Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Burlap Fringed and Bendable Flowered Wreath

I fell in love with fringing burlap to make flowers here. But then I discovered these awesome bendable burlap flowers at Craftionary and knew I had to combine the two to make a fringed burlap and bendable flower wreath. How awesome is that?


 I'll take you through my process, but make sure you check out Hani at Craftionary first and the awesome job she did in making her burlap bendable flowers.

To begin, I used the following:
  • Burlap - Two colors in Ochid and Lavender
  • Floral Cloth Wire  - 18 gauge, green
  • Mod Podge
  • Fabri-Tac Adhesive - Grabs fast & dries clear
  • 18" MDF Floral & Craft Wreath Ring
  • Heavy duty Cardboard
  • Acrylic Paint
  • Cardboard tubes - Used to shape the petals
  •  Glass Gems
 I coated two orchid color burlap strips, one - 8"x58" (width of burlap) second - 10"x58" with mod podge.  After drying, I put painter's tape approximately 1/4" below both edges of the entire length of fabric. *You can skip this part if you can apply an even coat of clear drying glue. I couldn't. Using an old credit card or a cardboard edge, smear glue along the edges.



                                          Remove the tape and let dry.


After drying, on the unglued edge end, find the center thread and begin pulling the thread out. The fabric will bunch up as you are pulling the thread, and I found it easier to grab the opposite end of the burlap and pull that end too - the thread comes out easier. Continue pulling all the threads out, one by one, until you reach the glued borders. 

Add glue to the edge and fold, lining up the edges evenly. (forgot to take a picture of it with the orchid burlap)



After the glue dries, I cut the frays to even the edges. Repeat the process for the second piece of burlap.  

For the wreath, I used a flat 18" MDF wreath form.  It's cheap, but I found it too narrow, so I cut out a piece of heavy duty cardboard and glued it to the back of the wreath form.


I then painted the wreath.   Hmm, I know some of you are not fans of purple, but I wanted a wreath made out of a different shade of the usual brown/tan burlap.  There are so many shades and prints in burlap now to choose from,  so take your pick .  .  .

While the wreath dried, I started on the flowers.  I used another color of burlap in lavender which was a little lighter.  I followed the tutorial from Craftionary, but I could not make my flowers like she made her beauties.  I coated my burlap with mod podge to make the fabric stiff.  While that dried, I twisted fabric coated floral stems into the shape of flowers using three different sizes of cardboard tubes.
  Craftionary says to use "white glue or mod podge to firmly press the petals on the burlap, and then place books or something heavy on the top.  Let it dry!  After 4 to 5 hours see if it's all completely dry." 

Well, I tried this way and it didn't work for me. After pressing the petals onto the burlap, I placed books on top and let dry overnight - at least 8 hours or more. The next morning the mod podge still wasn't completely dry and all of the petals did not stick to the burlap, either. Maybe it was because the stem wire was 18 gauge which is rather heavy and hard to adhere, but that was the only size I could find in green.  I was so disappointed.  What was I gonna do now?  I had fallen in love with the look of the bendable burlap flowers so I was determine to find a way that worked for me.

Since I had a hot glue gun with a fine nozzle for detail work, I tried gluing cut out pieces of burlap to the petals. This looked messy and sometimes the glue would dry faster than I could press it together.

Then I thought about using something I had on hand called Fabri-Tac Adhesive the same way as with mod podge.

DING, DING, DING!  I found a winner!  I put fabri-tac all around the wire petals and pressed firmly on the burlap. After placing a book or heavy object on them, they were ready in a FEW minutes! When I cut out the petals, if the area around where the wire is twisted didn't stick, all I had to do was press it firmly in place, and the glue just gripped it together.


I used two packs of floral wire stems (24) to make the petals.  I could make 4-5 petals per stem, depending upon the size of the petal.


To assemble everything, I glued the fringe around the edge of the MDF wreath. Next, I glued the second fringe along the edge of the cardboard piece, pressing firmly along the lower ridge for a slightly raised look. With both pieces, you will have more than enough to wrap the wreath.  I cut off the excess fringe.


Then I began gluing the petals in place - bending and forming flowers and adding a few glass gems here and there.


                     Don't you just love how this is looking?








I had plan on spraying the fringed burlap with clear acrylic paint to make it stiff.  That way the fringe could be "fluffed," but the weather has been too cold and snowy to go outdoors, so I had to skip that part.


I love the way this wreath turned out.  It's exactly how I had envisioned it, and that's kinda good for me.

Take a little time to enjoy,







.


