Fall Wreath Tutorial with New Tinsel Work Wreath Form

Our children are back in school and football chatter abounds. This means fall is around the corner. It's time to decorate your door for the changing season.This autumn inspired metallic copper wreath will bring you into fall and beyond.

A brand new work wreath product - the tinsel work wreath- is used to create this wreath. This basic wreath work form is the same size and style as regular work wreath forms but uses smaller tinsel ties. These tinsel ties blend in with your wreath filler. This form comes in many different sizes, colors and styles. Check out all the different styles by clicking here.

What are Work Wreath Forms and why use them? A work wreath is a basic round metal wreath with pre-attached wire "tips". The tips are used to attach craft, floral, and fabric. Have you ever made a wreath using only grapevine or a floral foam base? When using a work wreath there is no gluing or wiring, no hot glue guns and hunting for areas to attach your decorations. The wire tips are 5-6" long and with just a twist your crafts are attached, and multiple layers of supplies can be added into the same wire tips.

Here is the tutorial for making these cute fall wreath styles!

Supply List

To purchase these products from www.mardigrasoutlet.com, click on the individual product link below or click here.

21" Poly Mesh Roll: Deluxe Metallic Copper
24" Tinsel Work Wreath Form: Metallic Copper
Scissors

COST/TIME:

This project takes approximately 20 minutes. The estimated total cost of supplies for the basic wreath is about $18 as shown. Using the 24" wreath form, you will have poly deco mesh product left over.

Each Poly Mesh Roll comes with 10 yards of fabric.  For our project we used the 24" wreath form which uses approximately 5-8 yards of mesh.  If you would like a larger wreath, try the 30" wreath form, which will use a whole 10 yard roll of Deco Mesh. Other Work Wreath Form color options can be found here and alternative colors of deco poly mesh here.

Step 1- Gathering the Mesh

Make every poof or loop of Deco Mesh by first gathering the mesh from each side, do not wrinkle or bunch.  By gathering it you ensure that it will be easier to adjust and make fuller, airier puffs.

Step 2- Attach the Mesh to the Work Wreath

Place the Deco Mesh down in the CENTER or innermost ring of the wreath and twist the tinsel ties tightly to secure the mesh onto the form.  The extra tinsel ties become your method of attaching additional design accents and ribbon.

Step 3- Form loops

Larger loops will create a more voluminous wreath. And smaller loops a more compact wreath. Whatever size you choose, aim for consistent loop size around the entire form.  Attach the mesh to the form at every pair of tinsel wire by twisting and work your way around the center ring.

It is important when making loops or puffs to GATHER the Deco Mesh, do not bunch or wad it together.  Bunching the mesh will cause it to look wrinkly and dense instead of airy and light.

Step 4- Transition to the Outer Ring of the Work Wreath

When you have made loops around the entire inner circle of the wreath, re-attach the mesh to the same tinsel you began at.  This ensures that you do not have any gaps in coverage.  Without making any cuts to the fabric, bring the deco mesh to the OUTER circle of the wreath, making a loop in between the inner and outer circles.

Continue forming loops around the outermost circle of the work wreath.

Step 5- Attach and Finish

Once you have worked your way around the outer circle, cut the Deco Mesh only after you have gathered enough to make your final loop.  Attach it back into the tinsel garland twist you started the outer circle with, this prevents gaps in coverage.  You can fold the Deco Mesh underneath itself or simply trim away any excess.

The Finished Product- the basic wreath

This basic wreath took under 20 minutes to complete.  The 24" Metallic Copper Tinsel Work Wreath Form's cost is $5.95 and the 21" Deluxe Copper Metallic Deco Mesh is $11.95, making the total cost for this project at $17.90.  At that price you can still afford to fill the wreath with additional decoration!

Add Trim and Accessories!

From this basic wreath form you can create many different looks to go through all the fall holidays. Using the same tinsel ties, add in accents or ribbon to create the look you desire. Here are some examples to inspire you. This wreath goes from fall to Halloween to Thanksgiving with a few simple changes.

