Grace & Favor – A Life Worth Living

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

My Pumpkin Wreath

This beautiful wreath I found on the web last week struck me as perfection.  Seeing it and making it were two different things.  I'd love to say I live in a rose colored craft/decorating world where everything is a triumph in perfection but I am here to tell you that my world does not work that way.  

OK, enough for the disclaimer... back to my project.  First of all this is not an inexpensive project, four bags of mini pumpkins were twenty dollars, add in a wreath, five yards of ribbon, a bag of spanish moss and I think I was up to about $35.  If I were to do it again I would certainly consider faux pumpkins but considering this project takes approximately 40 pumpkins I'm not sure that would be an inexpensive way to go either.  I guess the positive would be at least you could use it more than one year.



The instructions say to use a heavy gauge wire and poke it through the flesh of the pumpkin.  Unless you have a awl which was recommended this is pretty much impossible.  I decided to use wood skewers and a glue gun.  This method did work well, I used a screw to make a hole in the bottom of the pumpkin and then put a three inch piece of wood skewer in, I put some hot glue around the pumpkin and then stuck it into the wreath.  This really did work well and I think it was a better way to go than trying to wire the pumpkins.

On the most beauteous wreath they used sheet moss to fill in the voids in the wreath.  I decided to use Spanish moss instead to give it a more rustic look.  I like the way mine came out but I think the most beauteous wreath looks better with sheet moss and that is what I would recommend if you decide to take on this project.

I decided not to hang this from my door.  I can't tell you just how heavy this thing is but I would say that at least fifteen pounds would not be an exaggeration. I decided to use a wreath holder that I have that has a weighted bottom to hold up to fifty pounds.  If I had decided to use the door to hang the wreath I'm afraid it would have possibly damaged the door or worse yet hurt someones foot that walked through the door as the wreath came down.
 



This is very striking from the street, my front door stands back from the side of the garage so unless you are nearly right in front of our house its hard to see what is on the door, this wreath with it's size and color really does look nice. I'll change out the ribbon to a autumn color after Halloween and the second bonus is our high school colors are orange and black so this time of year anything orange and black serves two purposes.  This should last me until its time to put up a Christmas wreath.

14 comments:

Chari at Happy To Design said...

Hello Char...

I was just coming over to say thank you for stopping by and taking a peek at my Cinderella sweater pumpkins! Ohhh...I'm so glad that I came by! My friend, your pumpkin wreath is simply fabulous! I think it may be my favorite wreath that I've seen this autumn season!!! It does sound like it was a bit of work but the payoff is certainly worth it! It really is very GRAND and I bet it does look awesome from the road! Thank you so much for sharing your beautiful pumpkin wreath with us and the great tutorial too! Ohhh...I really do love this!!!

Thank you again, for stopping by for a visit! I really enjoyed your sweet note, my friend!

Warmest autumn wishes,
Chari @Happy To Design

Tricia said...

Char, this is incredible! The wreath sounds like a LOT of work, but yours turned out beautifully. Thanks for providing all the how-to details!

Paula@SweetPea said...

I love it!! Your version is fabulous!! I'll bet that yours will last for a long time with the cool temperatures that you have in your area.

alissa {33shadesofgreen} said...

Your wreath looks just beautiful Char! I think it turned out great. I think I'll try to look for faux pumpkins on sale this year so that I can make this for next year.

southerninspiration said...

It looks fabulous! Maybe with faux pumpkins it wouldn't be so heavy! But you did good, my friend.
And thanks for the wonderful comments about my new grandbaby! It truly is something to see your child a new parent!
I'll be sending you a little prize for being closest to the birth date! :D
Suzanne

Michelle said...

Oh it looks fantastic! I love your version and think it looks very good on the wreath holder. You are so talented, my dear friend!

Savannah Granny said...

This is soooo beautiful. I know you are glad it is finished. I find that those magazine projects are always so expensive. I think all the contributors are Martha Stewart wannabees. Thanks for sharing. I IS beautiful. Ginger

sheila from life @ #17 said...

You did a good job! and I think the spanish moss works perfectly with the pumpkins...you can make me one next year...and I'll need to borrow the stand too [VGG]...oh, I like that dark brown door :)

Sarah AKA The Thriftress said...

I know it was hard work but the wreath is very beautiful! Thanks for sharing the "real" story behind it.
Sarah

Kelly J/Hunters Hill said...

I am really diggin' that black door !!

Johanna Gehrlein said...

Hello Char,
thank you for your visit and your nice comment. So I came to visit you and I am amazed what a beautiful wreath you made. I can imagine the weight of that wreath but I think, real pumpkins look much prettier than faux ones. It amazes me that they are all exactly the same size. If you have space enough in the garden you can save some seeds from such a mini pumpkin and saw them in the spring. So you will have always new little pumpkins at the right time. The wreath is realy adorable. Thank you for the tutorial.
Greetings, Johanna

Cathy said...

Looks great Char!

very merry vintage style said...

Well it turned out must stunning--it is quite pretty the black ribbon with the pumpkin gold. Thanks for stopping by my blog and your nice comments!

Sherry @ No Minimalist Here said...

Hi Char, Your wreath is absolutely fantastic! Love it! I was going to suggest planting the seeds for next year but I see Johanna beat me to it.
xoxo, Sherry