Valentine's Day, whether you celebrate or not, is a perfect time to add a well needed pop of colour into winter's dreary palette. Living in Vancouver, our winter days go one of two ways - grey and wet, or snowy and wet. So come February, I'm in need of some colour in my life. The pink and red hues of Valentine's Day are the perfect accents to brighten things up!
I've been thinking about Valentine's Day decorations and wreaths for the past few weeks. I wanted something that fit the decor of my home - I'm more of a traditional/modern style - that wasn't too shabby chic. I came across a style of burlap wreaths (here is an example) that uses looped burlap to create textured heart or circle forms. I knew I liked the texture, but didn't want to use burlap, so decided to adapt and try the same method, but with ribbon instead, for a more structured look. I love it! The wreath loops still look soft, but have more of a clean modern look than the burlap versions.
If you are looking for a fast, inexpensive Valentine's Day decor item, this wreath is for you. The whole project was relatively cheap, under $10.00! I purchased the wired heart shaped wreath form from the dollar store and the rest of the items were from the craft store. If you are able to go soon, or plan ahead for next year, you can purchase wired red ribbon in the after Christmas sales bins. I was able to get this giant roll discounted to $2.99, a steal!
I have tried to include step-by-step pictures of the loop wreath making process below, to help with the descriptions.
I hope you enjoy a small hint of colour this winter, with my festive Valentine's Day Heart Wreath!
Happy Crafting,
Krista xo
Here's What You'll Need For The Wreath
1 wreath form, mine is 12" at the widest diameter
50 feet of red ribbon (mine is 2" wired - I think the wired ribbon allows the wreath to hold the loopy shape)
scissors
ribbon & tacks, to hang - you could also use a wreath holder or Command Hook (I chose a grey ribbon similar to my door colour, as I did not want it to be the focal point, I wanted it to blend in and the wreath colour to pop)
If adding an arrow,
1 wood dowel
black paint & small brush
glitter paper
hot glue gun & glue
Here's How To Make Your Wreath
Step 1:
Flip front of wreath form over to back (rounded side down) and on the left-side attach your ribbon with a small knot to the middle wire on the middle section. Trim the edges if you have any extra ribbon after tying knot. You will not see the knot once you start looping the ribbon.
Step 2
Flip wreath form over (rounded side up). The ribbon will now be on the right hand side. Move knot to the left and create a loop, pushing ribbon up about 1.5" in between the inside and middle wires. Hold bottom secure and make another loop the same size, pushing it up between the middle and outside wires, ensuring loops are the same size. It should look like the image below. Holding the loops secure with your left hand, use your right hand to twist the ribbon twice on the back side.
Slide loops upward toward divider. Then to the left of the loop set, repeat same method with 2 loops, a twist to secure, and a push up toward the divider.
Step 3
Continue this process to fill each wreath form section. I generally did 6-7 sets of loops per section. If you want a fuller wreath, you could do more.
Keep going. Your wreath should be taking shape.
The hardest part is untangling the ribbon roll one-handed as you go.
Step 4
Once your wreath loops are finished, flip wreath over to the back (front ribbon side down), give one last twist and cut the ribbon, leaving enough ribbon length to tie the end. Tie a knot with the ribbon end to one of the wires, securing the ribbons in place. Trim any extra ribbon ends.
Flip wreath to front side and move or shape ribbons around to enhance heart shape or to cover any visible wires. The Valentine's Heart Wreath should look like the image above when completed.
Step 5 (optional)
Arrow
If you are making the arrow embellishment, paint wooden dowel black with acrylic paint. While dowel is drying, cut arrow and feather shapes out of glitter paper.
Step 6
Once dowel is dry, weave one end of the dowel through the back of the wire wreath form to secure dowel in place. Trim dowel ends to desired length (this will depend on the size of your wreath form). I kept the distance on either side of the wreath even (6").
Step 7
Once dowel is secured in place, using a hot glue gun, glue glitter arrow and feathers into place.
Step 8
Measure ribbon and attach to wreath form wire (on the back of wreath). Hang wreath on door.
How To Hang A Wreath Using Ribbon
When hanging door wreaths, you want the middle of the wreath to rest at eye-level. For an average sized door that means the top of the wreath should hang 16-17" from the top of the door.
To hang a heart-shaped wreath form with ribbon, cut 2 pieces of ribbon, each 36" long. Flip wreath over to the back-side. Loop each ribbon piece through the top, outside wire on each side of the wreath form. Flip wreath to front-side. You will now have 2, 18" long pieces (see image below). Find the centre of the door and mark at the top edge. Bring both ribbons together at the top centre of the door. Fold front ribbons 1"over top of back ribbons (now your ribbon length is 17".This fold secures the ribbons into place and prevents fraying from the opening and closing of the door. Using a hammer, place ribbon fold on the top edge of the door. Nail two flat-faced thumb into the ribbon fold on the top door edge to secure. Ensure tacks are hammered in enough that the door will still close.
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