I’m really bad at crafting… but even I can make THIS AMAZING Holiday Wreath (Costs Pennies!)

If I'm being honest I'm not very good at Crafting things I'm not very good at Making things turn out even and straight And look pretty and all of the above but I live in the middle of a forest and I Love getting to bring nature inside During the holiday season And I really don't like spending a bunch Of money on things that I feel like I Should be able to make with stuff that's Right out in my yard like a wreath so Today I am going to be going down to our Local florist and flower farm and gonna Get some instruction on how to turn my Very own evergreen trees into amazing Holiday wreaths so that I can decorate For Christmas without spending a bunch Of money and without ending up with Something that looks like the kids made It foreign I am super excited to be here in the Studio at beehaven farms with Paula Paula I'm like all thumbs when it comes To crafts and making it look actually Good Josh came home one time when we had Not been married for very long and I had Made a pencil holder that we needed on The desk and he he tried not to laugh He's like did is that something the kids At school made for you like it that's Just how I am I'm not very good I have a Lot of other skills and I've come to Terms with the fact that I'm not very Good with a crafty thing but I still

Want to make things for the household And try to make things do you think There's hope for somebody like me to Make wreaths that are actually pretty Enough to put on the wall I I know there Is because I think I love to grow and That's where I feel comfortable and then Somewhere along the line I wanted to Actually play with what I was growing And doing so I come from that background Okay And then I always think that I'm just Going to allow this process to inform me And teach me something new and that's What I like I remember years ago reading Something by an artist because I think When you go into a project you're Thinking you have to know everything You're going to do but he was like it's Actually just a process when you pick up Something and you make a decision on That you just make a decision at the end If there's a hole or something like that You just begin to learn so you can we're There we're gonna learn that I'm very Excited about this because you know we Live in a forest we've got material all Around us I don't want plastic wreaths I Don't want expensive things that are Bringing I mean you can mail order these Things first I know I know expensive and I just feel like I I want what's out in My own yard I want the tree trimmings From the Christmas tree that we're

Cutting down and to use those in a Wreath and today we're working with like Christmas style Evergreen green wreaths Yes but I see all these beautiful drag Wreaths behind me too like is it the Same well it is we actually have a Wreath making machine and we use a lot Of clamps too because I love that really Full big look that that provides but Today we're going to do it a little bit More for your viewers and the home mom Who just wants to bring something in and Do something beautiful so we're gonna Make it so you can just do it really Easily and we're just gonna make a Simple wreath and like Carolyn said I Just love like I can't do plastic I like To walk out and see what inspires me and Or grab the kids like this is the thing To do and my kids remember this it is Really really memorable to say okay guys Let's hit the woods let's hit the ditch Let's see what's out there and you can Pick up sticks Curly Willow anything and Build something unique every single year Like I had one year where I just kind of Themed the entire Christmas as the mossy Lichen yeah Laden branches and it was so Pretty so every year we we do something Different and in this wreath you're Gonna see that we have Holly in it and Growing your landscape especially Homesteaders growing your landscape to Provide your own material is wildly fun

And wonderful and then when your Grandkids come home you know it's a Tradition that you just keep moving Forward today we're just going to build A wreath that has lots of different Evergreens from the forest and it'll be Something that stays outside so I pretty Much pick everything Grand fur has that Great Christmas smell so I tried to use That and get that as the base but then I Pick up anything I really don't care if It was coming in the house and gonna dry Out then perhaps you would be more Careful about your um the picking the Right type of fur plants because some Can just shatter really quickly but It'll be outside so you can pick up Anything wow okay that's really exciting And if I made something like that I Would be completely pleased with it that Would be absolutely and I I tend things A little more wild and hairy probably Because I'm a frustrated mom and I just Need to like let go if it gets out of Control I'll just say that was my style That's exactly that's exactly right okay So what is it that we need to get Started okay if you happen to have Anything round these just came from the Dollar store they're a little bit flimsy So I would put two together to help Build that structure but that's super Cheap and you can use these year after Year when you cut things off a clamped

