Adventures in Christmas Wreath Making

Two Saturdays ago I went with two friends to Deck The Halls, an annual fundraiser for Hilliard House. You can read all about Hilliard House and this fabulous event here.

We got to the farm where the event was being held a little later than we had originally planned because that morning my friend Katie and I had been canning applesauce. This was only my second time canning and the process is still a little slow going. Anyway...

Once we got there we dove right in by getting our wreath forms and choosing our greens. The event was super organized and there were areas for each type of green, wreath accessories, bows, etc. We found ourselves a table and began crafting. Let me tell you it was really overwhelming. Where does a non crafty person begin with a pile of greenery and a metal circle?! Bit by bit is the answer. I didn't really have a "vision" but I slowly started attaching little bits. Here is what the start of my wreath looked like. Puny right?

Here are some pictures of the girls working on their wreaths:

This special creation has a story to go with it. Check out my friend Dory's blog over at The Doyle Dispatch for the low down on this:

Here we are with our finished products!

And here is my little wreath hanging on my front door. Its a little wonky, but not too bad for my first attempt. I wanted to go with the natural Christmas look, which is why I chose the pinecones and burlap bow. 

After our adventure here are some lessons we learned for next year:

1. Bring a folding camp chair. Standing over a table for several hours gets a little tiring.
2. Get there at the beginning so you can create all day. It takes longer than you think to make one thing and if you want more than one (you can make as much as you can carry) then you need a lot of time.
3. Bring a tote bag to easily get your creations home.
4. Go to Homemades by Suzanne in Ashland for lunch first because it is amazing. We were so sad we didn't think to do that this time around!