As soon as I had my leftover Turkey sandwich from Thanksgiving, I went into full-on Christmas decorating mode. I wanted to make a statement in my living room and thought a large wreath over the couch would be ideal; however, wreaths are so expensive! Regular 22″ wreaths (not even oversized) can run from fifty to hundreds of dollars. Keep in mind, that’s for a faux wreath, and of course, I wanted it to be a fresh wreath. The cost in my mind kept going up and up. It’s why I usually never buy or make wreaths. Yet, then I went shopping at Trader Joe’s and saw their 22″ fresh wreaths for only $10 and the lightbulb went off. I could use two of the 22″ wreaths to make one large 40″ wreath. Genius! If I do say so myself. And so I give you an affordable and easy DIY 40″ Christmas Wreath tutorial. It’s made from fresh pine, fresh seeded eucalyptus, faux berries and twinkle lights. Because what is Christmas without twinkle lights?
This DIY Christmas wreath is very affordable. I spent about $54 total and that includes two battery operated light strands that costed about $15. So without the lights it’s under $40. You couldn’t even buy a small decorated 22″ wreath for that price.
This process is so easy because the bundle making, that usually takes a lot of time when making a wreath, is already done. So basically you deconstruct the two small wreaths and then use the pre-made bundles on the larger frame. I made the wreath even more “lux” by adding the fresh seeded eucalyptus. Keep in mind, it must be seeded eucalyptus because the seeds are what gives the wreath that green berry look. Lastly, we added final touches like faux berries and lights and it’s a real show stopper.
Materials
- 2 22″ fresh pine wreaths (I got mine at Trader Joe’s for $10 each)
- 2-3 bunches of fresh seeded eucalyptus (also available at Trader Joe’s)
- 10 faux berry bundles or other embellishment (I bought 2 berry stems from Michael’s that allowed me to create 10 berry bundles)
- 30″ double-wire wreath form
- Floral wire on a paddle
- Greenery pins (optional)
- Floral tap (optional, only if you need to make the berry bundles)
- 2 battery operated large dot light strands (about 24 lights per strand, available at Home Depot)
- 2 Command Strip large wire hooks, each holds up to 5 lbs. (optional)
- Wire cutters, pliers
Instructions
- Make wreath. Attach the floral wire to the crossbar of the double-wire wreath form. Keep the wire on the paddle, do not cut. Remove a bundle of greenery from one of your 22″ wreaths. Lay the bundle on the form, and wrap the wire tightly around the stems and wreath form about three times. Do not cut the wire. Add another bundle, overlapping the previous one; wrap the wire around the stems. Continue adding bundles until you reach the starting point. (Remember to always lay your greenery bundles in the same direction.) When the entire form is covered, tie off the wire to the wreath form and cut off excess.
- Add the fresh seeded eucalyptus. Bundle two-three stems of seeded eucalyptus and tuck into spots around the wreath. Often just tucking them in will be enough, but if too loose, use your greenery pins (or floral wire) to hold stems in place. Once again, continue adding around the wreath until you reach the starting point.
- Add the faux berry bundles or other embellishment. If using berries, you’ll want to have about 10 clusters of berries. I used 2 large berry stems from Michael’s. I was able to detach the berry clusters from the main stick and then used the floral wire to bunch 2-3 small clusters into one larger bundle. Tuck your final berry bundles into the wreath similar to how you did the seeded eucalyptus. If needed, use wire or greenery pins to attach. You could also use faux flowers, ornaments or pine cones. Do you!
- Hang your wreath. I suggest weighing your wreath before hanging because final wreath could weigh as much as 8 lbs. I weighed mine by standing on a scale without the wreath and then standing on the scale with the wreath. Knowing it was 8 lbs. helped me to know how to hang the wreath. I decided on two Command Brand hooks that hold 5 lbs. each. It worked perfectly.
- Adjust greenery to make sure everything looks right. Once up, you may notice a hole or a branch that hangs wrong. Make adjustments accordingly. Don’t be afraid to tuck in extra greenery pieces or wire something into place.
- Add your battery operated lights. Once your wreath is hung, tuck the battery pack of your light strand behind the greenery and then string lights onto the wreath. You’ll want at least 48 lights so I used two strands of 24 lights each.
Don’t forget to Pin this for later!
I used the same greenery (pine and seeded eucalyptus) in my floral arrangement as well. It brings a pretty cohesion to the space. Another fun natural element to add to Christmas arrangements is cranberries! Be sure to check out my tutorial for a DIY Cranberry Vase.
I also made the pine tree wall art! I’ll be sure to follow up with a tutorial for those as well as offer mine as a printable so you don’t have to make yours by hand. So stay tuned. In the meantime be sure to follow me on Instagram (@tonalitydesigns).Instagram is always the first place you’ll see any of my creations—often things that never even end up on the blog—so I hope you’ll follow along. For example, I shared the process of making this wreath in my stories and I have it all saved in my highlights under “Wreath DIYs.” And if you follow, be sure to say hi! The best part of Instagram is the social side and getting to know people who share my passion for creating and decorating.
