DIY Ribbon Wreaths

Around Halloween, I saw this great idea for ribbon wreaths via Design Crush, originally found on thelongthread.com:


I didn't have the time to create any then, but I kept the idea in the back of my mind, and with the hopes of having a semi-homemade Christmas, I decided to make some wreaths as gifts for some family members. I am really excited at how they turned out and everyone seemed to like their gifts (at least I hope so!). This is an easy project that could possibly spruce up a ceremony or reception space, bridal shower, or newlywed nest, or perhaps it would be a nice hostess gift for someone who hosted a shower for you... so I thought I'd share the how-to with the hive!

I started with a 12" round wreath form from JoAnn and some grosgrain ribbon. The instructions called for 1.25" wide ribbon, but I went with 1.5" as that's what I could find online for the best price. It didn't make much of a difference. I purchased this ribbon from PaperMart and was able to make two wreaths from each 50 yard spool. (I went with a spool of wine and a spool of ivory. Here you'll see what the ivory wreaths looked like in the end.)


Beginning with the ivory ribbon, I first cut two long pieces of ribbon at 48" long — these would later serve as the large loops for hanging the wreaths. Then, I cut the rest of the ribbon into 16" long strips. When I was done, I counted them out into two even piles so I knew what I was working with for each wreath. (If you're only making one wreath, you need only cut one 48" long piece of ribbon, and about 45-50 16" long strips.)



On wreath numero uno, I started with my 48" long piece — I tied one end to the wreath and made a double knot; I did the same to the other end right next to the first end, so there was now a large loop of ribbon hanging from my foam wreath form.


Next, I began knotting the 16" pieces of ribbon. It doesn't matter how you do this, as long as you stay consistent all the way around. I did right-over-left:


... then pulled it tight:


... and then did left-over right to make my completed knot:


One trick I learned was to tie the knots snugly but not TOO tight — if you tie them too tight, you will need more ribbon all the way around to fill in the space (otherwise you can see the foam wreath form peaking through).

Once I had my knot-tying-strategy down pat (very high-tech), I just kept tying! Round and round and round...



Voila!


Now, I wasn't quite finished yet. From all the man-handling of the ribbon (I guess we'd call that ribbon-handling), the edges got a bit frayed.


Very slowly, in my true OCD form, I worked my way around the wreath and trimmed very carefully. Using grosgrain ribbon helps as you can just follow the straight lines of the ribbon as your cutting guide. Just make sure you have some nice sharp scissors so you don't keep fraying them even more!


Once all the ribbons were trimmed, I was really excited at how pretty it looked. I spent a little time maneuvering some of the ribbons so they sat nicely alongside each other, and it all came together much like the picture (which I find to be very rare when tackling DIY projects). I really like that the wreaths can be hung any time of year and I hope my loved ones appreciate the craftiness that went into them. I may have to make a few to hang around our apartment.

We don't have a very pretty front door, so I hung the finished product from our china cabinet-turned-storage shelves to take a picture. The benefit of moving into an apartment at the same time that your mother sells the house you grew up in — you get all her fancy dining room stuff, even if you don't have a dining room!

Here's the cost breakdown of this project, not including the shipping for the ribbon:

Ribbon: $11.99 per 50 yard spool / total for two spools: $23.98
Wreath forms: $5.99 per 12" form / total for four forms: $23.96

Total for all supplies for four wreaths: $47.94
Total cost per wreath: $11.99

A success, I think! What are some ways that you would use this project?

Post-Wedding Non-Chop

Lots of bees have done the "post-wedding chop" — after growing their hair out for the big day, they got out the scissors after the honeymoon to don a new (easier) look. Me? Well, I have straightened my naturally curly hair for about the last 7 years, and in doing so I have always kept it shorter so it was easier to straighten (but I no longer liked it curly while it was short — it created an unattractive triangle-head effect). Since growing my hair out a bit longer for the wedding, it became more time consuming to flat iron, so I started wearing it curly again and I've been getting lots of compliments. I'm still getting used to it and trying to decide if I like it, but since it's a little longer at least I don't look too much like a triangle-head.


Now I'm just not sure if I should keep growing it out and go back to my curly roots for good, or chop it off like all the other fabulous brides of Weddingbee past (and go back to my daily flat iron addiction, as well). One of the reasons I started straightening my hair to begin with was because when I turned 21 and started going to bars, I found that I was given a much harder time getting in with my curly hair — apparently it made me look younger. When I would straighten my hair, I would never have such a hard time, so when it came time to get a job post-college, I decided that the straight hair made me look a bit more mature. Now that I'm a little bit older (28 — what an old lady! ;-)) I guess I don't have to worry about that as much. And, Mr. Cupcake seems to like the curls (and he especially likes that I can get ready a lot faster when I go au naturale).

What do you think I should do? Keep letting it grow and stick with the curls, or follow the trend and chop-chop-chop?

