Looking around my stash of junk for inspiration the other day, I was thinking of ways to decorate an early spring wreath. I wanted something “farmhouse” looking, which to me, means something neutral and simple. I wasn’t “feeling” the usual… I’m completely over grapevine, tired of boxwood, don’t have enough patience to form a book page or music sheet wreath, and don’t really like the traditional spring flower wreaths. Those require storage when the season ends and I have No.Storage. None. I’m not into removing and adding season appropriate embellishments either, which also need to be stored….or worse, thrown out so that I can buy new next season. ugh. Any storage space I had (had being the operative word here) is long gone. My attic is stuffed, my workbench is overflowing, I’m getting close to being invited to star in the next episode of “Hoarder.” And I don’t like the idea of spending money to buy new faux flowers every time I need to update a wreath. I’m cheap frugal.

I don’t know what led me to think of beads. I’m having a temporary lust for all things wood beads. I say temporary because I’m fickle and have the attention span of a gnat. So there’s that. Plus I’ve discovered that in the world of blogging, it’s all about the next post. I barely have time to enjoy hitting the publish button on a post before my brain goes into, “next post frenzy.” So I was also trying to come up  with some creative wreath ideas. To feed the blogging machine. I’m trying to slow down and take my own advice, after all, this blog is for YOU, I want it to come naturally, even if it’s not published routinely, and filled with good, easy to make projects. I want to inspire creativity and love of the home you are in. Without spending ginormous amounts of money. As I was saying… I don’t know what led me to think about beads and wreaths.

It was late at night, during one of my insomnia periods. I got up, restless, and wandered through the house.  I noticed the golden light from the streetlamp  in front of the house bathing my dining room centerpiece in a soft glow. OK, it wasn’t quite that poetic. It was dark, the light came in through the top of the window. I noticed my bead centerpiece. BUT a light went on in my brain. EEGADS! I CAN MAKE A BEAD WREATH! YESSSS!!! Or some variation of those words tumbling around in my sleep deprived mind. I eventually went back to bed… after catching up on episodes of “This is Us” and drinking a glass of water…. and letting the dogs out. If you suffer from insomnia I know you’re with me.

The bead wreath idea stuck with me however, so of course the next morning I googled “bead wreath.” Nothing. I browsed a few sites, Amazon, Joannes, Hobby Lobby. Nada. The idea was burning my brain……who needs Hobby Lobby when you are a hoarder saver of neat stuff??  I went to the garage in search of wire to make my own. Don’t ask me why I save wire, I can’t tell you. But I do. I had a length of wire already coiled hanging above the bench. I grabbed my wire cutters, a pair of needle nosed pliers and began to create my “wreath.”

You will need:

Wire, thick and sturdy enough to form a circle, and hold the shape, but thin enough to be strung through the holes of your wood beads. If you aren’t a wire hoarder (bet you become one after reading this), Home Depot, Lowes, any hardware store will have a variety.

Wood beads of your choice, I used ½ inch. I just removed some from the garland I recently made.

The a fore mentioned needle nose pliers and wire cutters

There isn’t really much to this. Using your wire cutters, cut a length of wire approximately 2 inches longer than the diameter of your wreath. I eyeballed mine. If you’ve followed me for awhile you already know how I feel about measuring. So eyeball it and cut. Use your needle nosed pliers to form a little loop at one end. This will keep your beads from falling off and provide an anchor for the finished loop. String your beads. This literally took less than 5 minutes. I’m serious. I finished it during one commercial break of Fixer Upper. I ended up with a wreath about 13 inches in diameter. But you can make yours larger or smaller. I would imagine that you would need stiff wire for a larger one though….so that it maintains its shape. Mine does droop a bit, and isn’t perfectly round, but the wire is soft enough that it takes to shaping easily. I also noticed as I was stringing the beads that my wire had a plastic coating on it. It was easy to pull and cut off but I wish I had noticed it before I started. Oh well.

Your finished wreath should look something like this 

When you get to within about an inch of the end of the wire, run it through the loop you previously made on the other end, take your pliers and make a second loop closing the wreath. Shape it if necessary. Now you can add a bow. Use whatever you have. I had some decorative jute so I used that. I didn’t do anything fancy. Just tied two short lengths to the loops which also hid those quite nicely. (Bonus! when you can hide the ugly parts.)  I’m thinking ribbon would be a nice touch, or cloth torn into strips. Add whatever embellishments you want. I wanted mine to have a sort of farmhouse feel so I went with the jute. You could achieve the same look with plain jute twine as well. I do realize that calling this a wreath is a bit of a stretch. But it’s round. It has beads! I’m calling it a wreath. Whatever.

Your bead wreath could also be embellished with ivy or similar faux garland, or even a flower or two,  but keep it simple, the focus is the beads. I hope you give this a try. It’s different. It adds texture and interest. Happy early spring people!! And as I always say, Create the home you see in your heart.

Create your sanctuary, no matter where you live.

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