Wednesday, December 19, 2018

Quick Craft: Deathly Hallows Door Wreath

Here's a quick craft I left out of my Party posts, but I think you guys might like: I made a Deathly Hallows wreath!


Someone shared a very different version of this on FOE a while back, and I loved the simplicity of it. If you have a bunch of dead branches around the yard like we do, then that's the hard part already done for you. (See, I knew ignoring the back lawn would come in handy SOME day.)

Since I had plenty of sticks all I had to buy was a small grapevine wreath; for the rest of the decorations I used scraps of garland we already had. If you want to make your own you'll also need hot glue, twine, and floral wire.

This is pretty easy, but let me walk you through it:

First trim some sticks to fit snugly around the grapevine wreath:

You want them all touching the wreath, if possible, so you can wire them together. You also want them to form a triangle. (My triangle is pretty wonky, but I've decided that adds to its charm.)

Hot-glue the sticks in place to hold the shape, then lash each corner together with twine. I started by tying a knot around one stick, then made a figure 8 with my twine around the two sticks at each corner. It helps to hot glue the ends down after you tie off the twine. 

Once that's done, use floral wire to attach the wreath on all three sides of your sticky triangle.

Now the fun part: DECORATING.

I used Harry's wand for the center, but if you don't have a wand you can just use another stick. I thought it'd be fun to make a sprig of glittery branches come out of the wand, so it looks like it's mid-spell. Here I'm just setting stuff down to see how it looks.


I liked the asymmetry of having the garland curl up and over the wreath. Then I found this half-circle of berries in my stash that was perfect for the other side:



I swapped the gold sprig on the end of the wand for a silver feathery thing to match the garland.

(I originally thought I'd hang some bells off the bottom with red velvet ribbon. I still think that might look nice, if you want to add something similar on yours!)

I wired most of the garland in place, but used plain ol' hot glue on the wand and the sprig on the wand tip. I had to re-position everything a few times, so I can tell you the hot glue pops right off the wand, and so far I haven't seen any damage.

Finally I tucked in more silver feather/leaves on the left side, just to fill it out, and then I asked Instagram if I should add greenery to the bottom corners:


There was a resounding YES from the 'gram, so the last thing I did was glue a few green sprigs in place. You could also tie them in with your twine at the beginning, though, which might look even better.

And that's it! 

I originally took the photo on a white door:


   But I gotta say, a black door is where it is AT:

Awww yeeeeeah.

So much better, I think I'm painting our front door back to black this week. :D 
 (Fair warning, John, sweetie.)

 John and I are having a wonderful week catching up on boring Life stuff (doctors and bills and laundry, OH MY) and catching our breath after the last few months. We're looking forward to a quiet Christmas, and I hope you guys are taking some time for those peaceful moments, too. Remember, where possible, it's always better to be guided by gratitude, not guilt. So please, don't let anyone guilt you into gifts or parties or sacrifices you don't want to make this week. Take a walk, look at the lights, visit a friend. Remember this season is for YOU, too, not just everyone else.

I love you guys. TTFN.



14 comments:

  1. Love it! Simple and lovely. Have a wonderful christmas

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  2. How I needed that last paragraph. So profound - I think I'll type up that saying and post it where I can see it (guilt is too often a guiding force in my life)!

    Thanks for all you do. There's just something about visiting Epbot that brings a bright spot to my day.

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  3. I want so badly to paint our front door black, but I want it to be shiny AND resist fading (it faces the rising sun) and I haven't found a paint that meets those requirements.

    I love the wreath!

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  4. soooo.... I looked at your wreath, with the silver feathers like winter frost on one side, and vibrant berries on the other, and immediately thought of how it symbolized the function of the ring of resurrection, bringing life to the dead, tying in with your winter party theme and how one side was a little "dead" but the magic of the ring was revitalizing everything and bringing life back. I read into it way too much, but I love my interpretation

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  5. What a cute idea! So simple but pretty.

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  6. Love you, too. Have a restful holiday! Thanks for all you do to brighten our days.

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  7. Merry Christmas, John and Jen, and thank you for always sharing your creativity and compassion with everyone!

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  8. I love the wreath but super needed that last part. Thank YOU! And enjoy your quiet, peaceful time with the kitties.

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  9. Merry Christmas! I hope you enjoy the together time and the quiet spaces.

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  10. That last bit is some good advice. Thank you! Also where do you get all that garland? I looked online and it's so expensive!

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    1. I think ALL of my garland has come from JoAnn's; I buy a little more every year using their 70% off sales - and on Black Friday they often take an additional 20% off your total purchase, which helps immensely. Otherwise, yeah, a single strand of nice garland is up to $60! Madness!

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    2. So I guess I just have to start a collection.

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  11. I love you too, Jen. May you & John have a lovely, peace-filled Christmas. <3

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  12. Hey Jen,
    Thank you for sharing your wreath! I decorate my den for Christmas with a Harry Potter theme. This will look awsome on the fireplace screen

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