Make a fun summer cowboy wreath with cowboy Christmas decorations.
A great blend of bold bandana colors on a rustic background makes this both country western and snazzy. This wreath would make a welcome addition to any country home on the range or even make it a part of western wedding decor. Best of all - it's easy to make.
This wreath came together in 15 minutes. Links to North Pole West ribbon and ornaments are provided in materials section.
If you have never made a bow before, don't be afraid - it is easier than it seems and once you've made one, you'll be tying bows on everything.
Materials used:
Grapevine wreath (I used 20")
3 large red cowboy hat ornaments
1 roll "Two Step" wired bandana ribbon
Double Lucky Horseshoe Ornament
Burlap (optional)
Tools
Scissors
Hot glue gun (optional)
String or wire
Ok let's do the bow first- basically this bow is constructed with 2 moves: the loop and the twist. Learn these steps and the world is your wreath.
Step 1
Making the cut:
I always have a few yards of burlap laying around for spur of the moment projects so I cut 6' x 2.5" of it to add a bit of rustic personality - you can substitute if there is something you like better.
Then cut a 6' length of bandana ribbon and lay it on top of cut burlap. You can also do this step with another layer of bandana ribbon in place of burlap.
Step 2
The Center Loop
I am using a single layer of ribbon on step 2 & 3 just to show more clearly the procedure.
Make a loop and pinch between fingers to hold it in place. This makes your center loop. Pretty easy so far.
Step 3
Doin the Twist
This is where a glue gun come in handy if you have one. Just put a dollop of hot glue to hold the loop closed.
Once dry you need to pinch and twist the ribbon so that the pattern is facing right side up.
This (above) is what it should look like. Now, make another loop bringing it back to the center loop. Then twist to once again get the pattern facing up and create another loop of the same size on the other side so the are a matched set - mine were approx 4" loops (you can use the glue gun again on the twists to make it easier to keep in place).on the twists to make it easier to keep in place).
Keep repeating this process - one side then the other until you have 2 sets of loops on each side ( using 2 layers of material you will really end up with 8 loops total). After the last loop is done give it a twist (and dab of glue if you wish).
At this point it will look like just a pile of flat loops with a long tail and you will think I'm leading you astray - but have no fear dear reader, this will come together.
*Heads-Up- now that you know basics I will continue by showing the actual ribbon as I used it for the wreath shown.
Step 4
Tie it Up
Now feed some craft wire or string through the center loop leaving enough sticking out either end so that you can bring them to the back and tie together - this holds all your loops in place.
Step 5
Tail Making
The long tail will actually become the pretty tail of the bow. No magic needed - it's really quite simple. Bring the end of the ribbon up to the back of the center loop and tuck it under the the string (or wire) knot you just made.
It now just looks like a big ugly loop. Cut the loop at the bottom center and fish tail the ends for extra pizzaz.
Go back to the part of the tail you just tucked under the knot and flip it over for the pattern to face front. If it looks like it might fall out give it a bit of glue.
Fan out your loops as much or as little as you like. A bow is born. Congratulations!
Step 5
Putting on the Splash
Since I really want a lot of country splash on this wreath I am going to add some bold tails.
Easy peasy.
I cut 3 pieces of bandana ribbon (1) 36" (2) 24" and tucked them securely into the wreath.
Add the bow on top of the extra tails by fishing another string (or wire) through the center loop as earlier and use it to tie the bow to the wreath.
Now, scrunch, curl, twist or your ribbons however you like.
The real fun begins here - add the frills.
For this project I choose the large red cowboy hat ornaments because they are so bold and because they are lightweight. Since they are technically ornaments they come with string loop hangers which I used to tie them onto the wreath - these should not be glued on.
The strings on the top hats were hidden by the ribbon but the string on the bottom hat was showing so I tied a bit of bandana ribbon on it for cover and added our Double Lucky Horseshoe ornament so that the bottom of the wreath had some splash too.
This is a great wreath that can work year-round. Imagine how pretty it would be with some sprays of berries & poinsettia for Christmas.