Blissful 55: Shower Me with Pretty Things-The Wreath

Laryssa is practically an old married woman now…hardly considered a newlywed. That is how pathetic I am and how long it’s taken to get this series done. To take my pathetic procrastination one step further…I’m not even the same age as I was when I did this project! How very lame of me.
There were a few different projects that were done for Laryssa’s shower that deserve their own post before giving the final recap of her shower. I’ll continue to take guesses as to the theme before revealing it on the final post.
My Sister in Law, Stephanie, was brilliant enough to decide that we should have a craft night and suggested making a wreath. She had a tutorial that she wanted to try and I decided I would make one for Laryssa’s shower that I could then use as décor in our living room afterwards. I needed something *hints to theme coming* pretty, vintagey?, delicate. All led to the final product of my….

Steph found the tutorial for her Bubble Burlap Wreath over at Todays Fabulous Finds.

I love how both of ours came out! What’s even better is getting together to make them. I love crafting with friends/sisters. It is such a wonderful way to share inspiration, feedback, and tips. And who doesn’t love some awesome girl time?
I really don’t know how I came up with my idea for ruffled lace…just a light bulb moment kinda thing. I figured there was nothing more vintage then lace so I headed down to Ribbons and Lace and found some that was just perfect. I also found my ribbon there and got my wreath form from JoAnns (using a coupon of course!)

Laryssa’s wedding colors were a deep purple, champagne, black, and silver. I wanted to bring in some color into the wreath and not just have see through lace against a bare form so I wrapped the form in ribbon, pinning as I went along.

Steph used black burlap that she then cut into lots and lots of tiny squares, then folded them per the instructions on the tutorial, and then pinned onto her wreath.

Disclaimer: Be prepared to have your table COVERED in burlap…it sheds a lot. That’s okay though, end result is totally worth it and it’s nothing a quick vacuum doesn’t fix.
My next step was to wrap the lace around. I pinned down my starting point and then just wrapped and wrapped, making sure I had even spacing as I went. I discreetly put a pin in the back to keep the lace in place as I went along. It was more time consuming than hard, cuz really, it wasn’t hard AT ALL!

I will forever be thankful that Steph helped me learn fabric flowers. I promise I will do a tutorial on them (or you can find them on Pinterest) but since it was my first time, I was distracted with learning and forgot the camera….GASP! I love them though and might be a little obsessed with trying to find projects with flowers. The purple flower was done using the left over ribbon and the “twist” technique…that’s my name for it anyways, clever right? The black flowers were done using some satin that Steph brought over (thanks sis!) and using the “burnt” technique.

After lots and LOTS of pinning, Steph’s wreath looked AWESOME! I just wanted to sit there and poke at it….it’s so bubbly….OH NOW I GET IT! It’s a BUBBLE wreath! Nice one Jen….

I also wanted to add an “L” into the wreath which stands for many things…Love, Laryssa, and her new last name La Chimia. Worked out perfectly. I found this wood letter at Michaels (with coupon) and drilled a small hole in the top. Then I used some left over purple spray paint that I had from a living room project (her wedding colors match my living room colors) and sprayed it purple. I attached it using some skinny cream ribbon and tied it around the top of the wreath. Once I find a wooden “P” I like, I will do the same and swap it out.

Don’t ask me how that footprint got on the carport wall…it’s a mystery to me!

It was so fun to sit there, chatting, eating mint thins, and ~~gossiping~~ pleasantly discussing art, travel, politics, recipes, and our love of housecleaning. I promise, we would never talk about you…or you…or you….okay maybe you, JUST KIDDING! We love you guys and I promise, we only talked about how awesome you all are.
I loved how both our wreaths turned out. Mine greeted friends as they walked into my backyard for Laryssa’s ___________(enter theme guess here) Bridal Shower and I think it was a great little touch (not that I’m biased or anything) and I love the addition the wreath brings to Steph’s entryway table, not to mention, that wreath could keep me entertained for a good 2 hours or more…just sayin.