Valentine's Wreath

Well, even though my craft room isn't totally finished, that hasn't stopped me from working in it!  Like I said before, all I need is to install light fixtures and hang a pegboard.  I can't wait to show it to you.  But anyway, I decided to make a wreath for Valentine's Day - we are having a party here for my daughter and a few of her friends, and I have never done a Valentine's party before, so I am super excited!

I have been seeing so many felt flower wreaths around lately -

Our Best Bites

JoAnn's

Design Sponge

But to be honest, I really hate cutting all of those circles out of felt.  I really do!  (Does a silhouette cut felt?  Life would be so much easier if it did!)  My favorite felt flowers are these, and I learned from the wonderful Beckie over at Infarrantly Creative:

Aren't they gorgeous?  I find these much easier and less patience draining than cutting a million circles.  They are very easy - head over and learn how to make them if you don't know how, she gives an awesome tutorial with lots of variations.  Anyway... I planned to make an all red one, but after about 8 flowers, I realized I would run out of red.  I made some white, soft grey, and pink to go along with it, and I ended up loving the color combo.

I started with a embroidery hoop which I wrapped with a foam insulation pipe (that's my secret to making them stay round - at 50 cents a pipe tube, and $3 a hoop - which makes two rings, it's still less than $2 and it doesn't sag like just the insulation pipe.  The hoop makes it hold it's shape.)  I wrapped the form in a muslin type cloth.  (My husband is a chef so he brings me home big bolts of what they use for cheesecloth - it's a very tight weaved one though, so I use it all the time for wrapping wreath forms.)  Then, I started placing the flowers on - I started with a pattern but then some colors got too close together on the outside and inside, so I mixed it up.  To make them stick, I dipped a dress pin in glue and then pinned it through the center of the flower.  Voilà!  Gorgeous!

And there it is, being modelled on my door.   Pretty, huh?  And best of all, it's pretty easy :)