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Taken on Bunker Hill Rd., just about
laying on the ground! |
First, gather your
vines. We have vines around our grounds and along the doggie path. You
can also venture into our plentiful woods find wild grapevine. They
generally use trees as support. Gather vines during the growing season
as they are more pliable. You need a heavy pair of gardening pruners to
cut the vines apart, some of the stems of the vine can be rather sturdy.
Length is really not important, since you can use several lengths to
make one wreath. A word of caution. Grapevines and poison
ivy both like to climb trees and you'll often find them together.
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you have gathered your vines, it is best to use them as quickly as
possible, but if they are left sitting and loose their pliability you
can just immerse them in a tub of water and let them soak for
approximately 12 to 24 hours. They will then be ready to make into a
wreath. Srip the vine of any leaves. Don't worry too much about the
leaves, they are also pretty easy to remove even after assembled. They
dry and crumble.
The first method is wrapped
vine, with this method you can either use a spool of floral wire or a
second strand of vine. With one hand, starting with the thickest end of
the vine, hold it in place, then using your other hand, bend the vine
into a circle, or oval, that is slightly smaller than the diameter that
you wish your wreath to be. Keep wrapping your vine around this circle
until you have reached the end of the vine. Use small pieces of the
floral wire to fasten the loops together to make a sturdy base. Keep
adding more lengths of vine until you have reached the fullness you
desire. When finished wrap all the vines together using your wire, in
about 4 or 6 places around the wreath. If desired, wrap a reserved piece
of vine over your wire to hide.
The second method is a woven
vine. This starts the same way, using the thickest end of your vine
first make your base, but instead of using wire to solidify your base,
take both ends of your vine and wrap it around itself, in both
directions. This will hold in shape when finished. With your next vines,
just wrap them around the vine base until you have reached the desired
thickness. You may have to use a small piece of wire to hold the very
ends in place. This is my preferred method.
I have also seen people that do
not have strong hands take a board or piece of plywood to make a frame
to wrap your vines around. Draw a rough circular diagram on the board in
the size of wreath you want to make. Now take some rather large nails
and pound them into the board at intervals around the circle. Now all
you will need to do is wrap your vine around the nails. Then follow
whichever method you desire for your wreath.
These grapevine wreaths make a
great base to many different wreaths. While they do look attractive
naturally, bows make a great addition to the base wreath. They also look
really beautiful at Christmas time with mini white lights wrapped
around. I also have several that I have made, adding dried flowers and
bows, using hot glue, to just one side of the wreath. That way the
natural beauty still shows through, but it is also serving as a base
wreath. If you like a shiny wreath, purchase spray varnish at a craft
store and coat it. One other tip, to preserve dried flowers, a healthy
coat of very cheap hair spray works as a great preservative! Don't spray
it on the wreath part if you want it shiny as it will dull the shine.
Try making your own
grapevine wreath next time you are in the market for a new wreath to
hang on your wall or door. They also make great gifts! If you
have any questions about assembly, just let me know. Maybe I can help ;)
- Michelle
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