Gorgeous Rustic Wreath

I only keep my eye on a few blogs that I truly love or am inspired by.  In my daily reading...OK skimming.... I came across a tutorial for a twig wreath (I initially found it featured on Someday Crafts, but I always go to the original site).  I thought this was a gorgeous idea, and since I now have an outside door (did I mention I love my townhouse), I was thrilled to make such this beautiful door decor.

I love wreaths.  I think they belong on your door all year round, and since fall is creeping into our lives, this twig wreath is perfect!  With, of course, minor alterations.

First I didn't have any cereal boxes, only an empty oatmeal box-but a breakfast food nonetheless.  After reading about Kristine's wreath and how the twine gavestability I decided to cut out 2 discs and glue them together.  Yeah, I have glue-3 types now! 

So here are my maple and brown sugar discs, already to go.  I used a paper towel roll (with some paper towel on it) to measure the inside circle.  I used my exacto knife to cut the inside out.

I went to Wal Mart (don't all hiss at once) today, with this specific project in mind.  Needless to say I didn't find any acceptable twine.  A lot of Halloween/fall decorations, no twine.  So after some humming and hawing I decided I would go with rafia to cover my disc (there wasn't much else).  It has a natural/rustic feel and I love it because I can use it on other projects! Yay!  I worked around the disc with hot glue on one side and wrapped the rafia tight around the disc.  This was more time consuming than I anticipated.  I liked using the rafia since it lay flat, alleviating bulk that twine might have.  And yes, ladies and gentlemen I sustained the first glue gun injury of the season.  It's a mere scratch (tiny burn about the size of a staple) on my left index finger).

Here are my sticks!  Tyler & I went on a walk today, again for specifically for this project!  Luckily there is no shortage of nature around our house.  We went to the elementary school just behind our complex and searched.  I ended up with quite a bag-ful (another project anyone?).  I tried to get various sizes which turned out really good.  It found it helpful to have some really skinny ones (which I thought would be useless).  Once I chopped them to a similar length (with new pruning shears) I quartered my wreath with a longish stick pointing north, south, east and west.  Then I turned those 4ths into 8ths using thicker twigs.  When a thick twig wouldn't fit, I would glue down one or two skinny twigs to fill in the space.

I braided three stands of the rafia to create a loop/hanger for the wreath.  I tied a double knot and glued the knot to the back of the disc and trimmed off the edges.  The great things is that if I ever want to change the hanger to a ribbon or something more festive it's super easy to cut and I won't feel guilty about it!

Our front door JUST got re-painted literally 2 weeks ago, and I was afraid that my gorgeous new creation would scratch up my newly painted door. Solution?  Felt backing.  Initially I thought I could lay the felt down behind all the twigs (thinking the twigs would be so close together that you wouldn't be able to see the felt-whoops!)  Anywho, I figured if the disk was pushed out from the door the branches were less likely to scratch!  I was right!  It's not perfect, but it keeps the majority of the branches from brushing up against the door.

TA DA!  Isn't it pretty.  Different than the original and uniquely mine.  Tyler was surprised with the end result.  When I told him I was making a twig wreath he envisioned me weaving some sticks together....apparently he thinks I craft in the 18th century?!?!  He said it will make a good conversation piece when guests arrive.  He was also happy to have something from nature/our neighbourhood as part of our home.  And I am too.  Only problem is my wreath holder is in the Christmas tree box, in the crawl space, all taped up.  Might be headed back to Wal-Mart so I can show this baby off soon!  PS: this isn't my front door.  It's the door in  my basement that leads to the garage.  When I get that wreath hanger I will take some pics of this beaut on my front door and post them!

Here is my wreath on my front door.  I hope no crazy craft lovers snag it!