Copycat Wreath

When I received my December issue of Martha Stewart Living I was stunned (in a good way) by the cover. I'm not sure if I have ever seen a wreath that I thought was more beautiful.

Isn't it gorgeous!? I knew immediately that I wanted to make a wreath like this. Being the broke frugal crafter that I am I thought I would try to make it WITHOUT ordering the exotic tropical leaves to make it with. They may or may not be expensive - I didn't even check - but I wanted to try. I thought it would be a fun copycat challenge.

This is a little better picture:

Click picture to see other wreaths by Emily Thompson from Martha Stewart Living

So on to the copycat:

I went out to the back yard and sorted through some piles of leaves that were bunched up between the planters and the edge of the patio. I just picked up the thick Eucalyptus leaves because they are so sturdy and I thought they would hold up to the stuff I was going to do to them.

They were wet from the rain so I washed them and laid them to dry. The tips curled under nicely like the ones on the fancy schmancy ones on the wreath in the picture. Then I painted the backs of the leaves white with 2 coats of flat white paint. When they were dry I trimmed them so they resembled the shape of the ones in the picture.  Then I painted the veins on the leaf like they showed up in the magazine cover. 

I didn't have the right kind of twigs so I had to buy them at JoAnn.  I attached them to a circle of wire. I couldn't find the right kind of dried flower for the accent so I used some pieces from my dried hydrangeas. I don't really like how they look, but I thought if the leaves turned out well, I would do some more searching for the right kind. If I didn't like the leaves then I could just throw the whole thing away.

I give myself a C+. It's not that it looks so bad, it's just that those special leaves are just way better than ones I can create. It was a really gallant effort, but I just can't get replicate that amazing texture on the real ones. I think I'm going to order some if it turns out they are reasonably priced. In the meantime I'm going to look for some dried accent pieces to take the place of the hydrangea buds. I'm going to try it out on my front door, too.  I guess this copy-cat's future it still to be determined.

Made any wreaths that you love lately? Or are you just feeling so so about them like me?

Make something wonderful today!

Karen

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