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Photo Credit: Megan Bame

Hang your fall wreath on your front door to help welcome guests to your harvest home.

Fall has arrived – but does your home reflect it? One trip to the stores and you’ll see there’s no shortage of décor options – sandwiched squarely between Halloween plastics and Christmas glitter. But instead of looking to the shelves for ceramic, mass-produced renderings of all things autumn and Thanksgiving, perhaps you’ll consider making a themed wreath from scratch.

It’s actually easy to do – just head out into your yard for a few natural decorations, pick up a few supplies at your local craft store and put it all together for one beautiful fall wreath. What a great way to open the door to a new season, as well as welcome all who come to visit.

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Photo Credit: Megan Bame

Gather your supplies and lay them out on a table.

Materials:
Straw wreath
U-shaped floral pins
Floral wire
Floral picks or wooden skewers
Decorative ribbon
Hot glue gun
Natural wreath adornments of your choice (I used dried flowers, Indian corn, miniature gourds, magnolia leaves and seedpods – even feathers.)

Place the straw wreath on a flat surface, like a table. (You may want to cover the table first with an old tablecloth for easy cleanup.) Spread out your supplies and play around with how they could be arranged on the wreath, trying different decorations in different locations until you get the look you’re going for. (I started with dried flowers arranged around the wreath to ensure the colors flowed in a complementary fashion. You may want to leave part of the straw wreath exposed since it lends itself to the seasonal design scheme, or you can cover it entirely – the choice is yours.) Next, attach your dried flower stems using the “U”-shaped floral pins.

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Photo Credit: Megan Bame

Arrange your decorations in different locations around the wreath form to discover which design looks best.

Work around the wreath so the pins are covered by overlapping stems.

Now attach the heavier objects – like the Indian corn and gourds – with floral wire and floral picks. I tied the dried corn to my wreath by wrapping the floral wire inconspicuously around the corn and the wreath itself. I used one end of the floral pick to puncture through the flesh of the gourd, while I punched the other end into the wreath. (You may also need wire to hold the gourds in place.) Test the wreath’s weight by carefully lifting it into a vertical position, making sure the gourds and corn are secure before moving onto the next step.