Downsizing Christmas

Mr. Cupcake and I have always been pretty realistic with our Christmas gifts for each other — we don't go overboard buying each other frivolous items that we don't need, and we always have a modest spending limit for each other (I think our highest ever was $150). This year, due to the suffering economy, we decided to cap things off at just $50 each; times are tight and neither of us really needs anything, and, as we all know, it's the thought that counts. We were trying to figure out lots of ways to simplify the holidays this year and not go broke. We had many discussions about buying a tree this year, wondering if it was worth spending the extra money when we won't even be home on Christmas day. And then, the unthinkable (but frighteningly possible) happened:

Mr. Cupcake got laid off.

It has only been a few days since we got the news, and it is still a little surreal. We have been very aware of the dwindling economy, but we thought we were safe in terms of our jobs... when Mr. Cupcake called me with the news, I really thought he was joking at first. The timing is pretty unfortunate, but, then again, no time is really a great time to get laid off. (But seriously — less than three months after our wedding and two weeks before Christmas??? Certainly I can say that it's just a tad bit depressing.)

We are doing our best to stay upbeat, and we already have a pretty great repertoire of unemployment jokes to keep the mood light ("eat up... this is our last meal for a week!" is a favorite of the day). We are certainly learning firsthand the meaning of "for better or for worse," and it is humbling yet reassuring to know that we are in this together, no matter what. A few tears have been shed, and we are doing our best to support each other during this difficult time. Many resumés have already been sent and now the waiting game has begun. It is all a very real reminder of the curve balls that life can throw at you.

We have no choice but to focus on making the holiday season about family and togetherness this year, and not about material things (which is how it should be regardless). This is the first time since living together that we haven't had a real, live, beautiful Christmas tree in our apartment, but yesterday we found a charming $6 tabletop tree that had our names written all over it (and fit into our new, very tight budget).

Mr. Cupcake took this with his iPhone, and I like the ethereal glow it gives our mini tree :-) You can see that the "tree stand" is really a wine rack in our living room... some of our favorite heavier ornaments are sitting under the tree made to look like toys... and the tree is kept company by some vintage angels that belonged to my grandmother (on the left) and the Ralphie bobblehead I got Mr. Cupcake for our first Christmas together. The lights were so extremely long that we ran them from the tree over a doorway!

A close-up. Isn't she lovely?

We got out our lights and ornaments and chose a few lightweight ornaments that wouldn't cause the whole thing to tip over :-) We got a kick out of the fact that our tree fit in a plastic bag at the store — Mr. Cupcake joked that he had them throw in some twine just in case we had to strap it to the roof of our car. We have already spun our situation into the sob-story we'll tell our kids in fifteen years: "The year we got married, Daddy got laid off and we had to walk 10 miles barefoot in the snow to buy a fake $6 Christmas tree that we paid for with nickels we found in between the couch cushions!"

Our $50 gift budget has now decreased to a card and maybe a mix CD for each other, unless we come up with anything else creative (but not necessarily artsy, as that is more my department than Mr. Cupcake's). I had already been procrastinating on my Christmas shopping so I had not yet bought a thing for the rest of our family members when we got word of the layoff; now it looks like we'll be keeping things simple with a few handmade items and baked goods. As cheesy as it sounds, we need to remember that it's not the presents that matter when we are already blessed with the gift of each other and our fantastic families, and we have absolutely no reason to feel bad for ourselves.

Other bees have had similar stories of unemployment, and now I am realizing firsthand just how real this recession is. How have the recent financial hardships taken a toll on your wedding plans or newlywed life? Has it affected you more than you expected?

Will Not Attend

Every bride knows the rule of thumb that about 20% of invited guests will decline your wedding invitation. I'm not going to say that we weren't a little relieved that all 227 of our invited guests couldn't attend our wedding -- we were very pleased when our final count came in at 182, just about exactly the number of people we had hoped for. However, having now had some time to reflect on those who were there to share in such an important day in our lives (and those who weren't), it's hard not to take some people's absence a little personally.

It's funny how we "hope" for a certain number of "will not attend"s, but don't realize how much some declines can hurt until faced with them head on. I mentioned in my Post-Wedding Vows that I now vow to never send a response card back with a decline without including a personal note. There's something about receiving a decline with no explanation that makes a couple wonder if the guest has a reason... or do they just not want to come? There's a point where you stop looking at the numbers (of guests and dollars) and you start to realize that no dollar amount or extra room at a table can take the place of the people you wish were there for you on such an important day.

Don't get me wrong -- we had an absolutely amazing day surrounded by people who truly love us. But I have to admit that I am still really hurt by a few family members who didn't come at the last minute, and a few other invitees whom we think just didn't want to come, perhaps because they wouldn't know many people, didn't have a date, didn't want to make the drive, etc.

It has made me rethink the importance of accepting invitations when someone has cared enough to invite me somewhere. Whether it be a wedding, a shower, a dinner party -- whatever. Knowing how much time and energy goes into planning an event and how much thought goes into the guest list makes me realize I should never decline an invitation unless I am absolutely unable to go somewhere.

How have your feelings about accepting or declining invitations changed while planning your own wedding? Have you been surprised by how hurt you felt when receiving declines?