59 comments:

  1. It is beautiful. I love the purple. I would love for you to link it up at:
    http://viewfromrivermountain.blogspot.com/2013/03/show-it-off-wednesday-5.html

    ReplyDelete
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  3. Gail, it's so pretty! I never knew about all the colors of burlap until you shared. Really enjoyed this project!

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  4. Wow.. These came out great! :)

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  5. I love this wreath! Great tutorial too. I'm gonna give this a try.

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  6. Such a beautiful wreath! You know I love wreath's I so need to give this a try-you provided us with a wonderful tutorial!
    Jemma

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  7. This is so so pretty and creative!!I love those burlap flowers!!!Thanks for sharing your pretty wreath at TUTORIALS TIPS AND TIDBITS!!!

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  8. Hi! You were the link before me at the Under $100 Link Party! I have a total obsession with wreaths, so I love this! I am so glad I ran into your blog! I will be pinning for future inspiration!

    Cheers,
    Julia
    It's Always Ruetten

    ReplyDelete
  9. This is just lovely Gail! The combination of the burlap flowers and the fringe is such a nice contract in texture. Really beautiful!

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  10. I didn't know you could get purple burlap- I love purple! The fringed burlap is a great idea, too!

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  11. Very pretty! Stopping by from Chic on a Shoestring! If you get a moment I'd love for you to link up your awesome wreath at All Things Pretty party. http://sparklesandastove.com/all-things-pretty-thursday-1/ Have a great weekend!

    ReplyDelete
  12. That is beautiful. I didn't know there was purple either.

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  13. Thank you for coming to All Things Pretty! I've pinned you to the party board and know people are going to love it!

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  14. So beautiful- love the color choice too.

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  15. Thanks for linking up with all things pretty

    ReplyDelete
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  17. What a stuff of un-ambiguity and preserveness of precious experience concerning unexpected feelings.


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  18. What a beautiful wreath Gail! Now, you are my kind of crafter, I love how you pulled this together! A great idea!

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  19. This is beautiful, Gail! Definitely pinning this one!!~~Angela

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  20. excellent publish, very informative. I'm wondering why the opposite specialists of this sector do not understand this. You should continue your writing. I am sure, you have a great readers'
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  21. Heya! I'm at work surfing around your blog from my new iphone 4! Just wanted to say I love reading your blog and look forward to all your posts! Keep up the excellent work!

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  22. I love burlap, and this wreath is adorable! I came over through Pursuit of a Functional Home. This made me start a "burlap board" on pinterest :-)

    ReplyDelete
  23. What a fun wreath! I love the partially frayed fringe on the edge, how fun! Stopping by from Sewing Barefoot. :-)

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  24. Beautifully done. Lovely. Want to make. :) Linda

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  25. What a lovely wreath ~ thank you so much for sharing at Project Inspire{d}.

    Have a wonderful week.

    Mary Beth

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  26. Pretty great post. I simply stumbled upon your weblog
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  27. Very pretty! Thanks for sharing this at my Pin Me Linky Party. I hope you come visit & link again. Did you make a change to your blog?

    ReplyDelete
  28. This is beautiful! We'd love for you to link up with Much Ado About Monday at Huckleberry Love :))

    http://www.huckleberrylove.com/2013/04/much-ado-about-monday-no-3.html

    Karla
    www.huckleberrylove.com

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  30. Gail you are so creative and your tutorials are the best! Thank you so much for linking up and Sharing at One More Time Events.

    ReplyDelete
  31. This wreath turned out fabulously!
    Thank you so much for sharing on Tutorial Thursdays, I hope to see you again this week.
    x
    Natalie
    www.marigoldsloft.blogspot.com

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  32. Oh my word, this is totally amazing. I love it. Thanks for joining TTT. Hugs, Marty

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  33. That turned out beautifully! I love purple too! Great tutorial also. I would love to have you share it at The Shady Porch! Blessings, D

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  34. Your wreath is amazing!! The flowers look awesome with the fringed burlap! You did a fabulous job. Just pinned. Thank you so much for sharing at A Bouquet of Talent. So thrilled shared with us. :)
    Hugs
    Kathy

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  35. This is gorgeous! You will be featured tomorrow on Tickled Pink!

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  36. Catching up today and what an awesome place to start! Oh my gosh Gail! This is the most beautiful wreath and a great tutorial as well! So rockin! I want to try making some of those leaves!

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  37. Hi Gail, I'm stopping by and following from the Bloglovin Blog Hop. Your wreath is gorgeous, what a great tutorial, I'm pinning! Although I can't seem to stop at just one color, I've always loved purple the most!! ~ Amy@StowandTellU

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  38. Yet another great DIY. This is fabulous, Gail.

