Step By Step Guide To Make A Christmas Wreath
A Christmas wreath adorning your front door is a wonderful way to make your home feel instantly more festive and cheerful. There’s also nothing quite as special as making your own Christmas wreath to reflect your personal style. Larry Walshe, celebrity London florist and founder of Bloom, shares his step-by-step guide to making your own.
Larry says: “Nothing makes a statement quite like a fresh, full and abundant wreath adorning your front door in the cold winter. Pick a style which best represents your home, values, preferred colour palette, the neighbourhood, and the level of impact you’re looking for. The most important thing is to have fun playing with textures and scents. And if in doubt, our simple rule of thumb is the bigger, the better.”
DIY Wreath Essentials
Firstly, check the width of your front door to ensure your wreath is the perfect size – about 13” to 16” is usually more than ample to create a fabulous impact without getting in the way of the function of the door.
Once you know the size of wreath you’ll be making, you will need a moss ring, a good pair of scissors or secateurs, twine and floristry wires. These can be found in most garden centres.
Consider Your Scheme
For a luxurious wreath, it’s best to work tonally – different textures of the same colour work well to add depth and interest whilst ensuring the overall look is tasteful and sophisticated.
For a bolder wreath, consider complementary colour schemes; choosing opposing hues from a colour wheel will create a little more impact. Think sumptuous golds with deep blues or timeless red and green with woodland inspired browns and balanced with snow inspired whites for an effortless, natural look.
Consider whether you want to add any other design elements such as baubles. These can create a strong burst of colour and impact – perfect if you want your wreath to really make a statement. If you’re after continuity with your festive decorations, opt for baubles that match the decorations on your tree, but if you’re after something a bit more individual, there’s nothing stopping you from incorporating a rainbow of different coloured baubles in your wreath.
Similarly, if you have any broken Christmas tree decorations, you can love them once again by adding them to your wreath design for a really personal touch.
Foliage Base and Scent
There is nothing finer than a fresh wreath – fragrant Nordmann Fir Spruce is a popular base for most wreaths. Combine this with Berried Ivy, Conifer and Berried Eucalyptus to help conjure the spirit of the season every time you walk through your door.
Dried ingredients are wonderfully textural and can work to enhance a scheme which is both style savvy and creative. Dried fruits are a firm favourite for good reason; the colour and the scent add a real punch. Similarly, bundles of cinnamon or bunches of dried lavender are wonderful scented additions. Remember – you’re designing with your eyes and your nose.
If you’re lucky enough to live near a woodland or green space, spend some time foraging for natural items to include. Anything native to your home environment not only makes for a wonderfully unique design, but working with the local flora and fauna will result in an even more meaningful wreath – think pinecones, branches with lichen, feathers, and red berries.
And let your creativity flow – if you love the texture of an ingredient but it’s not going to work with your colour scheme, why not paint it?
Get Started
Start by adding the fresh spruce or base foliage to the moss ring – if you have a glass door or plan to hang your wreath in the window, make sure to dress the back of your wreath too to ensure no glimpses of an unsightly moss ring.
Then..
Then take small bunches of the remaining foliage and larger dried ingredients and secure to the moss ring using twine.
Finally!
The final step is to add the smaller dried ingredients or decorative elements using the wire before placing it directly through the foliage and moss ring and out the other side. Then bend and return the wire back through to hide the ends. Continue until your wreath is complete.
Finishing Touches
It’s Christmas, so don’t be shy about making a statement with the finishing touches. Adding a large bow is a lovely way to finish your design – you can either match it to the colours in the wreath or choose a complementary, opposing colour for a bigger impact.
If you don’t have any sustainable ribbon or you prefer a more understated design, opt for a classic wreath sans ribbon and let all your wonderful, natural ingredients do the talking.
Fresh Appeal
Make sure to lightly spritz your wreath every 2-3 days with an atomiser of fresh water to keep the fresh elements looking luscious.
Not Just For Christmas
If you’ve loved the creative process and the way your artwork looks on the door, it’s worth remembering that a wreath is not just for Christmas… You can impress visitors and neighbours throughout the year with seasonal variations. Think tulips or peonies in spring, sunflowers in summer, hydrangeas and dried leaves in autumn. You can also theme your wreaths with annual events such as Easter or Halloween. The options are endless!
For more information on Bloom, Larry Walshe, or to buy your own Christmas Wreath or DIY Kit please visit: www.bybloom.co.uk
Audrey Patterson
Having started my career at My Weekly on Real Life stories, for the past 8 years I have been Beauty and Fashion Editor. I also write Travel and Homes features, plus the odd book review. We’re a flexible team! I also write features for Your Best Ever Christmas covering a variety of topics.
