How To Make This Beautiful DIY Apple Wreath

Signs Of Autumn

What is the reason for this beautiful DIY apple wreath?  As much as I try to cling to summer and don’t want to let go, the unmistakable signs of autumn have begun.  The nights are a little chillier.  The Monarda has lost its beautiful magenta-colored petals and all that remains are the dark brown seed heads floating atop the stems.  You can see the little hints of fall throughout the garden.

Reluctantly, I choose to take the pretty summer wreath off the front door and create a new autumnal wreath.  A large grapevine wreath is a base for this creation.  Remembering that I have some faux apple stems with pomegranates and some brick-colored mums in storage, a vision of a wreath with a buffalo checked bow begins to take shape.

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Remembering that Hobby Lobby is already putting out their Christmas items, I figured they might have their large rolls of ribbon on display.  A quick trip to the store and I wasn’t disappointed.   You can find a roll of ribbon on Amazon for a little bit more.  This black and white buffalo check ribbon is just perfect for this project with plenty of leftover for other projects!

Have you ever made one of those projects where everything came together so easily?  This seems to be one of those projects and, truthfully, the stems are salvaged from other projects.  Projects that are not intended to be used again are usually disassembled and stored in a storage room.  This ends up being a cheap autumn project!

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Supplies Needed For This Wreath

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• 24 – inch Grapevine Wreath
• 4 artificial apple, berry, and leaf stems (I found these at Old Time Pottery awhile back.)
• 2.5-inch wide buffalo check ribbon
• Craft Wire cutters
• florist paddle wire

My Process For The DIY Apple Wreath

Your process may be different, but this is the way my creations take shape.

First, lay the grapevine wreath out on a work surface.

Retrieve all of the flower-stems and artificial apple, berry, and leaf stems you are considering for this project and lay them near the grapevine wreath for easy access.

Making the Bow

Decide how large you want the bow and create a ten-loop bow.  You can find how to make one here ►How to Make Beautiful Ribbon Bows.  Instead of attaching the bow you make to the ribbon around a gift box as shown in this tutorial, use a length of ribbon sufficient to allow two generous tails and tie the length of ribbon around the middle of the loops.  Find the middle of the length of ribbon and make an overhand knot securing the center of the loops.  Don’t fret over tweaking it now.  Set to the side.

 

 

 

Place two of the artificial apple, berry, and leaf stems on the wreath and play with them, placing them around the wreath on the top left side and the bottom right side, until you find a pleasing arrangement.  Gently bend the floral stems until you have a graceful bend, which follows the curvature of the wreath.  Notice in the picture below how gently manipulating the leaves and the stem create a more natural look.  Often, when these stems are at the store, they are bent and twisted.  You need to correct that to make them look more natural.

Make the Stems Look More Organic

 

 One thing that drives me crazy is to see an arrangement where someone has not touched and manipulated silk flowers and stems to make them look more organic and natural.  You know you have seen those, too!  They look like someone took them right out of the store and stuck them in a vase or on a wreath, straight, stiff, and unnatural!

 

Next, lay another stem downward in the opposite direction of the first stem you placed on the wreath.  The two stem ends should overlap.  Just tuck them into the grapevines and under the fruits, leaves, and berries.

You’ll notice the bottom fruit is not the same color combination as the first two stems of fruits.  I had two separate stems in these fall colors.  Wanting to add the same colors to the top, I separated the two branches on the of the stems and placed one branch on the left and one on the right of the apple stem with the pomegranate.

 

Place The Bow On The Apple Wreath

Then, lay the bow you made on the wreath,

adjusting the stems with the fruit until you are happy with the results.

 

Remove the bow and cut 6-inch lengths of the florist wire.  Begin threading the length of wire through the grapevine wreath and back and around the stem.  Twist the two ends securely around the stem securing it to the wreath.  Repeat wiring three times for each stem, securing toward the end, the middle, and toward the top.  I just twist and then tuck the wire ends into the grapevine.  You can cut the ends if you like.

Fluff and shape the bow and wire to the grapevine wreath.  Weave the tails through the fruit and leaves.

Know When To Stop

At this point, I decided the mums were just not needed.  They really didn’t add anything to the wreath.

TIP: 
Remember that just because you have forty-five blooms or stems, does not mean you have to use every one of the forty-five blooms or stems.  Truly, sometimes less is more!  Have you seen the wreaths where someone just did not know when to stop?

Hang The Apple Wreath For A New Perspective

 

After wiring the stems and the bow to the wreath, you need to get it vertical.  I hung it on the inside front door.  Standing back, you can see where things need to be moved and tweaked.  It’s a good idea to step away from your creation for a little bit and then, come back with a fresh perspective.  Another tip, take a picture.  Sometimes, you will notice things on a picture that you might not when the thing is right in front of you.

 

 

At this point, I was pretty happy with the wreath but felt like some white needed to be added.  The dark plum on the stem at the bottom is not very visible against the dark wreath and the white will mimic the white of the bow.

Add Some White To The Apple Wreath

 

In this case, I used white astilbe picks to tuck in and around the fruit and greenery.  Then, once they look perfect, wired them to the wreath, too.

By adding some white astilbe picks to the wreath, the white color is spread around the wreath and the plum is much more visible.

Hang the wreath and enjoy!

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