Recycling advent wreath – with a concrete finish

November 7, 2020November 7, 2020 - Tobia 2 Comments

This year I a believe we all have increased our share of online shopping. I for one am guilty of it. With the shopping comes a lot of packaging material and when I looked at the growing pile I tried to come up with a few ideas to a) decrease the pile and b) what to make with it. That resulted in my annual wreath and I am quite excited to share my recycling advent wreath with a concrete finish. Going for a different look this year.

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Bark Wreath – Natural Advent Wreath 2019

November 24, 2019November 22, 2019 - Tobia 2 Comments

Inspiration can hit you anywhere and at anytime. This years natural advent wreath is inspired by one of my autumn walks across the cemetery. It was a beautiful day, I needed to clear my head, the air was already crisp and the smell of rotten leaves drifted by. While I was listen to one of the many podcasts on my phone I was hit with this view.

I tried to remember if that tree was really a cottonwood. I remembered someone once told me that the cottonwoods are not native to Germany and Germany. And that during/after WWII US pilots dropped many seeds over Berlin to re-grow vegetation that was cut down by the population during the years of war for firewood. I was also wondering why it shed its bark. And if it is a re-grown material… how much supplies will you get. Only an idea…

Well and here we go. The squirrel in me started picking up scraps of bark and putting them in my shopping bag. I had just decided no groceries today. On top I added some hazelnuts and walked home. There I let the bag sit near a heater until advent season was just around the corner..

seeking creative life craftaliciousme Bark Wreath

My initial idea was to wrap a wreath form in bark by bending it. This didn’t really work as the bark was too porous. It kept on breaking and splitting. I briefly considered wetting it as wood usually is more agreeable to be worked with but decided against it. I actually quite liked the scale-kinda-look.

Ok, let’s get started by gathering materials:

dried bark of a cottonwood tree
wreath form
glue gun and enough glue
candles
decoration

The tutorial is rather easy.

Break bake in smaller pieces.
Make sure there are not dirty or wet areas.
Glue on wreath form, The outer bark will be put on form so you will see the inside of the bark.
Once done place the candles. I decided to go with all candles close together.
Add decoration to your liking. I went with a brown golden color theme and really liked it.

That’s all you actually have to do. The most intriguing part of this natural advent wrath is the material. Most people I asked would not figure out what it was.

What is your favorite material to make an advent wreath? As you probably know I always try to figure out some new ways and rarely use fir-branches. Leave a comment and tell me about yours. It’s never to early to plan for next year.

Happy wreath crafting

Tobia

Advent Wreath Inspiration

November 14, 2018October 20, 2019 - Tobia 2 Comments

Who else is busy thinking about this years advent wreath? I usually ponder I ideas already when most people enjoy their summer vacay at the pool. I have to be honest, this year my picture is not that clear. When I don’t know what direction to go I usually just look at my Pinterest board. Usually the first thing that I know is the color scheme of the new wreath. This might happen when I see certain candles or just some decoration that speaks to me. My moms wreath this year will be gold/brown/nude.

Following I want to share some advent wreath inspiration.

This pine needle advent wreath (tutorial) probably took the longest from all the ones I did. I love the look of it.

A minimalistic version is the French Knitted Wreath (tutorial).

A nature inspired one with the Walnut Advent Wreath (tutorial).

This wreath was created of an old favorite sweater.

A wreath made of Muffin Liners. Took a lot of glue but its hanging in my apartment for many years.

Here is an idea on how to create a moss wreath.

One of my Favourites is this Snowball Wreath (tutorial). Just never leave it burning unattended.

Door wreath made of Pine Needles.

What’s your favorite? Let me know in the comments.

Happy inspiration,

Tobia

Pine Needle Wreath – Advent Wreath 2017

November 19, 2017October 12, 2019 - Tobia 10 Comments

Hey there,

Writing my advent wreath posts is the sole reason this blog exists. Yes, pretty sure it is true. This year I want to share a Pine Needle Wreath with you. Not a regular pine wreath but one made of needles.

