DIY Welcome Spring Wreath

• Twigs (can be one type, like willow, or a mix of different kinds, for example: Goat willow, birch, or twisted willow). If you keep your twigs in a vase for few days, they will start sprouting small leaves. Keep in mind, though, that while weaving your wreath, these new leaves are very fragile and may not last too long without water.
• Binding wire, colour of your choice. We used black.
• Hot Glue Gun
• Shears to cut twigs and wire
• Ribbon
• Plastic Sheet
• Special Paints for stained glass technique (outline in black and fill in with colours of your choice). We used blue, yellow, and white.
• Scissors
• Brush
• Artificial leaves (optional)

First we start with making butterflies. If you feel that it is too much work, you can also skip this part and buy ready-made ones in your local art shop.

To make the butterflies you need a plastic sheet on which you will paint the outline of the butterfly in black. Make different sizes and shapes to make the final wreath more dynamic. After the outline dries out, you can start coloring. The actual design is up to you and your imagination, whether you choose to make a single colour or a multicolour wreath. The butterflies will be ready to cut out after a proper drying out. There is no need to cut precisely by the edge of the outline.  Since the plastic sheet is transparent, you can also keep a bit of a space around each butterfly. Ready-made butterflies will need one more final touch, and that is to curve their wings to a natural shape. For this, use a candle and slighty heat each side of the butterfly by holding it above the flame and shape with your fingers.  With practice you will find out the right amount of time, so as not to leave them misshapen.

The next step is to weave a wreath with the twigs. Simply start with a bunch of twigs, tie them with the wire, start adding more twigs and follow the first step until the length of woven twigs is long enough to shape it into a perfect circle. Tie with the last of the wire. You can also stick small twigs into the spaces between the woven twigs to provide more volume.

Heat up the Glue Gun and start sticking the butterflies on the twigs.

With this step you can also add artificial leaves to make the wreath livelier.

Lastly, tie up a nice large ribbon and you will be ready to hang your wreath and welcome spring into your house.

Photos: Martina Advaney

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