One you can't you kind of just have to Get rid of it this is also another Choice this wire seemed a little bit Flimsy to me because the fresh Greenery Can be pretty heavy again I would just Put two together and wire it that way to Build more strength what you need is Anything round it could be the straw Round forms that you see you could Harvest Grapevine if you had Grapevine You could Harvest a honeysuckle from the Forest and just keep going around and Round then you wouldn't have to build Something all the way around you could Actually stop and have a little bit of Negative space in that so anything you Just need something round to build it Onto I want to know something about the Size because I this is not the first Time I've tried making wreaths and when I decided a couple years back okay I'm Gonna Crack the Code I'm going to learn This I got myself some wreath forms but If we look at the back of the wreath That you have right here look at the Size of that it's a 10. I thought that I Had to get this wreath form that was This big to make a wreath and right now I'm seeing right off yes this was made On that and so when we cut our little Bundles the size that we cut those Bundles will make a difference okay if You're a person that loves a wreath Tighter and more compact make them

Smaller but you'll be you know putting a Lot more together okay we're learning a Lot right now so this is 10 inch use That's a 10 inch yep I ordered these in And this is probably like a 10 gauge Wire okay to start out we talked about Um just anything round and I'm gonna This is paddle wire this is really super Handy and we're simply just going to tie It on is this a gate it is a certain Gauge you could go like 22 to 24. Something that's tough enough because if You pull really hard and it's too light Of the gauge then it's going to break Okay and so when you think of gauges With wire the lower the number the Tougher the wire and then we have just Gone out and harvested some things from Our landscape and from the woods we've Got some cedar we've got the grand fur Oh and they smell so they do I wish you Guys could smell this and then just any Old things that I saw out there that I Loved you know so if you're out just Picking up anything that you think is Beautiful and adding it and we even have Some eyelets here to incorporate so it's Pretty simple oh I love it yeah okay and Then you've got a couple of good strong Clippers here anything in particular oh You know I just grabbed something light These are falcos okay you know anything And then some wire cutters to use on The Wire it's pretty a couple bows if you

Want it maybe if you're a bow person and You could pick pine cones up you could Add bulbs you can see those behind us so You can do any of that yay we're ready Let's jump in okay so I'm just gonna Build a couple and show you what to do And then we'll bounce you in here okay And you can try it too all right so a Lot of times I just start with something That is sturdy and strong and I am Building a bouquet in my hand and I feel Like if you build a bouquet in your hand That looks pretty good and then you put Those bouquets together on your wreath It's just gonna look okay it's just Gonna turn out fine bringing in this I Am crisscrossing a little bit but you Don't have to think about that that's Just the designer in me kind of popping Out you can have one side of your Evergreen and you can turn it on the Other side and it's a lighter green and I really think that that's pretty that Texture difference is really pretty And you can build any size bundle you Want you know you're just kind of Learning as you go and I'm just grabbing Some things in Oh I just thought this was great the Feeder with the little things oh fun and So I thought well we'll add that in I Don't even have to add a pine cone when I do something like that Okay and he's really sticking out so at

The end if we want to trim off some of These because they're sticking out I Love them I I am willing to see what the Wild looks like before I decide to edit It so I've got a bundle in my hand and I'm just going to kind of cut You know okay I feel like I've got those Two but I'm going to bring them up into There and just allow that to be part of This And I'm just going to put the bundle Down onto my form where my where my wire Is And I'm going to pick it all up And grab it And then I'm going to reach through And just Start to wire it in okay it doesn't get Simpler than this And if you just to have your Mantra be Wild you're not going to mess up Everything goes well I love this because This is just like I can do a little Bouquet in my hand yes this is really Nice like I in a few minutes we'll Switch you and you'll tie in but you Should probably grab some here Carolyn Okay let's start you know I'm just kind Of building a bouquet that's kind of Fanned out a little bit in my hand with The different elements And you do kind of want your little Bunches to be about the same length Every single time how much do you worry

About one bundle being the same as the Last I do try to get them about this Kind of size but I notice about me when I do this I will start with the first One being a little bit light and then I Get bulkier and bulkier as I go okay and It just takes time and you'll kind of Begin to get it in time you you feel Like oh yeah that's about the same size As I had So I've built another one and I'm just Gonna I trim the edges I don't think you would Necessarily have to do that though Because you could just wire the edges in Or the ends of your sticks in And we are going to place it on that Grid and just kind of nestle it Above that one And I also want to kind of make sure I'm Looking to is it about the same height And I'm just going to wire that in You can see how I'm building the little Bundles as I go I tend to just do that But you could build all the bundles Exactly the same and lay them out you Could build the bundles different every Time and see what that created if you Wanted to so I got down to the second One and I purposely moved this down a Little bit okay so that my next one will Go right there all right all right Carolyn you're up okay okay you're gonna Stick me right in there okay I feel it I

