A Transitional Wreath

By Kate Riley November 8, 2009

I’m completely over Halloween, however I’m still loving the all of the autumn hues.  I’m not quite ready to say goodbye to the warm spice colors of fall, yet I confess I’m definitely getting in the mood for Christmas.  I find myself in a flux, and somewhat in transition.  

It feels wrong to cheat Thanksgiving and jump right into Christmas. Here in America, Thanksgiving deserves its place in the spotlight.  The history, the traditions, the family gatherings, the feast !  Thanksgiving is so heartfelt, so family focused, and so patriotic. 

But I can’t help but be influenced by the beauty of Christmas that is everywhere, especially in magazines and in retail stores.  After all, Christmas is my absolute favorite time of year.  I object to the holiday’s decor coming out in September – that is ridiculous.  However, I do enjoy the glimpse of sparkle of the Christmas season, even in early November.   

When I spied a crimson wreath in the Crate and Barrel holiday catalog, I wanted to make my own version, just not with crimson colors.  Rather, I wanted a wreath in green tones that I could confidently display in November, but also one that would also carry me through until mid December.  So I came up with my own version of a transitional wreath.  Acceptable for November, yet festive enough for December. 

hydrangea wreath with bow

This hydrangea wreath was extremely easy to make.  And mine (hush hush) was less expensive than the Crate + Barrel crimson version

Hey Crate + Barrel, remember this.  Imitation is the best form of flattery.

comparison

green wreath on door 

All of my supplies were found at Michael’s.  I used an 18” wire wreath, ten hydrangea blooms on sale, two eucalyptus blooms on sale, a whimsical fall butterfly, some ribbon, wire cutters, and some floral wire.

wreath supplies

First, cut your hydrangea blooms with your wire cutters, then use your floral wire to secure them to your wire wreath.

floral wire

Then, clip the leaves and use them to hide any bare spots in your wreath.  Weave them through the wires to camouflage any visible wire.   Secure with more floral wire. 

weave leaves through back

In my case, I inserted some lifelike silver drop eucalyptus for additional texture.

eucalyptus

Then I also added the fall butterfly in the autumn colors for a nod to November.

fall butterfly 2

It blends well with the embellished candle globes suspended on the front porch, and still leftover from our Halloween decor.

butterflies on globes

 

Even the fall garland coordinates with the new wreath.

blends with garland

After Thanksgiving, I think I’ll remove the butterfly, and enhance with some glass ornaments.

hydrangea wreath with bow

This transitional wreath still reminds me of fall, but also welcomes the winter holiday season. 

wreath glow

C+B’s version costs $60 dollars plus shipping.  Mine was $45.00 dollars. 

combo comparison

What about you?  Do you have the same dilemma this time of year ?  Are you itching to decorate for Christmas or Hanukkah ?  Or are you far more patient than me, simply ignoring the Christmas holiday until after Thanksgiving ?

33 comments

  1. That turned out great!
    No, I’m not waiting until after Thanksgiving to decorate for Christmas, but that’s because dinner is at my MIL’s house!
    Will you be making a button for the ornament party? I usually like a button so I don’t forget! Just curious.

  2. I like the wreath (dare I say, better than C&B!). Very full, anyone would assume you purchased it.
    I saw Christmas decorations at IKEA well before Halloween! Autumn is my favorite time of year for home decor (and fashion), but it feels like they’ve shrunk the season down to three weeks by talking about Christmas so early. Everyone needs to go back to not even mentioning Christmas until the day after Thanksgiving.

  3. I agree, yours is much prettier than the CB one! I love the colors! I too, hate the way Thanksgiving takes a back seat to the Christmas decorations…I’ll be sad to put the lovely fall decorations away, but I love how you are going to make this wreath do some multitasking!

  4. Beautiful! I keep my fall decor till December and then switch to winter decor on Dec 1st, not a day sooner. But with a wreath like that, all needed to be done is to switch the details…Pretty cool…

  5. Your wreath is fantastic — not only does it look better than the one from C&B, but (dare I say it) more expensive too! And I love the simple color scheme.

  6. I love it…I have been trying to decide what to do about my front door now that the Halloween decor is down…and I totally agree that Thanksgiving needs to be recognized….but with all the leaves down…the world is looking more wintry then fallish…great colors! I think a Michaels trip may be in store for this week! Thanks for the great idea!

  7. I love this! I actually have a hydrange wreath that I want to redo… now I know how I am going to do it it! I am filing this idea away thecraftersfilebox.blogspot.com.

    Thanks so much for sharing!

  8. The fall colors are beautiful. I love them. Your posting about beautiful colors and I’m posting about scents-how cool is that.

  9. Kate, I hate to totally copy someone, but I think I have to make that EXACT wreath…. I LOVE it…. simply gorgeous. I love seeing all you do and would love for you to go check my blog…. Sewing is my passion, and I just posted my 3 year old’s Christmas set made with fabric covered with vintage Christmas!!!!

  10. I like that wreath a lot. I am so tempted to start decorating for Christmas! We are going out of town for Thanksgiving so I at least want to put my tree up before I leave so that when we come back it will be all ready for us!

  11. love the green – will work even long after Christmas. Yes, this time of year I’m already into Christmas. Comes from being a retail display designer. We had to have Christmas displayed by Nov 1 every year. One year I decorated a total of 26 trees!

  12. I’m having more trouble holding off the Christmas decor this year, probably because this is my first Christmas as a blogger, and I’m seeing so many great ideas! Love your wreath, it make me want to take down my huge monogram from the front door and copy YOU! :)

  13. I tried, Kate, with a few things that I recently made and I just can’t do it yet! I’m planning to start on Thanksgiving, though. Love your wreath and I do love hydrangeas. I think this was a good way to pay homage to Autumn and Thanksgiving ~ nice transitional piece.

  14. Just found your site here and love everything I’ve seen so far…much more to see as I look around, but did want to comment on this wreath! Sooooooooo pretty!! Thanks for all that you share!

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