A Tale of Two Wreaths

Disclaimer: I am impatient and can't find my camera. So all pics are from my phone.

Happy New Year! I hope that the new year has found you healthy, happy, and well taken care of by Santa! I had a wonderful holiday season, followed up by a wonderful returning of my kids to school:) I'm kidding!!!! (not really)

Uncharacteristically I remained fairly non-crafty over Christmas. Of course I added to my decorations, and did some small crafts, but I'd be a shameful crafter if I counted throwing up strands of garland with some fake poinsettias in my crafting portfolio:) Don't get me wrong, it was gorgeous and I loved all 23 strands (in the end, maybe 25ish??), and it makes for a big impact. I just wasn't actually crafting much.

After Chrismtas, we went through the "blahs" of Christmas de-decoration. Even the hubs commented that he "hated" this time of year. After all the prettiness comes down and we are left with a house that just seems "meh" ("barren" I believed he said) in comparison to our Holiday Blowout. I scoured my craft shelves and found some mish-mash that kinda went together in a semi theme...maybe. Very stable decorating scheme eh? I found "natural" and "earthy" elements. Perhaps, it's because we have HAD LITTLE TO NO SNOW and all I see is natural, earthy BROWNNESS all around me INSTEAD OF PRISTINE SNOWY WHITE GOODNESS!!! I digress.

Enter in Pinterest!I found ALL KINDS of winter decoration goodness! Cheap, quick, easy (no comments, other Savvy Sister!!). Can't beat it! But I was really struck by 2 pics of wreaths. I thought they were so pretty, and so winter...without being so wintery blah. And just like that I got some craft mojo back! Here are my Pinspiration pics:

LOVE!!!

I will be the first to admit I was not jumping onto the yarn wreath train. They are cute, but they just didn't strike me as "me". However when I saw this pic, I was hooked. Other than the bumpiness that reminds me of a mummy's bandaged arm, I love the style. It says "cozy" to me, as in "get a cup of hot chocolate, snuggle under a warm fluffy comforter, in your fleece jammy pants, with warm fuzzy socks, and a big thick hoodie" kinda cozy. And so I set off to Pat Catans.

And so I came home with this and proceeded to get my craft on:

First I wrapped the larger form (that I discovered in my craft space AFTER I went to the craft store...along with foam balls that I found in my space, as well as some Christmas bulbs that I already owned, a glittery floral pic that I already owned, and pine cones and cinnamon sticks that I already owned....see a theme emerging?? CHECK YOUR STASH BEFORE YOU SPEND YOUR CASH, KIDS!)...anyway, I wrapped a form in the ribbon. Then I wrapped the second form in yarn. Not hard. Just time consuming. I watched my beloved Steelers play while I crafted. (between watchin' my boys, and workin' my craft, the hubs was super duper and made dinner and kept the kids outta my hair:))

Then I sorted out my supplies into 2 different wreath piles, and proceeded to wrap many a ball in yarn, twine and more yarn.

First wreath was the cozy wreath. Wrapped balls, pine cones, cinnamon sticks.

Doesn't it just say "get a cup of hot chocolate, snuggle under a warm fluffy comforter...." Yes?No? I think so! I also tied in the mish mash scheme with the pine cone cloche, and wicker balls that started it all. LOVE!!!!

Notice the cute little wreath stand. Now that is something I did NOT have before my shopping trip. But it was 2.50 at Pat C's. 2.50!!!! Niiiiice! Only complaint is that when it's screwed in tightly, it leans a little bit. Again, not being known for my patience, and not wanting to return it and wait a whole other day (the HORROR), I just leveled it with a Lego under the base. Thank you to my son for leaving them on the floor and providing just the thing I needed. NEVER again will I thank him for leaving Lego's on the floor.

However, being the worry-mom that I am, I kept having visions of my two romping kids getting an eye stuck on the metal hook (gross!) So the next day I went to the store and found a suitable solution. I put a wine cork on the hook...corks are trendy...it works, right?...don't tell me it doesn't, I'm not having scary visions anymore!

By the time I started on the 2nd wreath assembly, I was anxious with the Steelers' performance, tired, and had a full happy belly. So I bailed on the full circle design and just went 1/2 way around. I used some wrapped balls, pine cones, glitter balls, and glitter floral. I think this wreath also says Winter, but in an entirely different way. Maybe it's the glitter??? Will I do the rest of the wreath? Probably not. I loved the color of the ribbon, and this way you get to see it:)

And so, thanks to some pieces I scrounged up from the basement that inadvertently inspired me, an influx of stuff that I didn't know I already had, and some new cuteness, I perked up my "meh" house to a "maybe it's OK to be in the middle of winter" house.