Fall Acorn Wreath

An acorn garland woven around the form creates the perfect simple fall wreath.

Love the cute tiny faux acorns on the garland!

Halloween Feathers Wreath

The addition of glittered orange and black accents transforms your fall wreath into a sparkling Halloween door decoration.

Glittered orange, black and purple Halloween ball sprays, fun iridescent feathers, purple wire balls and gold mesh ribbon.

Bittersweet and Fall Leaves Wreath

After Halloween -transition into Thanksgiving by replacing the orange and black accents with fall leaves, pretty copper animal print ribbon and bittersweet branches.

Love this look and want to add more to your door decoration? Try Tinsel Work Garland or Tinsel Roping, which come in a wide variety of coordinating colors. Tinsel Work Garland is 9 feet long and comes with 44 pre-attached wire tips so you can create custom garlands that match your wreath. Tinsel Roping is 25 feet long and is enough to accent a 30" work wreath with some to spare. Both are wired to allow for flexibility and ease of adding design accents.

Hope you have a Happy Fall!

It's Crab Boil Time

Fresh, delicious Louisiana blue crabs are in season right now! A crab boil is great way to celebrate the end of the summer. Here are our tips on how to have the perfect Louisiana crab boil.

  

Set the tone of your crab boil with a crab themed invitation! This blank watercolor invite can also be used for the menu. Customize it by printing at home with your featured dishes.

Here in the Gulf Coast we have blue crabs available, so using local and fresh crabs is the best way to go. Aren't the colors of fresh blue crabs beautiful?

Season the crab boiling water with lots of spices, garlic, onions and lemons.  Zatarains makes complete seafood spice blends for crab, shrimp and crawfish boils, found here.

In Louisiana, we don't limit the boil to just crabs.  Those delicious Cajun boiling spices add great flavor to what ever is in the boiling pot. Add in sausage and hot dogs (for the kids). Create spicy sides with boiled artichokes, red potatoes, carrots, mushrooms, corn- even brussel sprouts.

 You will need a  BIG pot. This crab boiling pot is full of flavor. The blue crabs will turn bright red once they are cooked.

While the crabs are cooking, serve a family favorite-Crab and Brie Dip.

Crab and Brie Dip served on a cute Louisiana state shaped cutting board.

Creamy Crab and Brie Dip Recipe

• 1/2 stick butter
• 1 lb. white crab meat (picked through for pieces of shell)
• ½ small onion- finely chopped or minced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup white wine
• Dash Worcestershire sauce
• 1 pint heavy whipping cream
• 4 oz. Brie cheese, rind removed
• 4 oz. cream cheese
• Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning to taste

1. Sauté onion and garlic in butter over medium heat. Cooking until the vegetables are soft.

2. Deglaze the pan by adding white wine.  Add in Worcestershire sauce, bring to a rolling boil, stir often and reduce the liquid by about half.

 3. Add in cream and reduce to a simmer. Add both cheeses in small pieces, stirring until melted. Remove from the heat. Season to taste with Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning

4. Gently add the crab meat, trying to keep the lump crab meat intact.

Serve warm or cold with assorted crackers or toasted baguette slices. Garnish with fresh lemon wedges.

Crab shaped cookies are adorable desserts, or can serve as guest party favors. They are easy to make with a crab cookie cutter, available here for $1.50.

This photo by Vicki Lynn Photography and Crab Shack Birthday Party designed by the Tom Kat Studio. Check out more photos of this precious crab birthday party ideas, here .

Looking for fun activities for kids? Print out this crab coloring page, available here.

You will need a PDF reader to download this printable coloring page, which is free here.

For fun crab boil supplies, like this Tika Designs Crab and Lemon platter, and the whole line of Tabasco Seafood themed tableware, visit our crab boil party supplies section, HERE.

They are great colorful accents to add to any crab boil party and wacky crab themed things like crab hats, soap and this  crab mylar balloon.

To see a larger collection of crab boil party ideas, check out our Pinterest page, which has a collection of all things crab from all over the internet. Just click through each image to see the original source.