Life At Home With Jody

Quick and Inexpensive Patriotic Wreath

Well... I finally got around to doing some decorating for the 4th of July. I've been so busy with other things that it's kind of crept up on me. After adding the buntings to the railings and a few other things to the porch, I realized that our front door was looking a little drab. So of course, I searched Pinterest for some inspiration and came up with this quick, cute, and inexpensive patriotic wreath. And it definitely fits nicely with all the other Americana décor I've got going on out there!

To get started you'll need a few things:

Grapevine Wreath (purchased at Hobby Lobby @ 40% off) - $3.00

Garland of Greenery (purchased at HL @ 50% off - $7.50, used 1/2) - $3.25

2 - 4"x 6" flags (purchased at HL @ 30% off - pk of 4 - $1.40) - $.70

Burlap Ribbon (purchased at HL @ 50% off, used 1/2) - $1.00

Floral Wire

1" x 3" x 12" Board

Dark Walnut Stain

White Acrylic Craft Paint

Hot Glue Gun/Glue Sticks

Small Fine Point Paint Brush

Jute String

Small - 1/2" Wood Screws

Scissors

I laid the garland out on the wreath and cut it where it would cover the top portion of the wreath (using about 1/2 of the garland). I cut some small pieces of the floral wire and wired the garland to the wreath in several places making sure it was secured. (You can hot glue it in but I typically just use wire. The wire can easily be removed if you ever want to change it up.)

I then added the flags...pretty much just sticking them thru the vines and securing them with hot glue. Next, I cut the burlap ribbon to the length I needed to make a good bow. I cut that piece down the middle so that I would have two thinner pieces. I liked that it raveled a little for that not so perfect bow look. I used Martha Stewart's favorite bow method (it's also mine) to tie the bow (http://www.marthastewartweddings.com/226403/three-perfect-bows ). I then secured the bow to the wreath with more floral wire.

I hung it on the door just to make sure everything was looking good so far. To make the "Welcome" sign, I followed the same technique that I used for the vintage pool sign that I shared just recently. I stained the board using Minwax Dark Walnut, let it dry, and sanded to distress the edges. I printed out the word "Welcome", traced it with a lead pencil, retraced it to the board, and filled it in with the white acrylic craft paint using a small fine point paint brush. Once it was completely dry, I lightly sanded over the lettering with 150 grit sand paper. I attached the two small wood screws to the back, added the jute string, and hung it on the wreath hanger along with the wreath.

And that is it.... The whole process only took a few hours (most of that was drying time) and cost less than $10. You can't beat that! I found one similar to this on Etsy selling for $70.... Wow!

So here it is........ Along with a few other pictures of everything else happening on the porch!