Seahawks Pre-Season is Almost Here!

I have started a new craft hobby. . .making Deco Mesh wreaths.  After viewing many YouTube videos and gathering as much information as we could, my daughter, Michele, and I decided to try making a Deco Mesh wreath with a Seahawks theme.  While we were shopping for supplies, at every craft store under the sun, we happened on an actual wreath that was completed and for sale at the Michael's store in Federal Way, WA for $89.99!  Now, it was nice, but just not fancy enough to suit what we were looking for, as it only used what we called the Pouf method.  If you know me, you know I always seem to challenge myself to start with the most difficult thing possible. . .is that trying to set myself up for failure or what!  Actually not, I have always achieve more if there is a challenge and a goal that is difficult to achieve. . .I'm all in for achieving it!

What we learned in viewing many YouTube videos that we would need an 18" wire wreath base, 21" wide mesh and 10" to 12" wide mesh.  You can not cut the 21" mesh in half and substitute it for the 10" to 12" as it totally starts to unravel or fray once cut and there is no way to stop it!   To start, take your 18" wire wreath base and twist pipe cleaners onto the center of each of the nine segments on the outside (#4) wire and inside (#2) wire.  Note: do NOT use the 4th smallest row toward the center.  Next, twist pipe cleaners onto the nine segment braces on your center row (#3).   

We learned there are three different styles to fashion your mesh into:  Poufs, Bow-Ties, and Tubes.  Poufs are the easiest and can be really big and billowy poufs or low-level poufs. . .kind of like a bra size: from a DDD to a B. . .by taking a 21" wide mesh roll and about 15" to 12" down its length, gather it up, with your hands, and tie it to your wire wreath base with a pipe cleaner, continuing around your wire wreath in each of the nine segments in this manner.  The Bow-Tie and the Tube versions both use the 10" to 12" wide mesh instead of the 21".  For each of these, you cut this narrower mesh into 10" to 11" lengths.  For the Bow-Tie, gather in the center, raw edge to raw edge (cut edge) from one end to the other (looks like a bow tie) and tie it down with a pipe cleaner to your wire wreath base.  For the Tubes, you take the 10" to 11" cut length and roll it with the raw edge as the length and the mesh "selvage" being the edges of the tube.  We used the cardboard tube of a 12" tube as our rolling tool.  You make three of these Tubes usually in various colors, and tie them down to your wire wreath base.

Michele and I decided to combine two different styles.  We started with the Poufs in three different colors, applying the first two colors in a criss-cross manner (our idea because it was more difficult...right?) and using the outside row and the inside row of pipe cleaners (pipe cleaner wires #3 and #1).  Then, we applied our third layer of poufs on top of the criss-crossed mesh by using the center row of pipe cleaners.  We considered this entire process our base layer.  Next we added sets of three Tubes in each of the nine wire wreath base segments to the outermost row and to the third inside row (pipe cleaner wire #3 and #1).  By this time our 18" wire wreath base, looks MUCH bigger in circumference!  Next, we add a set of two different 12" wire ribbons to each segment to the middle row of pipe cleaners and a single 12" wire ribbon to the inside row.  The final steps are to add embellishments: one as the center circle focal point and other smaller embellishments to the mesh surface to spruce it up to your liking.

TAH DAH!!  Here is my first wreath. . .one for myself. . .after all I am a 12TH woMAN and ready for pre-season SEAHAWKS football!!!!   My second one made for my dauthter-in-laws birthday, which is TODAY!!  Happy Birthday, Ginger!