My tree is lined with these fabulously HUGE magnolia trees. They produce these lush, green leaves that are hearty enough to have a nice life off the tree. I don't actually have one of these beauties in front of my house (we might be the only house not to), but I have a super sweet neighbor who let me come and cut some clippings. Before that, I noticed the city was tripping some of the trees on one of our nearby streets, and so I grabbed a few before they got chipped. I have been putting them everywhere. Branches in vases are great, but my favorite product of these "Free" leaves are the wreaths that I've been making.
I tried it out on a whim, because I had so many leaves left over from putting them in vases, so I thought that maybe I could make a wreath. I searched pinterest and found a lot that had some great suggestions, but all involved way more effort and leaves then I was willing to put put forth. I really wanted this to be a quick and unintimidating (is that a word?) project that anyone could do.
Last week, mine that I made during the superbowl last month was starting to look a little sad. It was turning brown and yellow, but in many ways, still had a little bit of charm. I might be weird like that. It was a beautiful day and I had a few minutes, so I thought it was time for a tutorial. I even made one of those cool instastories as I was working (did you watch?).
But first, you will need:
You will need a wreath form, some magnolia leaves, and some tiny pins with a tiny little head. You can probably find these at your local craft supply store.
My wreath form was leftover from a balloon wreath that I made for Ethan's soccer party last fall and it was already wrapped with some green ribbon. You can wrap yours, you don't have to. You can't really see the wreath because the leaves kind of curl around it. That part, is completely up to you.
When I was talking my leavves off the branches, I wanted to let you know that I used mostly the two middle sized leaves for this project. The big ones are great, but the take up a lot of space. If you are using a larger wreath form, then that might be a great option. I used the tiny ones to fill in as I went.
Grab a pin and a leaf and start pinning a leaf somewhere. Stem side down.
Pin it close to the stem and towards the part that will be hidden. You are going to cover the stems with the next layer of leaves.
Add the second leaf, stems facing downward, and make a v shape with the leaves. That way, they are sticking out.
Keep on pinning those leaves on.
Keep on pinning. . .
As you get closer, carefully tuck the rest of the leaves under the first ones you pinned.
Ta-Da! You have a Mulberry Leaf Tree (and my cute shoes)!
And then hang in on your door.
Easy Peazy!
Have a great weekend!
No comments:
Post a Comment
I love hearing your comments and feedback. . . It makes my day!!!