Flower and twig door wreath tutorial

Another tutorial treat today - again from my boy's knights and dragons party but easily adaptable for any occasion.  Here's how to make a wreath in a relatively short space of time that will be a great welcome and talking point for your guests.

To start you will need a twig wreath frame. You cna often pick these up in home and gift shops or you can make one like I did.

To make a wreath base: use a pre bought metal hoop (or you can make one from a coat hanger) as a base. Using fresh birch twigs (fresh so they bend) wind them round the hoop. Keep adding twigs until you are happy with the result.

If you want to add a welcome notice now is the time to print your message on paper or card. I chose an old english font to welcome our brave knight guests and warn them of the dragons they might find inside!

I then wiped a cold used tea bag over the paper to age it. Using a lit candle (in a secure candleholder) I held the paper over the flame to create scorch marks. You don't need to hold the paper very close to the flame, about 20cm up should be fine. I then dipped the edges of the paper in and out of the flame to create a jagged effect.  Please be very careful doing this. You don't need to hold the paper in the flame very long - a couple of seconds should be fine. Then blow out the flame each time.

Next you'll need some testubes - easily picked up of ebay. Using thin reel wire twist a long stretch of wire round the top of the tube (just under the rim) until it holds the tube tight.

  

Now put some reel wire through your welcome notice and suspend it across the wreath.

Then wire your testubes into the wreath. You can wedge some of the tubes into the frame to give them extra support but as long as the wire is secure they are lightweight so shouldn't come off.

Attach you wreath to the door. I used a ribbon to tie the wreath to the door knocker.

To add extra interest and a bit of drama I fill my testubes with coloured water. I used a syringe to do this so it didn't go everywhere.

Next add your flowers.  A single bloom or a couple in each test tube should be fine. I went for bright orange and yellow roses along with some red tulips to give a fiery look.

And here is the result!