advent wreath diy

Hooray for new computers!  Just in time for me to post my advent wreath tutorial.  Except not really just in time.  Really I'm about 3 days too late.  But since you could use this tutorial on a hanging wreath, too, I figured I'd still share it.  And hey, maybe your advent wreath is looking shabby and you need a new one anyway, right?  Yes, that's right.

Anyway.  This advent wreath is strongly inspired by the advent wreath my mom made when I was very young and is still in use today!  She left hers with the natural colors, and it is beautiful for certain.  But.  I thought a metallic gold would look fancy and festive for Christmas!

What you will need:
1. a wire wreath base with candle holders (found mine at JoAnn's)
2. a solid wreath base (Brian cut mine out of plywood, but any wreath base, rounded or flat, will work)
3. garland or greenery
4. natural details (I used nuts, pinecones and seed pods)
5. floral wire
6. wire cutter
7. glue gun and glue sticks
8. metallic spray paint (I used gold)

First I wired the wire wreath to the solid wreath base.  Then I wired the garland to the wreath while wrapping it around until the entire wreath was covered.  Next, I started gluing my nuts and pinecones, and added these delicate seedpods last.  I made sure to cover the entire top with my natural elements.

This is the point where Brian asked me to stop.  "Please don't spray paint that gold.  Look how pretty it is like that!"  Silly Brian.  Everything that's pretty looks even prettier coated in a shiny gold!  Seriously, though, I do like it left natural, and if you like it this way, go for it.  Just be sure to use a clear spray to seal the nuts.  You don't want rotting nut smells or woodland creatures searching out your wreath in storage!

I started spraying the bottom first, making sure to completely cover the greenery.  After the bottom dried, I carefully flipped it over and sprayed the top.  I tried to do thin layers of spray paint to avoid any dripping.  It took a while to get into all the crevices, but it wasn't hugely time consuming.  I let it dry over night, and she was ready for Advent!
I used white candles and tied little purple and pink (the colors of advent) ribbons onto the candles.

And that's it!  A pop of gold in your Christmas season.  I plan on doing this with a couple of homemade holly wreaths, too, just for fun.  I may have also spray painted some bird houses for my mantle.  Poor Brian.  I may just spray paint the whole tree gold!