Fall Moss Covered Wreath - Tutorial

Hi Everyone!  This post is going to be very photo heavy! 

Today I'd like to share with you a Fall moss covered wreath that I made just like one I found recently on Pinterest.  Do you know about Pinterest?  My evil friend Kim (wink, wink) sent me a Pinterest invitation back over the summer and now it's become a nightly addiction.  :)  I'm a huge fan of the social sharing site and pin all sorts of craft ideas, recipes, etc for future reference.  If you already have a Pinterest account, share your link with me so I can follow you.  Don't have an account yet?  Let me know in the comments section and I'll send you an invitation...just remember that I warned you about it's addictive nature.  LOL  :)

The way Pinterest works is that it will automatically link you back to the original source/blog/website that the item was found on.  But somehow this photo seemed to have no "owner".  I even did a Google search trying to find the original creator/source but had no luck.  So, if you happen to know whom I should credit for my inspiration please let me know.

I had hoped that if I found the original creator they would have shared either where they purchased the wreath or a tutorial on how to make it.  But like I said, I could not find the original creator/source.  So since I was going to give it a try and make my own, I thought I would create a photo tutorial and share with you how I made mine.  :)  Everything you need can be found at your local craft store and/or dollar store.

You will Need:
*  A 16" styrofoam wreath
*  3 bags of Spanish Moss
*  A hot glue gun and LOTS of glue sticks
* 1/2 yard of Burlap
*  3-5 small craft pumpkins

I used a roll of kraft paper to cover my table, it really helped with clean up since this project is a bit messy.
Remember, you can click on any photo for a larger view.

Step 1

The moss is in tight bundles when you remove it from the packaging.














Gently pull each bundle apart into long strands.
















Step 2

Now you will begin gluing the moss onto the styrofoam ring.  (You will not be covering the back) Working in small sections apply generous amounts glue to the ring and press the moss onto the glue.  (Be careful not to burn yourself...I used the low temp setting on my glue gun.)

Here you can see the front complete.

And the back...since this will be hanging from the door you won't see that the back isn't covered.  My front door is glass and I was nervous that it might look strange, but you can't even tell.  Not applying the moss to the back also allows the wreath to lay level against the door.  I suppose you could cover the entire ring but it isn't necessary and it would require more moss.



Step 3 

Next you will create a hemmed edge on the burlap.

To create the bow, I cut a 5" wide strip down the entire length of the yard of fabric. Since I don't sew, I laid a bead of glue down and folded the burlap over to create a hem on both sides.  Work in small sections.

Here you can see that it creates a nice finished edge.

You will repeat this same step when creating the swag that wraps around the wreath for hanging.  I created a 3" wide strip for my swag.









This is what my bow looked like when I attempted to skip Step 3.  NOT the look I was going for and the more I worked with it the more it unraveled and frayed.  DON'T SKIP STEP 3.  :) LOL







Step 4

Now you will create the bow.  My bow was made by forming 4-5" loops and then cinching them together with floral wire.


















Step 5

To create the knot in the bow I cut a small strip of burlap and hemmed the edges once again.  The width is approx. 1 1/4 ".


  

Here you can see better how I created the center knot in the bow.
I tightly wrapped the strip around to the back of the bow and secured it using straight pins.  I then cut the excess and used my hot glue gun to adhere it to the bow.

Your bow is now complete.  I decided to keep the tails on my bow straight since they were just the length I wanted and didn't want to shorten them by creating an angled cut.

Step 6

I have a 9 foot tall front door, so I measured how long I wanted my swag to be based on where I wanted my wreath to hang on the door.  Mine is approx. 1 1/2 foot in length.  Cutting off any excess I hot glued the ends together and attached my bow with straight pins and hot glue.











Step 7

Now it's time to decorate!!  The pumpkins I used were fall picks found in the floral dept. of my craft store.  Keeping the floral wire attached to the pumpkins I removed the other items.  The pumpkins are simply stuck into the styrofoam ring with the floral wire.  No glue was necessary to secure them to the wreath.

Note: I found it easier to decorate the wreath while it was hanging rather than do it while it was laying down.

Step 8

Waalaa!!
Now your finished!!
Go hang your wreath!!  :)
































And since this is post already has a ton of pictures I decided that a few more wouldn't hurt.  :)  We decorated this weekend for Halloween and I thought you'd all like a little peek at the spooktacular job the kids and I did.

 

This is our front entry way.  

Dead flowers were added added to the vase on the table along with 

wooden pumpkins and spiders webs to the family photos.

Our staircase was decorated with Martha Stewart mice silhouettes (I've used the same ones for the last 4 years and they still look great)  Small pumpkins and votive candles were added to every other step.

I love these little mice!!  :)  

And the kids squeal when they go up the stairs thinking 

they are going to have their little toes nibbled.  LOL  :)

We even have a little graveyard with gargoyles and a giant spider web suspended between the two palm trees with fishing line.  I can't get a good picture at night but there is orange rope lighting all along the retaining wall, lit spooky eyes in al the bushes and a fog machine.   

Thanks so much for stopping by today and I hope you enjoyed the tutorial.