But that’s high for this former English teacher now a blogging stay-at-home mom.
Why not make our own fresh wreath this year? Anyone with an evergreen tree, a few dollars, and 30 minutes can make a festive wreath.
Once you’ve mastered the technique, the same skills work on any wreath, garland, or swag~ for any holiday or occasion.
So that lavender, magnolia or herb wreath you’ve been dying to try your hand at uses the exact same method you’ll learn about today.
Fresh wreaths make a wonderful gift for your mom, the hostess, a special teacher, a neighbor, or a close friend.
Once you’ve gathered the supplies, we’re talking 20-40 minutes of time per wreath.
Very quick!
Here’s my step-by-step guide to wreath-making from start to finish. Ready to go? Let’s do this because nothing beats the fresh scent of a live wreath!
Getting those greens to save you some “green” for fresh wreath-making
Even at the local garden center, wreaths start at $50. I’ll pass on that price until I win the lotto that I don’t play.
Where’s the best place to acquire fresh evergreens to make your own live wreath? Your yard. Time to prune! A few solid branches and you’ll have what you need.
How about a neighbor? A friend? Your parents? Know anyone with a cabin in the woods with lots of trees? Snip. Snip.
Big bonus for holly bushes. Those little red pearls will make that wreath sparkle and shine!
No yard? No trees? Do you get a live tree? Know anyone who does?
I always go for a bigger tree (8 ft) knowing that I’ll snip the bottom branches for wreath making.
And it never hurts to ask the tree-selling proprietor to give you some branches lying around on the ground for free.
In my experience, they are always happy to oblige. A win-win!
Supplies needed or a fresh wreath
- 12″ or 18″ metal wreath form can be bought for a few bucks at a craft store. (Hobby Lobby, Michael’s, and Joann’s all carry them.) They are ideally formed and sized to carry fresh greenery branches and can be used year after year. A wreath form might look small at 12″ but once you add all the puffy greenery, the wreath will seem plenty big for a regular-width door. I got mine at Walmart for $1.77 and was able to pick up my husband a few new snazzy pairs of underwear. Of course men’s underwear! What else?
- Floral wire – Green-colored wire is best because it will blend in with your greenery and metal wreath form. You’ll hardly notice it. At the craft store, you’ll see this type of wire near the artificial flowers. If not, it doesn’t hurt to ask a helpful employee. Let’s hope they had that second cup of coffee and are still happy.
- Wire-cutters – You probably already own a pair of wire-cutters. Don’t use your kitchen scissors for the task, it will ruin them. Even if you need to buy a pair, you’ll use them for lots of other projects. Or borrow one of your husband’s tools. He’ll never know if you put it back before he notices it’s missing.
- Fresh greenery cut into 5″ – 12″ sections. Pine, spruce, holly, cedar, magnolia ~ whatever floats your evergreen boat. I like using a mix of fresh greens to add depth, color variations, and texture to my wreath. The longer pieces will stick out giving your wreath a rustic and natural flare.
- Pine cones, ribbon, or other adornments to make your wreath heart sing. Now it’s time to dress up your wreath.
Optional supplies for a fresh wreath
- More ornamental decor. Bling is my thing. So I buy lots of ornaments and glittery decor to add to my wreath. You simply can’t have too much glitz and glam at Christmas~ it’s impossible. But this year Walmart had everything I needed to make my glamorous side sparkle!! Big bonus for the clips on the back of the pieces. This made attaching to the wreath a breeze! Yay for Walmart.
- Loppers and hand pruners. Loppers are very useful to make the initial cut in your evergreen tree. Hand pruners are excellent for fine-tuning cuts, making those smaller pieces needed for your wreath. So if you don’t already own a good set, now is the time to get your hands on a quality pair!
- Tarp. One big tarp makes a great workspace if you want to keep your area clean and free of pine needles, dirt, and other debris.
- Garden gloves. Go figure that the biggest advocate for a natural birth doesn’t like her hands getting pricked by pine needles. So I wear gloves when wreath-making.
- Over-the-door wreath hangers make life easier. In fact, buy a few of them for every door you’ll hang a wreath from. Use year-round!
Insider Tip: Themed wreaths!
Method for making a fresh wreath
Step one: Get organized
But it’s not a perfect world and it’s too cold outside now where I live to make a wreath.
For you, a warmer basement or garage might work if heated.
So I like to create my wreath on the hardwood floor in my den. (For the ahem…under 40…nah, let’s go with 50 crowd). For those of you pushing past 50, if you don’t want to sit on the ground…I get it!
