I started decorating the farmhouse for fall this week. Yeah, I know. I can hear some of you groaning...
even through the computer.
Now that my youngest is back at college, it feels like fall to me. When you take the fact that I'm back to being an empty-nest'er and add to it the chance that I won't have a front door or a front porch to decorate by the time the season actually rolls around, it makes perfect sense that I made a horseshoe shaped wheat wreath and hung it on my door today.
It does, doesn't it?!
Don't get me wrong, I'm not rushing the season. Given the fact that I live in Northern Illinois and at some point within the next couple of months I'll be living in a house that will have no roof and be open to the elements for at least a couple of weeks while they frame the new upstairs, I'm hoping for a nice LONG, WARM, DRY fall that will last until ohhhh...let's say, mid-December.
Realistic? Probably not. But a girl can dream.
I wanted a fall wreath for my front door that was simple, natural, rustic and would look great against turquoise. Of course, wheat came to mind. I searched Pinterest and found the wreath above by Martha Stewart Weddings.
The directions weren't bad but there were no photos (which is a problem for me since I'm a visual gal) and I wanted a wreath with a little more bling so, here's what I did:
I purchased a 15 inch round wire wreath form, 3 bundles of natural colored wheat and some floral tape at the hobby store.
Using my wire cutters (which were, not entirely surprisingly, still in the room from a month ago when I installed the new French country dining room light fixtures), I removed about 6-8 inches (2 "sections") from the form and bent it just a little to make a horseshoe shape.
I gathered fourteen bunches containing10-12 pieces of wheat each. I made the heads relatively the same height and taped them with floral tape. Then, I cut them to a rough length of six inches.
Note: I shortened the stems after I wired them onto the wreath. This would work just as well with groups of 6-8 pieces in each bunch and wire. I happen to like working with floral tape and I wanted my wreath a little more substantial.
Starting at the top (and just far enough from the end enough so that the wire form can't be seen), I wired the bunches of wheat to the form using small pieces of green wire, overlapping the bunches and cutting the ends as I went. I did this along both sides, working toward the bottom of the form.
At the bottom of the form, I cut the stems to about 1 inch and wired them, side by side, as close together as I could get them without crushing the seed pods. I added a couple of pieces of faux gold berries and then wrapped the section where the wheat met with a four-foot piece of 1 1/2 inch wide, double-faced, chocolate brown, satin ribbon which I tied in a simple bow.
Then, I hung it on my front door and stood outside in the rain to take photos. A couple of cars drove past as I was standing there with my camera. They slowed just a little as they went by.
I can't decide whether they were noticing that I already have a fall wreath on my door or were wondering what the heck I was doing standing outdoors in the rain with a camera.
I love the way this rustic wheat wreath looks against my turquoise front door. I also love the fact that it cost under $20 to DIY, took about 1/2 hour to assemble, and is made from natural dried wheat (with just a little gold bling for good measure!) and I'm sure that the neighbors will get over the fact that I stood in the rain to take photos of the fall wreath that's prominently displayed on my front door even though it's only the third week of August...
at least until next week when I plant mums in my urn...
and get out the pumpkins!
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