17 December 2009

Wreaths To Love

The entry above is perfection to me. A moss Christmas wreath?!! All that white!!!The urns!! Ok & the lantern & the garland. I just love it all. (Martha) If I had this type of house I would SO go there!! This year, I've been pretty slack wreath-wise (our entry, below)... There's a plain Home Depot wreath on our front door and at one point I had intentions of doing something special to it... and not that I've ever really not been slack actually... because the most I've ever done is added a ribbon to a wreath, but I always have better intentions for my wreaths.


It's not happening this year, but maybe for NEXT year! I was just browsing around online & looking at wreaths and found so many pretty ones & wanted to share. They all seem rather doable if you actually set aside the time to make them & one day when there are less renovation projects, I will. This perfectly simple & natural wreath featured in Country Living is by Minna Mercke Schmidt who has a BEAUTIFUL blog here. (She got everythign for the wreath from her own yard... ok honestly, I MIGHT add some things to my wreath now... this is just too pretty.)


And now here are a bunch of wreaths from Martha Stewart. Below is a perfectly traditional silver fir and holly wreath with a big red bow. It's just so classic & I could see it with white or burlap too.

Below, using 3 wreaths on a ribbon makes such a statement! So easy to do and it really is a show-stopper! (All I'd need to add is more ribbon & pick up 2 more HD wreaths!! EXCEPT I don't have the extra wide ribbon or the wreaths at home... which means it's probably not happening this year... )
Ok and I love this sweet gum one below. (I didn't know that's what the "prickly things" were called until today.) They're everywhere & I'd even love it unpainted. But you could spray them any color & this would be awesome... It would be fun to collect the prickly things with the kids too.

And below is a simple & ruggedly elegant pinecone wreath. The snow sprinkled on it is so pretty too. This would be easy to make, again if you only set aside the time to do it. (I think we will have to start Christmas prep in the summer next year??!!)


Oh and I just LOVE this mistletoe wreath below!! It's misshapen & looks so homey to me...

This is a beauty with golden cedar laced in the center... Again it would be really easy to grab a cheapie wreath from a place like Home Depot & embellish it with things from your own yard...


Below is a gorgeous eucalyptus & fir wreath. (Imagine the smell!! :) It looks like it might be over my head but who knows? It really is just stunning.
I could SO handle this one below. The cranberry string would be so easy to wrap around a standard wreath... THIS i can do.
Ok, and this wreath chandy below is just amazing. I love it over the drink station. This would be AWESOME for a party.
This one seems pretty out of my league too but just had to show it. A carnation wreath! And picture a poinsettia one! Definitely for an occasion & you'd have to be okay with them not lasting long... (I don't know if it would be worth it to me.)
And finally the wreath that launched a thousand blog posts! Eddie Ross's vintage Christmas Ball wreath!!Did you see his ornament wreath challenge? So beautiful & so much fun & MAYBE next year will be my year...
...At this point, if NEXT year really is "the year" I will be swimming in wreaths!! haha But aim high, and even if I only do one that would be an improvement on this year, right??
Merry Christmas!!!
xoxo,
lauren

31 comments:

  1. FABULOUS collections of wreaths. And I know - the first image really called to me! But your entryway photo is adorable!!

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  2. That gumball wreath is so inventive, I love it! My parents used to have a gumball tree, and my poor dad would spend hours raking them up every year so we wouldn't step on them in the summer and hurt our feet.

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  3. I love the wreath chandy. Where is it from? I would like to try & make one. Hopefully your source came with instructions.

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  4. LOVE this roundup! Somehow these projects tend to inspire me when there's no time left before holidays to enjoy them! Ahhh! Where did pre-Christmas time go?!

    My fave is the triple wreath...and Eddie's, of course...and that wreath chandy is a fab idea!

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  5. I had lots of Christmas decoration plans this year too, and so far I've accomplished a grand total of ZERO. I even bought the stuff I need to make them, but just haven't gotten around to doing it. Bad me!!

    Love all the wreaths you posted, especially the pine cone wreath and the one with the golden cedar.

    On Sarah Richardson's Christmas special, she hung two wreaths with greenery & peacock feathers on her front door. She used wide silk ribbon to attach the wreaths together. Similar to the picture of three wreaths you posted, but hers had a more contemporary look.

    I just listened to Christmas Eve in Washington. I need to go scrub my ears now. You're right, bad, bad song!!

    Kelly

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  6. Lauren,
    Nevermind, I found the wreath chandelier on Martha's website.

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  7. Your front door looks wonderful, especially with the snow falling!
    Janell

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  8. I love the wreaths over the drink station. Very festive!

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  9. I love the one you have on your door, I think it looks beautiful. Maybe its the orange door that makes it, I just love me some orange!

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  10. So hard to choose a favorite as they are all so beautiful.

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  11. I think your plain wreath is beautiful, first of all!

