July 8, 2015
For some time, I have been seeing DIY initial wreaths on Pinterest. Since my last name, Jerry, begins with J, I have been looking for an appropriate letter typeface. It is difficult to find a nice letter J. Some are almost a slightly exaggerated “I”. Some are too frivolous and some too uptight. Finally, I found one and I think it is just right.
The burlap ribbon was found at Joann’s on sale for fifty percent off the regular price. I love the addition of the lace on the edges and it is wired ribbon. Love that stuff! The flowers were left over from a flower arrangement I made awhile ago. The picture does not do them justice. They look rich and gorgeous!
Grapevine wreaths are so inexpensive and if you have a forty or fifty percent off coupon, they are downright cheap! This project started out with a grapevine wreath. I usually collect the items I’ve decided to use for the wreath and lay it all out on a table or counter. Then I begin to play and place things where I think they should go. It’s my creative process!
Yes, I concede, it does not look like much at this point! (Before placing the “J” on the wreath, I covered it with three coats of polyurethane for outdoor use.)
I knew the letter “J” needed to be in the right-hand corner and so that is where I began.
At this point, placing the items on the wreath without a commitment is the best way to go. The items can be moved around and you can be creative without worry!
Next, I made a bow from the burlap, allowing extra length for a tail, gathering in the middle and looping one side and then the other until I had three loops on each side. Then, I tied a long piece of twine around the middle to create the bow. (The extra length was used to tie the bow onto the wreath.)
Taking a length of the burlap ribbon, I folded each side into the middle making a thin piece to wrap around and tie tightly.
I have seen other crafters staple their ribbon around the loops, but this burlap is too thick for that. The knot seemed to work better. (It won’t be seen.)
The bow can then be shaped with the wired edges and placed opposite the letter for balance. At this point, you can see I started adding leaves. You could add silk filler flowers or berries. I liked the leaves on these flowers and felt they made a good background.
As you can see in the picture below, the red hydrangea and the wisteria add that extra oomph to the wreath. At this point, I felt the white “J” was too pronounced, so I added the leaf to it. I liked the look. Behind the leaf, I used a piece of florist wire to attach the “J” to the wreath. 
At this point, I tied the bow onto the wreath with the twine and started hot gluing the leaf stems and the flowers. Sometimes, it is necessary to readjust after you have glued one thing onto the wreath. Before I glued the flowers on, I hung the wreath on the door and stepped back and took a look, placed the flowers, and stepped back for another look. Some adjustments were needed. Then the flowers were glued onto the wreath, too.
This was really an easy wreath to make and it looks stunning. The pictures do not do it justice. Maybe this DIY initial wreath will give you the motivation to make your own!
