More DIY Christmas!

I decided I wanted to make a wreath without buying much to do it. I have never made a wreath before, but I knew I needed to buy a wreath ring to work on. I perused our local Goodwill and found this little number. It was only $2 (purple tags were half off!), so it was a great find.

This is what I was left with after I ripped all the fabric and bells off. A good solid foundation for making a wreath. 

I used twine I already had and a hot glue gun to wrap the entire wreath ring. I wanted to do something simple and natural. 

 Once the twine was completed, I needed some pops of color. I found these cardinals at the dollar store.

I attached one of the cardinals to the bottom inside of the wreath with the hot glue gun.

Still wanting to add a little more, I wrapped a small piece of green ribbon in the middle of the wreath at the top, while at the same time attaching one of the snowflake decorations my Memere had handmade.

Here it is, the completed wreath. It's simple and natural, and all made for about five dollars. 

Keeping with the DIY theme, Joe and I decided to make our Christmas tree. We started out at Home Depot with the idea of buying a potted tree, but there was only one left and it wasn't looking too good. After perusing the Christmas aisle, Joe came up with the idea of making our own out of garland (the kind that looks tree-ish) and a board for a base by hanging it from the ceiling. 

We bought a piece of inexpensive wood and I wrapped it in aluminum foil. We decided we wanted a 7-foot "tree", so we measured out 4 pieces at about 16 feet in length and folded the pieces in half, giving us 8 points to attach to the base. We measured longer than what we needed to account for any mistakes and the fact the the pieces attached to the corners would need to be longer than the ones attached to the sides. 

We folded the 4 pieces in half and attached them inside the star with a large twisty-tie. A hook screwed into the ceiling is what we used to suspend the star with a string of red ribbon. Once attached to the star, we used a heavy-duty stapler to attach the ends of the garland to the base: one in each corner and one on each side. 

To give the "tree" some support, Joe bent two wire hangers into circles, wrapped them in garland and attached them within the "tree". This helped to distribute the weight when we strung the lights around it.

And here it is! Our first Christmas tree in our new home!

This was a good learning project for the both of us. We both work very differently and don't quite always understand what the other person is trying to do or say when we're making something together. I've noticed this about our creative work habits: Joe gets an idea, buys his supplies, dives right in and makes adjustments as he goes. I think, plan, think, plan, etc. until I feel ready, buy my supplies and get to work. I admire Joe for diving into things that he may not have experience in; I tend to stick with what I know I can do or at least, things that are close to what I know.