Burlap & Hydrangea

So, it been a few months, and my springy-tulipy wreath was feeling a bit TOO springy for the Louisiana summer, so I got to brainstorming again.
Of course, everyone's doing burlap this and that these days, and, like most trendy things, it takes a while to grow on me...but I was starting to like the idea of a burlap wreath. I saw one on, um, you know (glances furtively around and whispers) THAT PLACE  that I liked that used a burlap wreath with bunches of hydrangeas on it, and sorta fell in love (because I have this THING about hydrangeas - and have unfortunately never succeeded at growing them).
I won't post pictures of those, because, well, they put my little DIY project to shame, but if you want you can just search 'burlap hydrangea wreath' on Pinterest, and you'll find lots of loveliness to tickle your eyeballs. (Or you can look at my DIY board and probably figure out what I was looking at.)

So, anyway, I'm thinking maybe a nice dark red/burgundy and those kind of ecru colored hydrangeas they have at Hobby Lobby...but then, I get there to look at them, and the ones I was thinking of were $10 - per head.
Not happening, folks.
Even at 50% off, they were still $5 a piece, and with needing 6-8 at least plus the other materials needed, I was looking at a $50-60 dollar wreath.
Um, No.
Sorry.
I like pretty things at much as the next girl, but I have a hard time paying that much for a piece of something to hang on the door. For the neighbors to look at.
Seriously - I'm never at that door; we use the side door. The only time I see that door is when we drive in the driveway or I'm out in the yard with the kids - and then I'm not usually looking!

So I put the idea away for a bit.

Then, one day I was in that store that I spend waaayyy too much time (and money) in (the one that starts with a W and ends in -almart), and happened to pass through the fake flower department - 'scuse me, the ARTIFICIAL flower dept. - and saw these big bunches of blue hydrangeas for $5 a piece. They weren't as pretty, or as real-looking as the Hobby Lobby ones, but at that price I thought I could make that work a little better.

One wreath form, a couple yards of burlap, one bunch of hydrangeas and a couple of hours of work later, we had a new wreath!

(Could someone please tell me how to take pretty pictures of an ugly door?!)

Of course, I don't have any pictures of how I made it because I'm impatient like that, but I'm sure you can figure it out. I used a 16" wire wreath form, cut the burlap into approximately 4" strips (would probably be easier and neater to use burlap ribbon, but I have the yardage on hand from another project, so I used what I had), and wove it through the wires, leaving small loops, and then scrunched it together. Since I didn't take the time to cut the burlap precisely, it was unraveling and I had strings everywhere by the time I was done. Don't do what I did - do it right and you won't have as big of a mess to clean up!

I wanted to be able to use the burlap part for other seasons, so I didn't want the flowers to be permanently affixed. I ended up just cutting the stems about 2-3" long and just poking them in between the puffs of burlap. So far it has stayed. We'll see - if any hurricanes come along, I might have to fasten it a little more securely! ;)

Cost:

Burlap (about 2 yards) = around $5.50

Wire Wreath Form = $2

Hydrangeas = $5

Total = $12.50

Time to make: 1-2 hours (I was working on other things at the same time)

I don't know about you, but I can handle that price a whole lot better than $50-60!!

I'll be thinking of ways to accessorize it for fall and winter.

What suggestions do you have?

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