DIY Evergreen Wreath for the Christmas Holiday

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Making a Homemade Evergreen Christmas Wreath

Several years ago, I attended a wreath making class with my mom and sister. We spent the evening at one of our favorite local greenhouses, laughing as we fumbled our way through making holiday wreaths with evergreen boughs. The greenhouse provided all the supplies that we needed from berry sprigs to bows and everything in between. It was such a fun evening for all of us. 

The following year, I found another local greenhouse that was selling bundles of evergreen branches, so we loaded up several bundles and attempted our own wreath making evening at home. It's become a fun tradition and one that I'm happy to share with you.

Gathering Wreath Supplies

The first step to making a wreath is gathering supplies. It only takes a handful of different items for a wreath and depending on the options chosen, this can be a fairly inexpensive project.

Supplies:  

• Evergreen cuttings
• Wire wreath form
• Floral wire
• Wire trimmers
• Hand pruners
• Decorations (optional) - a bow, dried orange slices, ornaments, pinecones, etc.
• Hot gluegun/gluesticks (optional)

Evergreen cuttings - These can be foraged from the backyard or purchased from a local greenhouse or florist. If harvesting your own, I'd suggesting cutting branches from either the underside of the tree or an angle that you won't normally view. 

Wire wreath forms - The size of the wreath form will determine the size of the wreath. You can find a variety of shapes and sizes at craft stores, but I've also seen inexpensive options at my nearby Dollar Tree store. 

Floral wire - The wire is essentially the glue of the wreath, holding everything together. They are labeled by the gauge or thickness of the wire. The bigger the number, the thinner the wire. For a wreath, the most popular wire gauges are 20 to 24 but really anything will work as long as you can easily bend it. A thicker wire will be more difficult to maneuver.

Wire trimmers - These are a great tool to have in the toolbox but a pair of old scissors will do in a pinch. 

Hand pruners - I like to keep my trusty pair of pruners handy for clipping the evergreens into smaller branches for bundling.

Decorations - This is the fun part. Gather the items you want to decorate your wreath. A big bow, ornaments, berry sprigs, pinecones, dried orange slices.. The possibilities are endless and can be as elaborate or simple as you wish.

Hook or Wreath Hanger - This will provide somewhere to hang the wreath when finished

Making the Wreath

Once the supplies are together, the first thing I do is clip the large branches into smaller sprigs of greenery that will more easily fit on a wreath form. They can be as big or as small as you want. I usually keep my sprigs anywhere from five to eight inches long depending on the size of my wreath and the variety of branches I have to choose from. 

After I've prepped my greenery, it's time to get the frame ready. I take my paddle wire and attach the free end of the wire to the wrath frame by weaving it in and out of one section of the wreath and pulling the paddle so the wire is tight. 

Leaving the wire attached to the paddle, I set the paddle aside and gather the sprigs of evergreens into bundles of three to four. I place them on the wreath frame and wrap the wire around both the frame and the bundles a few times securing the branches to frame. 

You want to be careful to pull the wire tight enough so that the branches won't fall off but not so tight that you break the wire (it happens). The branches will naturally shrink with time, loosening the hold of the wire so it's important to get it tight so the wreath won't fall apart later. 

I continue to do this all the way around the wreath form, leaving the wire as one continuous piece, until I make it back to where I started, tucking the final bundle in under the first one. Then I wrap the wire around a few times making sure it's secure and clip the end of the wire. I'll weave the tail end of the wire in and out of the back of the frame as an added bit of security. 

Decorating & Hanging the Wreath

When it's time to decorate the wreath, it can be as fanciful or modest as you wish. I prefer a more simple wreath, but I appreciate the adornments of one with more elaborate decoration. Wire or hot glue can be used to attach the decorations so long as they are securely in place. 

Once the wreath decorated, it's time for display. I like to use the over the door wreath hangers but a hook or a nail will also work depending on the location. You can use extra wire to attach a loop to the back of the frame if needed. 

A fresh evergreen wreath will last for weeks to months outside. A little mist with water ever week or so will keep it fresher longer. At the end of the season, you can disassemble the wreath and keep the wire frame for another time. 

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!

I hope you enjoy making a wreath of your own. Gather a few friends or family members, forage your backyards, and spend an evening celebrating together. That's truly what makes the Christmas season so special. 

Merry making and happy growing!

~Nicole