages of most of my favourite artsy projects.  I just have a vision and I go with it... no instructions, no rules. What is now the front of this wreath originally started out as the back, so you can see in one of the pictures below that I had the leaves on the bottom, embroidery hoop sitting on top.  I still knew nothing about this wreath at that stage, obviously!

In the end, I am absolutely enamored with this wreath.  It's up on our wall leading to the second floor for now, but I have bigger plans for this little project!  Stay tuned...P.S. anyone catch some of the funny illustrations in the wreath? My favourites are the skeleton and the chickens!

Linking up at these awesome places plus Cheerios and Lattes, The 36th Avenue, The Shabby Creek Cottage, House of Hepworths, WhipperBerry, Savvy Southern Style, Centsational Girl, The Nester and My Repurposed Life and The CSI Project..This post was featured!!    .