*Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.
PRO TIP: YOU DON’T HAVE TO KNOW HOW TO EMBROIDER MAKE IMPRESSIVE CREATIVE USE OF AN EMBROIDERY HOOP!
Embroidery Hoop Holiday Wreath DIY
Did you know you don’t have to know/do/like embroidery to make awesome creative use of a GIGANTIC EMBROIDERY HOOP??? Hurry! Get yourself a HUGE embroidery hoop. While you’re at it, grab some winter greenery and whatever other wreath-accessories and… get crackin’!
Did I mention this hoop is BIG???
IT IS HUGE! And I LURVE IT.
I am pretty dope at making lists so why don’t I list out the ingredients for this fun embroidery hoop holiday wreath for you:
- One big-ol oval embroidery hoop (mine is 18″ x 27″)
- Christmas-y greens of your choosing
- Cotton boll/stems (*like these, mine have sparkle on them – I want to know what kind of food they feed THEIR cotton crops!)
- *Glue gun
- *Floral wire
- Wire cutters
- Scissors
- Spray paint (I vote GOLD! *My preference is this paint with a flat finish vs. a super-shiny gold, but if you want super shiny then – GO YOU!)
- *Ribbon or fabric (I used fabric I’ve had for a million years and tore it into a ribbon-like strip)
- One 3″ strip of *Balsa wood (1/16″ x 3″ x 36″)
- 2 to 2 1/2″ stickers or vinyl lettering (I used vinyl & my * Cricut Machine – more details on that below). You could get crazy and and show-off-y and free-hand your lettering, or you could consider using a *wood burning tool! I’d love to see this using the wood burning technique…
IMHO, the hardest part of making this embroidery hoop holiday wreath is either 1) waiting for your order to come in if you choose to purchase any supplies online, or 2) driving around to gather supplies. I ordered my hoop online, got my greens & cotton at Micaels, and already had everything else.
Sometimes it pays to be a craft supply hoarder.
Using the wire cutters, cut the greens to size, and arrange along the hoop. I used floral wire and a little hot glue to attach them to the hoop. Go as far around the hoop as you want. I chose to go about 1/4 of the way. I like the simplicity of it.
To finish off the ends of the greens, I tied them off with a little bow made of leftover Christmas-y fabric. To make the bow from fabric I cut a 1-to-2 inch-wide strip, and frayed the edges.
Let’s talk about that Balsa wood strip.
To create the “V” I measured 2 inches up from each end of the strip. With a pencil I marked a dot placing it at the center, Finally, I made a V going from the dot at the center point to each corner.
Re-reading that paragraph makes the process sound complicated, but it is legit not complicated. However, I am a visual person and it sounds comlicated, so here are pictures!
That 1/16″ “thick” Balsa wood is THIN. No tablesaw or lumberjack skills needed! Simply break out the scissors! Carefully cut along that ” V” and voilà – a balsa wood strip with adorable personality and character… reminiscent of the ends of a ribbon tied onto a gift.
Don’t forget the spray paint!
I went with gold for the wood strip (did you know Gold is Sparkles’ favorite cousin). In fact, I kinda wonder how cute it would have been to have painted the hoop gold too!
What do you think? Gold hoop or natural hoop???
I have a Cricut machine so my “Merry Christmas” is from cut-out *vinyl letters. I had the deep, red vinyl on hand, so I went with that! Cricut users, I used the REMIRES font – around 2.1 inches in height.. My original plan was to paint “Merry Christmas” using a vinyl template, however I didn’t have vinyl stencil film on hand. Related: free-hand is not my jam, yo.
For those who don’t have a machine (like a Cricut or Silhouette), DON’T FRET! 2 inch letter stickers or stencils are fantastic options (*I found this cute stencil set here)! Better yet, break-out that *wood burning tool (they are all the rage right now) and burn some magic.
Hot glue the wood strip into place when the paint on the wood is dry. Do this after the letters are secured, and the greenery/cotton bolls/berries/bows are all set.
Don’t forget the final step – put it somewhere everyone can see!
PRO TIP: due to the weight of the greenery on one half, it might be tricky getting the embroidery hoop holiday wreath to center. Just be patient and maybe use two nails instead of one. *wink wink*
If you like this holiday DIY (or don’t – GASP), you might like this embroidery hoop art using an old beanie, this JOY sign or maybe these waterless snow globes! Is there anything you’ve made lately you think just HAVE to share about? Hop into the comments and tell me!
*Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.