But when I work on the floor I can just sweep up the pine needles and toss when done.
And there’s no shame in laying a tarp on the floor to work on. Then you shake all the needles outside and keep the sweeping to the bare minimum when you’re finished.
Bear in mind that the branches you bring in from “the great outdoors” look and smell great but will have some dirt, leaves, and other debris on them.
So the tarp is for preventative measures. Let’s slay the mess before it happens.
Then, lay out everything you need on the tarp so you can continue working non-stop.
Step two – Snip clippings from your evergreen branches
Smaller pieces with thinner bases (more twiggy) are easier to handle and bundle together. They also end up looking cuter!
Your first task is to cut those big branches down to size creating 50-60 of 5″ to 12″ pieces. I wouldn’t go any longer than 12″ as a general rule.
Most of the pieces you’ll be able to sever using just your fingers but keep a pair of pruners/loppers on hand for those thicker bases.
Then you’ll make little evergreen bouquets out of 3-5 evergreen pieces and those will be tied with wire directly to the form wreath.
So you’ll need about 3-5 evergreen pieces per “bouquet” or bundle and about 15-20 bundles per wreath.
I used 3 evergreen pieces per bouquet and 20 bundles of these to complete my wreath. But I like a very full wreath!
It’s nice to use an assortment of evergreens in each bundle to create depth, color variation and build texture.
For example, maybe you’ll use two pine pieces, two spruce pieces and one holly piece in varying lengths for effect. Or one pine, one spruce and one holly for a bunch of 3.
Step three – Create bough bundles
So take your 3-5 snippets of evergreen that are 5″-12″ in length and gather them together at the base of the branch.
Longer and shorter pieces and ones of various coloring work well together.
Use your floral wire to wrap the boughs together tightly at their woody stemmed base. This could take 5-6 times around.
For this step, I like to use the long strips of wire that can be purchased for 99 cents a pack. (As seen in the supplies photo).
I used half a strip for each bouquet cutting them in half before using them. Make sure you wrap the wire tight enough around that base so that your bouquets won’t come unloosed. Tight is key!
I like to make most of my bough bouquets before starting and then I attach them to my wreath with wire. This way I can lay them out on the metal form to get a gist of what the end result will be.
But not all wreath makers choose to wire their bouquets together first. Some skip this step altogether and just gather their bundles tightly at the base and tie them directly to the wreath.
Personally, I feel my wreath is more secure wiring the bouquets together prior to attaching them to the wreath. You do what works for you!
Step four – Attach the bough bundles to the metal wreath form
Take your first bundle (remember 3-5 pieces of evergreen) and place it against the wreath form. Use your floral wire to wrap the bundle around the form a few times (5 or 6) until it feels very secure.
DO NOT CLIP THE WIRE WHEN YOU ARE FINISHED!
Take your second bundle, and layer it slightly over the first bundle. Try to criss-cross so that the tail end of the second bundle covers the wire and woody stems of the first bundle.
Moving up an inch is a rough estimate. You don’t want a sparse wreath so your artistic judgment is essential! I barely left 1/2 inch because I didn’t want any gaps. Unsightly!
See how it’s starting to form?
Then add a fourth and fifth bundle. Each subsequent bundle you add covers the previous bundle’s wire. Leave no gaps.
Keep repeating this process of wiring the bundles to the wreath and covering the wire until you have worked your way around the entire circle.
When you get to the last bundle, tuck the base of the branch end under the first bundle’s greenery.
After you make sure that last evergreen bouquet is secure, you can finally snip your wire.
Step five – Decorate & adorn your wreath!
It’s the only time of year you can get away with as much glitter and bling as your hearts desire with no shame.
At Christmas, no one is tacky or over over-the-top!
Final tips…
Just don’t hack at it! That would be a disaster. But snipping off little pieces that got too thick and don’t look right is fine!
But if there’s a weak spot in your wreath? Bingo. That’s where you stick the big, red bow. No one will ever know.
And cheer up. No one makes a perfect wreath the first time. You learn each and every time you make one.
My first wreath took me 25 minutes to make. The second. Done in 15. Wreath-making is like that.
You’ll learn techniques that suit you too as you go on your wreath-making journey.
This would definitely save a lot of money. Wreaths are very expensive especially the real beautiful ones like the bird wreath.
I love the color of the birds.
I have made several holiday wreaths for my front door using this method. Very festive & I love the aroma of fresh evergreens!
Absolutely beautiful !
Could be a nice craft
thanks for the great idea
They always look great on the front door.
Excellent instructions to make a gorgeous wreath!
