“We love because he first loved us.” I John 4:19
By: Dana Baran
I’ve never been much of a fan of Valentine’s Day. First, it falls in February, which is my least favorite month of the year (I am not a winter person). Second, when you’re single (which I was for many years before I met and married my sweetheart) it’s the most depressing holiday of the year. Third, I’ve always thought of it as a made-up holiday, manufactured by greeting card companies and florists to boost sales. Fourth, decorating with hearts is just not my cup of tea.
I do, however, love to craft, and as I browsed Pinterest this month I found so many adorable Valentine’s Day projects I decided to go ahead and stick my toe into the waters of decorating for “love day.” I didn’t want to buy anything (I’m not about to go that far) so, armed with several Valentine’s Day door wreath pins for inspiration I looked through my craft closet to see what I could come up with. I found a straw wreath form that I had bought on sale last fall at Wally World and dug out some scraps of felt I had left over from my DIY Christmas gift making frenzy, added some gray yarn (also from Walmart) and I was off. Here’s what I came up with:
I was worried the bright pink felt and “love” banner would look too girly and cutesy, but since it’s paired with “manly gray” I think it works. Here’s how I did it:
Materials:
- Wreath form (you can find these at any craft store. If you use a straw form be sure to leave the plastic on or else you will have a real mess on your hands. A Styrofoam form would work too).
- Yarn (I bought a jumbo bundle and had tons left over, but my wreath was small. If you’re using a big wreath you may need two bundles of yarn).
- Felt (also available at any craft store)
- Glue gun
- Sharp scissors
- Sharpie marker
- Ruler
- Floral pins (You can find these in with the floral supplies at, you guessed it, your local craft store…can you tell I keep Hobby Lobby in business?
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Step 1: Tie the end of your yarn tightly around the wreath form, and start wrapping. This is definitely the most time consuming part of the project. I suggest turning on your favorite show or listening to a podcast while you do this part. Make sure to wrap the yarn tightly together, since you don’t want the form to show through. If you’re too engrossed in Downton to notice that you left some space, you can always go back over with more yarn if you need to.
Step 2: Trace different size circles onto your felt. I used a couple different measuring cups…bowls and mugs work well too.
Step 3: Cut out the circles, then cut each circle into a spiraling strip. Start at the edge and cut inward, trying to keep the strip the same width if you can. Leave a little circle at the end (this will become the base of your flower).
Step 4: Starting at the end of the spiral strip of felt, wrap it tightly around itself to form the flower. When you get to the end, put a glob of hot glue on the bottom and stick the circle end on. Taa-daa! A lovely felt rose!
You can make as many felt flowers as you want. I think I ended up making twelve. You can also cut some felt leaves to add to your wreath. I was going to, but got so excited about finishing it that I forgot.
Step 5: For the pennant banner, I cut out eight triangles (mine were two inches at the widest part). You could also cut four diamond shapes and just fold them over to make your pennants. That’s actually what I would recommend, but I didn’t have a big enough piece of felt. I spelled out L-O-V-E with black sharpie.
Step 6: Cut a piece of yarn however long you want your banner to be (use your wreath to help you decide). Mine was twelve inches. Lay the yarn along a ruler to help with spacing, and hot glue the triangles (or diamonds) to the yarn. Make sure you put the letters in the right order .
Step 7: Time to put it all together! Arrange your flowers first along your wreath. It may take several tries before you like the layout. I decided to do two groups of roses, but you could also just fill in one whole side or the bottom. Once you’re happy with the look, pin each rose to the wreath using a florist pin. The pearl heads add a touch of elegance, don’t you think? Decide how you want your banner to hang, then pin that on too (I tied a knot on either end so the pin had something to hold on to).
Voila! A bright and happy Valentine’s Day wreath, with not a heart in sight. I plan on taking the banner off and leaving the wreath on my door even after the fourteenth…at least until I get my spring wreath inspiration.
Whether you love Valentine’s Day or not, I hope this project inspires you to do a bit of love day decorating yourself.
Feel free to Pin these ideas. You can follow Mosaic of Moms on Pinterest by clicking this link.
Related Article: Happy Valentine’s Day- A fun scavenger hunt for your kids.
