Now that summer is upon us and my landscaping is in full bloom, I thought it was time to swap out my spring wreath for a new summer version. I didn’t necessarily have to, but I thought the turquoise clashed a bit with the flowers in my bed.
When I wrote the original fullest and fluffiest wreath ever tutorial, I promised that it would be a cinch to change it out for the seasons. Well, here’s my proof. I went from the wreath on the left to the wreath on the right in about 15 minutes (including photo taking time).
Easy peasy!
If you’ve already made one of the best wreath’s ever, it’s easy to make it into a new work of art. You should begin by taking the original off your door and removing all of the colored florals, the center ornament and the ribbon. Leave all of the greenery and the filler as is.
Next, figure out what you want your center ornament to be. If you are doing a letter, you can repaint it to have a new look. I’ve been obsessing over garden gnomes this summer, so I knew I wanted one to use on a wreath. I found one at Garden Ridge and drilled a hole through both sides of his hat so that I could run a piece of hemp twine in it. I placed him on my wreath so I could work around him with my florals.
For the record, my 6 year old son has named him Werewolf Catherine. I have no idea…
Back to the wreath. I had a piece of moss from a tree that I wanted to add into the wreath, so I went ahead and placed it near the gnome’s feet. I also tucked in some white filler flowers around the wreath. As I always do, I cut the pieces off of stems of fake florals from Hobby Lobby and just shove them into the grapevine. They hold just fine.
I decided to go red, white and yellow for this wreath, so I added back in some of the yellow florals I had taken out of the original wreath. I added them all the way around.
I found some little red flowers in my stash and added them sparingly around. I didn’t want to go overboard with the bright red since the gnome himself is in muted colors.
To attach Werewolf Catherine the gnome to the wreath, I pushed the twine through the grapevine underneath the hanger ribbon. I tied it in a few knots and cut off the ends of the twine.
Per usual, once I hung the wreath on the door and stepped back to the street, I realized that there wasn’t enough “stuff” on it. I added in some more red flowers on branchy things and bunched some yellow stems right at his feet. I like to concentrate a color on the bottom right of the wreath for some reason. I guess that’s just where my eye is drawn.
In just a few minutes, my front door got a complete makeover. Now my little gnome friend is going to protect my front flower beds from weeds. At least, that’s what I told him to do. Let’s see if he holds up his end of the bargin.
Have you made an interchangeable wreath yet? Do you believe me that it really is that easy?
Don’t miss my other related tutorials – How to Create the Fullest, Fluffiest Wreath Ever and How I Hang Wreaths on My Front Door
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I love it!!! I have to share this with my mom; she absolutely adores gnomes!
Thanks! I think gnomes are so fun. I found some gnome salt and pepper shakers and I love them. http://www.amazon.com/Garden-Gnome-Salt-Pepper-Shakers/dp/B004QD0LEM I don’t actually use them for their intended purpose, but they do sit by my stove.
oh, heck yes! this is the solution i’ve been looking for-i’ve always loved your initial wreath, and other things with monograms, but not being married to the boyfriend means we don’t share the same initial. who knew a garden gnome was the answer?!?!
Yay! There are any number of fun things you could hang in the center of the wreath. Just make sure it’s not too heavy and it’s a bit taller than the opening in the center of the wreath so it doesn’t knock on the door when the wind blows. 🙂
I love the gnome! I have a smaller version of your guy stuck in a terrarium. I recently made my own wreath and marveled at how easy it was but I hadn’t thought about changing it out for the seasons. This for the idea!
Putting one in a terrarium sounds darling!
Love Werewolf Catherine the gnome, he’s adorable! However, I don’t think he’ll be able to take that spade to the weeds unless he’s willing to work without his hat since it’s tied to the wreath.
LOL! I hope that little hat comes off his head. 🙂
OOOHHHH! I never knew I had a thing for gnomes! AND I just discovered that there is a Garden Ridge near me! Double score! Love it! I’m working on a 4th of July wreath and I hope to have this bad boy done soon!
Garden Ridge is SO hit or miss. I can usually find one fun thing among 1 million scary things. HA! Have you ever been to one?
I’ve never been to Garden Ridge! I just googled it because I love your gnome…usually gnomes are like clowns…pretty creepy! LOL! I’m excited to check it out though… 🙂 I’ll report back as to how it goes!
That is just too cute! (I’m Pinning it, btw.) There’s a garden gnome circulating in our neighborhood — the kids don’t know it, but he moves to the house where they’re due to play on the weekends, as a sort of reminder to the parents there that it’s their turn to watch the throng. So I think I’d have to put something besides a gnome in our wreath since I’m kind of tired of watching 17+ kids all at the same time!
Darling wreath. So creative. Love the gnome.
OK: I would like to invite you to participate in our linky party: http://www.finecraftguild.com/party/
Would love to share this and see more of your work over time.
I love this! My sister collects little knomes and has them interspersed here and there throughout her yard…I will have to share this with her! 🙂