operation upgrade wreath

I am feeling really rushed on one of the presents I am knitting for Christmas. Panicky even. So I'm taking time out to tell you about something I did when I could have been knitting. In fact I'm taking the 15 minutes of knitting time I have this morning to tell you about the 45 minutes of knitting time I "wasted."

See, my outdoor wreath (plastic) is old. In fact we bought it at an after Christmas sale in 1997. And frankly I was tired of it. I wanted a new one. However, a trip to Michael's told me that unless I wanted to shell out $50 for one now or take my chances and try to get it after Christmas for $25 that I was stuck with my old wreath.

Thankfully I was not alone on this shopping adventure. The intrepid FinnGarian was with me and she pointed out that all the Christmas ribbon and floral doo-dahs were 50% off and gave me all the moral support I needed. Also she sent me a webpage to learn to tie my own Christmas bows. Plus she clued me in on the need to buy floral wire. So really this was her fault! But less than $10 later I had supplies for my very own do it yourself operation upgrade wreath.

So I dragged one (I actually used to have a matching set) out and took the before shot:


I removed the blue bow and a possibly real pinecone (which fell out when I removed the bow) and set to work.

First, I played and played and played and finally got the bow tied the way I wanted it. (see This site is what I eventually used. Then I played with placement of the bow vs two "things" (one was a silver bird and the other a purple fern thingy) and got them where I wanted. Argued with my daughters on placement and then wired them in. I think it looks great:



Purples don't always read true with my camera, which also highlighted to me that the purples were just a tiny bit off. Still I love it and it is now hanging up outside and I'm happy. Plus I have learned that if the purples feel dated to me next year a change out is as easy as 40 minutes and a few $ at the craft store.