Sensory Wreath Make-over

There's nothing quite like the first weekend in December! The Elves have returned, the Christmas Tree is up and the house suddenly feels so much more magical - the children are even being lovely to one another. It's fabulous! We have grown our collection of decorations since we were first married, so pulling them out of the box feels a bit like greeting old friends. We have reminders of our first home together, of the kids' first christmases and things that have been made at school or posted on this blog.  So they may not be colour co-ordinated and perfect looking (I even let the kids decorate the tree this year without rearranging anything!) but they each hold lovely memories and are part of our family history. There was just one thing I wanted to change this year - our wreath. The products used for this wreath makeover were kindly supplied by John Lewis. Affiliate links are included.


I didn't have the time (or inclination) to go to a wreath workshop (which I notice are becoming 'a thing' around here) so I did a bit of online ordering and spent a happy hour at home with a Christmas playlist in the background instead. 

 

My aim was to introduce more sensory aspects to our new wreath - not just some colour but also light, sound, fragrance and texture. To start with I found a simple Premium Wreath (above) and removed the large plastic fir cones. I gathered a selection of objects for the makeover, (including some metallic twine) but there's only so much space on a wreath and my initial plans were a bit ambitious, so I have enough left over for additional projects too. If I have the time there'll be a new garland later this week. 


I started by adding some red berries for colour, and scented ornament sticks for fragrance (I overdid these a bit by using two, broken in half and dotted around. One stick would have been sufficient, actually).  It was easy enough to attach all of these onto the wreath without any glue, simply by tucking them into the backing. 



To introduce sound, I found a lovely Highland Myths Cow Bell - it's not heavy and it just the right size for the central hole. I shortened the rope and hung it over the (adjustable) red wreath hook, rather than attaching it directly to the wreath. 


Frosted fir cones were then added for their lovely natural texture and shape. I used a hot glue gun to attach these as the irregular shape needed to be stuck onto several pieces of foliage to stay in place. 


The children fell in love with this adorable dog decoration, and although it's not the same colour as our Schnauzer (who is now black and silver), I couldn't resist adding him with some hot glue too.  


Finally, I added some LED lights. These are the indoor lights with a battery pack (which I wrapped in a bag and stuck to the back of the wreath, which is fine as I'm using this in a covered porch (if they were out in the elements, I would have had to find an alternative). 


Above you can see how it looks with the lights on. Below you'll see how it looks on the front door in daylight. I'm really please with how it turned out. The scent - if still a little overpowering - was a nice addition and I love the lights. The bell makes a satisfying noise when the door closes, too. Decorating the wreath was a lovely start to a memorable weekend - the first of a Christmas where the eldest child knows ALL about the real magic behind the festivities and is happily joining in to make it very special for his sister.


If you'd like to try a makeover of your own, you'll find lots of wreaths and decorations and the John Lewis Christmas Shop on their website, and in store. For some more ways to bring festive joy into your life this week, try my previous free Christmas patterns from the archive: Secret Surprise Santa and  Star Motif or Snowman Christmas Decoration and Googly Santa (published on Black Sheep Wools). 

Post a Comment

The blog is on an extended break (you can read about it in the latest post) - due to the high volume of spam, commenting will be closed for all posts at the end of 2017. Thank you!

Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

The free patterns and tutorials on this site are provided for unlimited personal use. You may print a copy of a pattern or keep a digital copy for personal use only. Please feel free to share links to the relevant posts but do not reproduce or sell any of these patterns (either digitally or in print). If you would like to use any of my images, please get in touch!

Yarn sellers: Please do not print patterns/tutorials to distribute with yarn sales, as this is an infringement of copyright.




Latest Instagrams

© Crafts from the Cwtch. Design by Fearne.