Patriotic Wreath Tutorial

I doubt that it was necessary to do a complete tutorial for this wreath, since it wasn’t my idea and there’s already a tutorial for one here, but I got a lot of comments on both facebook and instagram when I posted the finished product so I thought what the heck.  My mom was coming down to visit and asked me to make another one for her, so I decided to document it.  I did mine a hair different than the original tutorial calls for, so maybe this is easier?  Either way, here you go.  :)

First things first, gather your supplies (all mine were from Hobby Lobby, and there’s a 40% off coupon this week – score!):

* Straw wreath

* 8 pieces each – Red, Blue, White felt

* Box of straight pins

* Piece of white foam

* Extras:  Glue gun, scissors, floral/craft wire

Once you have everything, sit down with your felt and cut each piece into 12 mini-squares.  The felt pieces measure 9x12, so cut them 3x3.

I cut 3 pieces of felt at a time… otherwise this takes a while.

After your squares are cut, start pinning!

Take one square of white, and fold it corner to corner, like so.

Then fold it across, corner to corner again.

Take a straight pin and tack the centered point down in the middle of your wreath.  You’ll want to start on the top/front of the wreath and work around it.

Put four folded squares together like this, then pull the edges in toward each other and fluff them up.  It’ll look like a pretty felt flower.  :)

Once you have your center pieces situated, pin more squares around to fill the wreath from top to bottom.  Make sure you make a “v” with the design, though.  The top needs to be wider than the bottom, inner section.

When your white section is about three inches across, begin your next section of red.  I used the four pieces point-to-point method again, working around it to fill in.

When it’s the same width and fullness of the white, move on.

Then keep moving on… Rinse… Repeat.

Like the original tutorial, I liked the look of the white bordering the blue so I made sure to have five white sections/four red.

When the white/red stripes are finished, start with your blue.  There should be about 1/3 of the wreath left for this, and you can go about it a little haphazardly if you want to.  This section doesn’t have to be nearly as meticulous as the others since it’s all blending together anyway.

When everything looks to be covered, go back around and make sure you don’t see bare spots from any angle.  Aside from the part that will touch your door, you want no signs of straw!

Next, make your stars.  The original tutorial used card stock and I chose foam… so do whatever you want here.  I free-handed my stars the first time, but then saw a cheap wooden version (for $.50) when I went to get the supplies for mom’s wreath.  I used it as a template the second go-round and her stars turned out much larger, so again, do whatever you want!

When your stars are all cut out, fire up the trusty old glue gun (mine looks really gross in these pics… please forgive).  Cut your wire into long strips (long enough to wrap around the wreath) and attach one to each star.

Once it’s set, take another star and glue it over the wire, making a “star & wire sandwich.”

Next, lay your stars on your wreath and decide where you like them best.  Take the wire and weave them below the felt pieces, completely camouflaging the wire and only leaving the stars to sit atop the felt.

Reach around the back and marry your wires, tying them in a knot.  Trim the ends.

Place the rest of your stars and you’re done! 

Here was mom’s finished product:

And this is mine on our front door:

I love these wreaths more than I should, really.  They really pop against the front door and they’re so “luxurious” looking in person.  I’m considering leaving it up through Labor Day.

If you love it as much as I do but you’re of the “I’d rather pay someone to make it” variety, email me.  I’ll be glad to sell you one… :)

Best Buddies

These two are like any typical brother and sister.  They like to pick on each other, steal toys, fight over what color stars the turtle will exude each night, throw water on each other’s head in the bathtub, and cause general irritation in regard to the other at any given time.  However, they have a special, one-of-a-kind bond that I’m not sure can be understood outside of twindom.  The kind where one doesn’t seem to function normally without the other by their side.  The kind where “one goes, the other follows,” always.

They look out for each other.  Hold hands.  Bring Yaya or Bebe when disaster strikes.  Make each other laugh.  Gang up together (against me) when I’m on my last nerve… That kind of thing. 

The best of friends.

When one puts on overalls (Caroline), the other must also “dress like Sir Topham Hat” (Tyler). 

And when Mama says “go stand beside sissy so I can take your picture!” – he can’t help but put his arm around her.

They get excited about the same things, share the same experiences, and have a built-in buddy to help beg for ‘just one more time’ on the train.

Who am I to argue with faces like these? 

Tyler & Caroline, I truthfully admire your feisty independence and your strong-will (no denying where that comes from), and I’m confident that one day you’ll settle into well-balanced little people.  As I consider some parts of your two-year-old personalities in a “this too shall pass” manner, the thing I hope you never lose sight of is how special you are to each other.  It is a blessing indeed.

Need us? Check here first.

Sorry I’ve been MIA lately, but when the warm weather creeps in this time of year we can’t just sit at home all day.  There are pools to swim in, slides to conquer, and splash pads to deal with.

Lucky for us, all of those things are part of our summer membership to Palmetto Falls and we’re taking full advantage.  We’ve been an average of three days every week since they’ve been open, and on the days we’re not at the pool, we hit up the zoo, library, or Edventure.  As we’re cruising into Nathan’s last year of residency, it’s finally hitting me that all these awesome parts of our every day life are probably coming to a close… so we’re soaking them up to the best of our ability.

As for this summer hangout, though, it should come as no surprise to anyone that Tyler and Caroline are right at home.  They LOVE the water and have no fear, EVER.  Thank goodness (for me) there is a rather awesome toddler area called Tadpole Cove, and along with a splash pad, the huge pool is one foot deep (read: safe… and I don’t have to be all helicopter parent).  I get in and out with them at my leisure, but otherwise they’re completely independent.  I’m not really sure if I’ve mentioned how independent my kids are, but it’s sort of scary.  They pick out their clothes, dress themselves, take themselves to the bathroom, choose their foods/drinks, do all things a 10 year old can do at the park, etc.  It’s frightening.  With that said, we all win at Palmetto Falls.

See this slide?  Tyler doesn’t exactly hit the height requirement but he was “close enough”…  I was honestly floored that he sat right down and didn’t even hesitate.

Daddy was proud!

Sissy wasn’t close enough to the height requirement – – so she and I played in the big pool while the boys did their thing.  We promised her that she’d be big enough soon… that, or another guard wouldn’t be as strict. 

So in a nutshell, we will be permanent fixtures at Palmetto Falls this year and I will be taking out stock in aerosol SPF 50.  If you need us, head on over to Fort Jackson.  :)