    Thank you so much for joining Pin It Monday Hop#2 Where you pin and get pinned (LINK). Please come back on Sunday at 5pm (CST)for our Pin It Monday Hop#3. Watch out for my 10 features soon. Pinned this to our Pin Board for re-pinning.
    Judy
    http://www.pursuitoffunctionalhome.com/
    http://www.kusinaniinday.blogspot.com/


    ReplyDelete
  39. Your wreath turned out lovely! After all your trial & error, you perfected it...love the petals! I love purple too, so the colours work for me. I'm pinning this cutie!
    Debbie :)

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  40. Gorgeous wreath! I love the color!

    Navy Wifey Peters @ Submarine Sunday Link Party
    http://www.usscrafty.blogspot.com/2013/05/submarine-sunday-31.html

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  41. I'm visiting you from the hop and I think this turned out lovely!

    ReplyDelete
  42. So unique and different very pretty! Come link up to Centerpiece Wednesday and share this post with us.http://thestylesisters.blogspot.com/2013/06/dr-suess-party-and-centerpiece-wednesday.html
    Karin

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  43. Gail this is so pretty. Oh my goodness the detail is amazing!!! Loving it! Thank you so much for linking up at the "Its a Steal" Link party xx Nat

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  44. Oh, wow ... the fringed burlap is weird and gorgeous. I love it when people come up with new ways to use familiar materials. Would you be interested in posting this on Kollabora, the crafting community? I haven't seen that many home decor projects over there lately, and I really want to see more people try out this fringing thing!

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  45. Love it! I don't really use purple inside my home but reminds me I can use any color I want on my front door... Patricia Ann

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  46. Can you tell me where you purchased your purple. I am trying to find yellow and not much success without paying a lot. JoAnn's, Michael's, Hobby Lobby, quilting shop, and Walmart don't have it in yellow. Which seems pretty strange. Any suggestions?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. By the way use bdtliv@msn.com please if you respond and not the floweeree email. Thanks.

      Delete
  47. She does not reply, and do not assume any type of modpodge is okay. It is a mess.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Diane, You are a no-reply commenter and I've been in correspondence with you through your msn.com email account.

      Delete
    2. Yes thank you. I want to say I just did the leaves around 24 and I don't think they will go around the wreath, next time please put how big the leaves are, so people know. Put the mod podge you used so they know. Could be my burlap is different fabric than yours, but going to redo it with new fabric and no mod podge this round. Hope it finally turns out. Thanks for you emails and suctions.

      Delete
    3. Suppose to be directions not suctions....lol there goes my reading disability. Plus some times materials are different. Like brush trees mine would not loose the green color not matter what, and yes there was a certain type of use. So I guess materials make the difference. Take care.

      Delete
  48. I think I found maybe the problem....you only glued the edges correct, not the entire piece? Now that makes a huge difference. Here within might be why I am having problems.

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  49. I get my fabric in a few days to try again. The flower pedals I came up with a little short so got some more wire and should have enough. I used the left over fabric to make them. So I am really stoked to do my wreath. I will post a link to pinteret so you can see how mine turned out. I did adapt the button on the flowers, I used big gems and glued them to the fabric and cut the material around them, so they match the flowers. I also did mine in one color as just finding the yellow I had to order online, and twice. Postage was a killer but oh well. In the end I think it will look fantastic and not as good as yours, but oh well no one will know the difference. I used card board box from the post office to cut out two circles and I used a dish for one and large pot for the other. Cutting it I couldn't get mine perfect like you did, so I sanded it down some, still not perfect. Anyway.....I can't wait to show you. I did wash the other and the mod podge did not come out so I had to throw that fabric away. I also did not mod podge the flowers/leaves.

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  50. Suggestion: Please restate: Instead of saying you mod podged the two strips, either say 4 strips, or do not say you mod podged them until you explain the 4 strips at the end of it after you indicated you have the tape on and that is where you mod podge. It was very confusing to me as I took it step by step and you said you mod podged the two strips assuming you meant the cut fabric, not the 4 strips. Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  51. I’m browsing your projects and decided to look at this one. In the lines of purple, Eggplant is my favorite of the purple colors. I love the darkest purple. You made this a very long time ago and I love it! Yeah, the fabric you used and the wire were totally different that your Craftionary friend. Her burlap was less dense than yours and her wire much thinner but they are both beautiful projects. If you didn’t know, the writing from unknown above.. Hvor er den smuk says it’s so beautiful. The language is danish.

    ReplyDelete

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