Primitive Porch Decor
There are all kinds of twiggy wreaths
Here’s a super easy one to make for a very country style seasonal decoration.
There are three materials that you’ll need for the basic wreath; a wire coat hanger, some bunches of shrubby twigs, and some fine wire to attach them both together.
I like using snowberry, with the fine twiggy growth.
As a deciduous plant, by the fall, they’ve lost all their leaves, and the white berries that give them their name have all been eaten by the birds.
There are lots of other choices, whatever you can find around you; the only criteria is that the twigs should be fine and bushy.
Check out the shrubs for xeriscaping page for more ideas of what to plant if you like making rustic crafts.
One of the best twigs for this kind of decor is willow, with its long flexible branches. When willow dries out, it smells sweet and the colour changes to a rusty brown.
Small bunches of the finer growth are wound around with the fine bead wire, and as you work around the wire coat hanger that you’ve bent into a round shape (no need to adjust, tweak or cut anything here, just use as is).
The fine wire is wound around each bunch, then the wire is passed around the coat hanger too.
One length that is never cut, only added to.
Once the whole coat hanger is covered, you can twist the hook part a bit smaller, and the wreath is ready to display, unless of course, you would like to put some other country style accents on it.
I like to use wreaths as a place to display collections of things like dried flowers or pine cones.
If you want to protect your twig wreath, use spray varathane, lightly. Clean dust off it with air in a can that you would normally use to clean electronics, or keyboards.