You may wonder what the difference is? Oh there is one! Mainly time. But lets start from the beginning!

Remember my post about the Pine Needle Star? Ever since than I had the idea in my mind that those needles are meant for more. I knew I wanted to do something with them when they were still green and fresh and looked vibrant. Then I came across this idea on Pinterest. I was thinking about doing that but of course I didn’t get around.

Some things need time. So I thought about it a bit more. And then it hit me – somewhere, sometime. Use the single needles and glue them to a wreath form.

OK, so tutorial this year is pretty simple and all you need is:

♥ wreath form, preferably wrapped green
♥ glue gun
♥ pine needles, I used black pine needles but you could use other that are bit longer
♥ time, lots of time and a bit more time oh and don’t forget patience

1. I started out wrapping my wreath form with a white paper because I lacked fabric.

If I could redo it I would use a dark green fabric. As the wreath will be see through at certain places depending on your viewing angle it really doesn’t look too great. I had to glue in more decorations than I originally intended to due to that.

2. Start glueing pine needles in little batches to the form. Layering them so that you cover the entire wreath form.

The smaller your wreath form the shorter your needles should be. Otherwise the wreath looks rather messy.

3. Once you are done you can seal the needles from loosing color with simple hairspray.

And that is about all you need to do. Unfortunately it does take forever. This advent wreath is by far the most work intense one I have done in the last 15 years. I think I worked a solid 8 hours on it. However I love the look of it and think it was worth all the time. This idea was in my head for so long it just need to be executed.

Now let me know, would you attempt it or is it just too much effort?

Happy advent prepping,

Tobia

linked to MMI | Freutag | Kerstin & ich | Weihnachtszauber

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Cozy French Knitted Advent Wreath :: Tutorial

November 15, 2016November 27, 2016 - Tobia 20 Comments

It’s this time of the year…

The crazy wreath making time of the year. I was going to show you a different one from what you see right now. The one I planned (for two years), made and then I realized I can’t show you because my mom reads along… So I had to come up with another idea.

Looking around in my chaos that is my craft lab the idea of a cozy advent wreath hit me. Well maybe it was because I am all crazy about my french knitting lately. So why not combine the two and make a nice simple french knitted advent wreath, right?

Let’s make this french knitted advent wreath:

1. You need: a wreath form, glue (gun), wool and a french knitting tool.

2. First you have to make your yearn thread (or as I call them sausage). I used a ball of 50 meter yarn for a xx cm wreath form.

3. Decide your layout. You could wrap it around the form or you could layer it starting in the middle. I decided on the latter.

4. Next one is simple. Glue to the form. You can pull the thread a bit if you need. I did that towards the end because I thought it might not be enough. In the end I was left with a bit extra to make the little bow.

5. Time for decoration and candle attaching. You need four nails, candles and deco material to your liking.

6. I clipped of the nail heads with pliers. Then I heated the nail over a candle flame and drove them into the candle. I learned that the candle will not break as easily if you heat the nail. Due to the wick it is often tough to place it directly in the center. If you manage that would be preferable so that the candle will be straight on your wreath. Otherwise it could be a bit tilted.

Now comes the fun part of decorating your wreath. I already liked the clean look of the braided style of the thread so I just added a few sparkles by glueing little bells onto the wreath. (As you can see I didn’t use the lavender ribbon I originally intended.)

And done.

As this wreath is made of wool and tall candles it’s really nothing I want to leave unattended in a room. So maybe I would add some metal candle holder in a future project.

Now I am curious. Have you made your advent wreath already? What does it look like? Please leave a link if it is on your blog/Instagram. I always love looking at other creations.

Lovely crafting y’all,

Tobia

Need more ideas for wreathes? Check out the 2015 Snow Wreath, 2014 Snowball Star Wreath or the 2013 Walnut Wreath. Still not enough? Here are some collections of inspirations with different themes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.

Submitted to creadienstag, Handmade on Tuesday, Dienstagsdinge, Herzlich eingeladen, Herzblut, sonntagsglück and Kreativas.