Feel good about that I think that's That's pretty good One thing that I know is that even if it Doesn't turn out great I really have fun Doing things and making things I think that they just always turn out We can always stick branches in there Yeah that's great so you're just gonna Place it on top okay place it on top and You made that look like so easy to just Yeah and then this hand's gonna go ahead And grab that frame also grab the frame And you could do it check real quick and Make sure that he's like to come down Point it out there we go kind of watch Right now are you creating a hole or Something like that does that look good Yeah okay like wild and then a wild We're gonna go with wild I think I can Do wild yeah and then I'll set that in There yep pull it around another one and You just go down under drop it and And how many times do you go for um just Several just several and I'm just trying To feel good about it oh I better get Going on like I won't watch you you're Doing great over there Get another one going so if you were to Do all the bouquets first would you wire Them together first or would you just Lay them in I would just lay them in Bunches out here on the table and so That's a great way to get your kids Involved because they can create the

Little bouquets okay and it really boils Down to to this just creating these Little sweet bouquets in your hand and Clamping them in okay or not clumping Them but wiring them wiring and then Just make sure that you're purposely Moving along that wire okay and I think You can pick anything like really again Just reiterating that you could pick Anything from the woods and grasses like Right now if we wanted to switch it up I've seen a lot of reasons where you Just have one type of floral material on This side and they totally put something Different on the other side I mean you The sky is the limit yeah and I've seen Some really fun ones that are made out Of things like pretty feathers or you Know all ribbons is the the idea is kind Of the same whatever you're working Whatever you're working with and you can See how this is a little bit high and I Would just kind of clip him out right Now okay because I mean that's but I see People do this this wildness I want to Like break the mold and just probably Just break them all Let's Go Fly be free Little bird let's set that one in I did I left him up high because I just I feel Like when you do something and you're Just you learn that yeah you're like wow I do love that and if it doesn't look Amazing you just tell everybody look Yeah I'm an artist that's what that is

Certain style right I feel that way in the kitchen yeah you Know it's like I feel pretty free about That in the kitchen but I'm cooking I'll Double check them make sure his wildness Is poking the right direction at least There you go consistently why I like how You said he I yes you did say yeah and I Do that too like I don't know why I Think so I don't know they're handsome And sweet and beautiful there they go They sure smell good and my house that Might not be a heat Do you decorate your whole house every Season no I can't say that I do and a Lot of it is is because of this Conundrum that I don't really have any Desire to buy a bunch of cheap stuff Right I do decorate I kind of go all out For the fall season so I'm really Excited about taking the same idea and Applying it to fall but for Christmas I love the lights and I love the tree You know up here it's so dark so much of The year that I feel like the lights are Almost necessary for survival yeah and So we do a lot of lights right now what I do is pretty much like go out and cut Things and stick them places yeah around Like on top of the mantel I'll just kind Of stick branches out I love that I Think that that's perfect I think it has To be kind of simple yeah because and And start early because if you do simple

Things daily or weekly it adds up to a Decoration and your children see that Yes it's Christmas and it can take that Stress out of it it all has to be Designer perfect I just right that Doesn't work for me yeah no that's not How the world used to be I mean now I'm Like wow the standards are so I just I'm Tired looking at it memorable and cozy When people walk in and to make people Feel like oh I want to be here yeah not Like oh this is so fancy I don't want to Touch it right touch anything now I'm Starting to get to a place where I'm Going to get back to that at the top the Last notorious one to put in okay but I Think you're going to find with this Technique that last one is pretty simple To put in okay so I'm just kind of Moving it out of the way a little bit Yeah the top one yeah you're going to Get to a point where the bottom of your Final bundle is going to really be close To that first one that you put in okay And you just lift it up next one and Kind of manhandle it and get it done Okay I could do that I'm gonna woman handle It but yeah there you go Woman handle it yeah and some of them Are a little like wilder than expression For me so I'm just gonna there you go And snip it back to your Little leaf okay so you don't have a

