Less Is More
I have never been one for celebrating many things, but ever since I spent my first Christmas with my husband 4 years ago, this season is what I wait all year for. Something I didn't have much of when I was younger was tradition. My dad is a religious hippie with catholic parents and my mother was some other kind of animal. We simply didn't do thing like most other families.
Now things are a little different. I definitely had to fight my husband on putting up JUST the wreath before Thanksgiving. And I won.
Living in apartments until we bought our first home this year, we have never had much decor (last year was our first tree). Now since we don't have kids I don't go all out but I still wanted to get more festive this year. Don't judge me, but I looked at wreaths online for 3 days straight and a little in stores. Nothing was at all what I wanted, so the stubborn, settle-for-nothing attitude I had led me to Hobby Lobby where I decided to make one my self. I was so proud of how little I spent making it, in comparison to the ridiculous wreaths going for $150 online.
Ok, I wanted a lot out of my wreath though, so what? I wanted something big enough to make a statement while keeping it without the "stuffy" feel of something way over done. I also wanted it to light up...oh and be appropriate for outdoors.
So I got to work. (Well, I got to Hobby Lobby)
Did I spend an incredible amount of time in Hobby Lobby? YES. But that is in my nature. I have to have all the options.
I started by getting incredibly side tracked in literally every department but the holiday aisles. Then I found my way to the wreaths and after much debate and twisting my lips at the $80 pre-decorated items I grabbed this one above. A whoppin' $9.99 marked to half price.
Then I plopped it down in the miscellaneous wreath and gift decor aisle right by and chose everything by sticking each piece into the wreath. Did the looks I got from other shoppers discourage me? Oh heck no. This was a big choice for me - my first wreath, in my first home.
I ended up with this small lot of stuff. I considered ribbon and tinsel and actually held some up to it I had at home already - but as I said, I wanted to avoid over done. I especially felt a little impractical about putting all that fabric on something I was attaching several strings of lights to. I can admit I'm not a professional, I'm almost positive this bad boy is not UL listed (Eh? Eh? Design friends?).
Essentially it is a mix of 8 pins to attach on the wreath plus some battery operated miniature lights. I did choose some coordinating pins since I did want symmetry instead of a hodgepodge of things that look pretty. I arranged them on the wreath in the aisle because it is really agitating to get back from the store only to realize you got everything except the milk. Ok, little different store scenario but you get what I mean! I am just one of those there-are-no-second-trips-carry-all-the-groceries-on-two-arms kind of people.
What I did was pretty simple. I tied off the battery packs from the miniature lights to the back of the wreath with hemp string . The set I bought came in green so it blended well with the wreath and was completely disguised after fluffing the stems. Want an all white wreath? No problem, they sell white packs too. Amazon might be a better source for these though considering Hobby Lobby had very few options for indoor / outdoor battery operated lights (I mean, that's totally not a niche market, right?)
This is what I ended up with. In the cover picture you can see the lights barely, as I did this during the day. As I said, under $35 and that includes a mug and a couple stocking stuffers I tossed into my basket along the way!
So simple but so classic. I love the lights, they are just so hard to capture in good light!
Did you make your own wreath? Show us and comment things you find work better or would have done differently!
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