    Secondly, I did a version of the eucalyptus one this year, and it was a cinch (and I'm not crafty - I don't even own a glue gun). I got a mixed pine and boxwood wreath at an outdoor market, some silver beads of various sizes instead of balls (less expensive, plus my wreath hangs on a condo door, not a house, so I thought a more demure profile would work better), some pre-wired floral picks, and 2 branches of glitter-coated fake eucalyptus from Michael's.

    My fiance and I threaded the wire on the picks through the beads and wrapped them around the sticks and cut the eucalyptus branches into a small chunk and a larger chunk each. I inserted the branches fanning out from the top, and then I pushed the beads on picks into the wreath, larger ones at the top and smaller ones toward the bottom, per Martha's design.

    Wiring the beads took a little time, but couldn't be simpler, and assembling the wreath after that took 10 minutes at most. You could definitely do it next year, and probably a million times better than mine, which I have to admit, is darn pretty! I'll try to leave a link with a picture.

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  12. Lauren-
    I love your wreath on your chic orange front door! And your Christmas decor is stunning. I'm (of course) not a professional designer, but just wanted to (again) let you know how much I adore your style and what an inspiration it is. I love your clean, no fuss style. The touches of nature are so relaxing! Your home looks so cozy and peaceful. Thanks again for sharing.

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  13. I actually really love that gumball wreath, and the pinecone. But the white and turquoise just does it for me--- thanks for putting these together.

    Every year but this year I've made my own wreaths and dozens of yards of garland from the cast-off branches at the tree-lot. It's a fair amount of work, but so rewarding (and budget friendly!) and really not that hard to do!

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  14. Great wreaths, Lauren!
    Thanks for posting such wonderful inspiration. I too, have not been up to par with my wreath this year but, thanks to you, I'll be ready next Christmas! Have a lovely day :)
    ~Therese

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  15. Haha OK Lauren, I may have massively overpromised, but here's my take on the eucalyptus one anyway -
    http://sleepallsummer.blogspot.com/2009/12/rustic-wreath.html

    I'm sure you'd do much better! Merry Christmas!

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  16. I just tied a ribbon bow on mine and called it a day. I wasn't really inspired that day, but some of these things may be doable next year!
    I love that wreath chandelier over the drink station - what a cute idea!

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  17. I have just about every one of these images saved. And most of them in a post today, too! Great minds ...

    I totally love a plain wreath -- but I'm easy to please! The plainer the better is what my mom says about me, haha.

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  18. I love a plain wreath too! Although I'm with you that moss wreath is to die for!

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  19. Gorgeous ! Thank you that beautiful photos !

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  20. I love your Home Depot wreath, it looks like mine. I too had so many plans of how I would decorate the outside of my house for the holidays,but here we are a week away from the big day and the Home Depot wreath hangs there all alone. Well there is always next year. How are you anyway, still waiting for that little angle to arrive? I am sure you are more then ready. Please know I am thinking about you and wishing you and yours a wonderful Christmas. I will keep checking your blog so I will know when that little gift arrives. God Bless you and your family...

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  21. Lauren, no wonder I love you so much-- THAT moss wreath! It's my soul in wreath form :) LOVE it, and not only b/c it shares my name. A couple of weeks ago, I tried to recreate it on a whim, but totally failed. You can see the end result on my family blog,

    http://www.mosseclectic.com/2009/12/advent-mantel.html

    not AT worthy, I'm afraid, I'd be tarred and feathered for sure :)

    A week after winging the wreath on my own, I found an old Martha Stewart book, "American Wreaths" with a how to on the moss wreath...maybe next year!

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  22. A simple wreath always makes it feel like Christmas to me. When you walk up to someone's door and it's the first thing that invites you, it always makes me smile. Loved all the ideas, especially the cranberry one. I'd love to use "Martha's" chandelier wreaths for a party too. Merry Christmas Lauren.

    Ruthie

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  23. wow I love the very first one so much!

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  24. I have to admit that my door decoration is pretty weak this year - a premade spray with berries. I added a bow which has been floppy and lopsided since. It's a sad looking little thing! Maybe tomorrow I'll tweak it...

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  25. I think the first one is perfection too :)

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  26. Great collection Lauren, I think I could write them all up on my wish list, it would be hard to choose a fav., because they are all so beautiful...Thanks for sharing.
    Holiday hugs, Erika

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  27. I love the first wreath picture.... just gorgeous. Merry Christmas.

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  29. I love the picture with your cute dog!!!

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  30. Lauren,
    I love all of these wreaths!
    I wish you a Merry Christmas and e Happy New Year! And a wish you the most wonderful, lovely, beautiful baby in the world!
    A big Christmas hug!

    xxxxxx
    Greet
    Greet

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  31. Awesome snaps all looking good We can try our house then it would be awesome..wholesale sunglasses

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~Lauren