Little and you can see already how even If you had a giant vase to put in here That would be so beautiful with twinkle Lights I love it so pretty Okay see this is so easy this is really Are you feeling empowered yes I am I Totally feel good and I can see where I Was making mistakes on doing this before Or trying to do it yeah and it really Comes down to how I was using that Wreath form as and I was trying to make The size of the form be the size of the Wreath all right instead of this like Like just just the base of the life Which right because at the end you can Come in and add any garnishes Garnishments that you want pine cones But yeah I'm glad you said that because A lot of times you just don't nail it It's like what am I doing here yeah I'm Here I've got the last bundle going on If the difference between manhandling And woman handling is like finesse yeah Finessin but I'm not entirely sure I Feel like yeah what do I can do after I Get This last round of We'll tie it off so there yeah put yeah End that in the center in the center yep Tighten it down and you're going to grab This with your left just like that yeah Okay and you really are you guys and I'm Going to help show you like you're Really going to get under here and you

Are going to lift do you see the space Here you're gonna lift them up and Cradle him under there okay okay all Right and before you start binding that In you're going to take a moment to look At do you have that final little bundle Where you want it okay you don't you Know you want it to spray out you're Gonna see if it's gonna be gappy because If you're going to have a problem it's Right now and it's going to be a little Bit of a gap really move that around Where it needs to be before you start Wiring it in I'm doing the critical Thing here right yeah it's just the Critical moment yeah this is that place Where you need another hand Yeah for a while at least and then you Got it you got it Time to go a little tighter on this Round Oh my goodness can I just say right now That I'm proud that it looks this good Yeah yes it does look good I don't think You can mess up I mean all the material That we're using is kind of wild and Bully and doing its thing and I think When you allow that to happen it just Looks natural organic and homesteady [Laughter] Yeah we're just gonna give it a good Pull okay and we're just gonna bind that Down so we'll break it off And we're just gonna tie it around some

Stuff here I just kind of twist it around anything You know what we put gave it a good Tight pull and then we're just gonna Twist it so we're not worried about Tying it or actually like pumping it and Twisting it I am going to drag it back Through itself okay you know I had a Loop and I'm kind of pulling it back Through itself So just get it on there secure yeah I Should have left that a little bit Longer leave it a little bit longer next Time we'll do that and we'll just keep Winding him around I always say if You're ever gonna make a mistake it's When you're doing it on film That's just the rule okay Carolyn you Can hold it up oh my goodness and at This point Um you can decide to leave it simple you Can add a bow if you're like a fancy Fancy love fluffy Bows Oh you could do That that's kind of I like it really Popular right now is something super Super simple and so if you wanted to Just kind of not even tie it into a bag Oh my goodness all the time they they'll Put it on the top they'll put it down Low but we're just going to run a really Thin gauged wire through this so it's Thin this is probably like a 26 or 28 And I just Twisted that like that and

Then you would just fish this through Wherever you want it and you can pick Carolyn if you want you can pick a spot I I really like this because in the Heart of making things lopsided Bose and I do not Unless they're pre-purchase like I could I could buy one like that I actually Save them off of everything that comes In I I kind of am like that I kind of Like this idea of them at the top so Then I'm just going to kind of thread it In yeah thread it through and twist it On the back and we'll cut off the extra Little pieces okay so so overall that Doesn't take a lot of time and it's easy Enough that kids can do it your Teenagers can do it with you yeah they Could definitely get into this yeah and It did always seem hard to me before I You know it was always growing in this And like okay let's dive in and start Playing with this material and it's Probably most in our heads once you dive In and then when you do create someone You think well is somebody going to like That and I think you just have to let That go too because right now everybody Does everything and it all looks great This is so much fun I'm having a great Time but yeah you could totally just go Out on a foraging trip together with a Family Lay It All Out across the dining Room table everybody has a form and just

Kind of go to town yeah you could put Them along your fence and and your kids Would remember that moment forever They'll remember that long before they Remember probably a vacation and this is Serious Homestead abundance when you're Like I could go make 20 of these and Give them to my friends right to my Family and I would not feel embarrassed About doing that with this like this was Really easy you guys you need to really Jump in and try this because if I can do This I know you guys can do this you're Amazingly more crafty than I am and if You're thinking about your holiday Season right now and getting prepared For it make sure you check out this Video right over here on putting Together a Christmas cookie mix that you Can keep on yourself