Thank you for sharing these tips! I want to try making a wreath this year. I live in a rural area so I have lots of greenery to work with.
Wreaths are a great way to decorate. They are welcoming to visitors and create a festive mood right at the front door.
I’m so happy you got into wreath making. I’ve learned I have the basic tools . . . yay! And my hubby has wire cutters. Plus, I was imagining adding a few pine cones. And, my mind is playing with many ideas right now. So glad you give thorough instructions and tips to go with them. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your inspiration.
Oh, I loved making wreaths. Made them all of the time when I lived rurally but I am not given time for it anymore. I do miss it.
Beautiful wreaths
My granddaughters are making these for first responders
Thanks for the easy to follow instructions. I am going to try to make one.
One of my favorite childhood memories is watching the adult women in the family make Christmas wreaths. They were huge and I couldn’t wait for the year that I was old enough to start making them too!
I will be making a few Christmas wreaths this year and these tips are great. The ones you made turned out great.
I had an Aunt that made beautiful wreaths that started out like this! Reminds me of the “good ole days!” Thanks!
Thanks for the instructions, can’t wait to get started crafting with my pine branches
Thank you for showing us how to do this
Beautiful decorations
You have inspired me to go make my own wreath! Thank you! It’s so pretty!
You are right – nothing beats the fresh scent of a live wreath! And it’s beautiful.
Great ideas.. thank you
I love this! I’ve always wanted to make my own wreath. I love the blue tones you used instead of the traditional red and green. Very pretty!
This is so pretty and wold make a wonderful gift for my mom too.
I still have a wreath I made over 30 years ago. I was in high school and made several for presents. Make em once, keep em 4ever.
Thanks for the step by step instructions Can’t wait tp try my hand at this!
I used to live in Northern Wisconsin years ago and loved making fresh cut wreaths…my favorite boughs to use were the princess pine when able to find them………
Beautiful wreath, quick and easy! Love it
nice way to make a green wreath!!!!
What a beautiful display. I love the birds!
Thanks for the easy to follow directions. I have not made my own wreath for over 20 years, so your instructions are greatly appreciated.
Christmas is such a special time of year and making heirloom Christmas wreaths makes the season even more special!
Looks nice and in the spirit!
You really can’t beat the smell of a fresh pine wreath
I love this tree giveaway, I’ve been looking for something for my front step! This would be great!!
Beautiful wreaths. Great tutorial!
Cool ideas
What a beautiful wreath, I can not wait to make one!
this will my first year trying to make my own wreath! I’m excited!
I am excited about attempting to make one.
Sorry I’m not into making crafts.
Beautiful wreath.
I love how beautiful your wreath turned out. Your tutorial with step by step instructions and photos is wonderful. I plan on making my own now. Thank you so much!
I like the blue flower
nice choices
Thank you for the wonderful step-by-step instructions. Just beautiful.
Wreaths look great, but I am just not crafty enough or creative enough to make one.
I like to have a wreath on my door at all times to celebrate the different seasons. This tutorial is a nice way to make it happen!
I wish that I had that kind of talent.
I always make fresh wreaths for my front door. I use Cedar with the blue berries and clusters of Nandina berries.
I’ve always wanted to do it myself!
I really wish i was creative like this. I have such a hard time coming up with creative ideas like this
Thanks for the tips and ideas.
Beautiful wreathes, I love thee!
I have made wreaths before and ty for the new ideas.
So creative!
Cool!
These wreaths are absolutely beautiful. I will try to make one myself. Thank you.
easy to follow
Beautiful! You make it look so easy too.
Those are really pretty wreaths. I would probably just put some wide ribbon wrapped around the wreath. I’m trying to get away from plastic, styrofoam, and glittery stuff for decorations, since it’s bad for the environment.
I love these wreaths. I am starting into more DYI gifts for Christmas.
You make beautiful wreaths. So talented.
I love the smell that fresh wreaths bring especially if you have artificial trees!
Thanks for sharing, this is beautiful! We have a lot of pine trees next to our home, this would be a great family project.
Thank you for showing all the items you need to make the wreath. I love how they each look so different and are so pretty too. Will be redoing ours this year too.
I’ve never made a wreath before, but may have to try it with the kids this year!
I love DIYs! I will definitely have to try this project out.
That wreath is beautiful! I love the blue!
I love making wreaths! So pretty!
I thought I was ready for Christmas but now I will be making a wreath. Thanks for the great instructions,
So pretty! I’m not crafty at all so I’m not sure I would try it, but it really does look great!
Thanks for the tips. I want to start making wreaths.
I love making wreaths. I used silver glitter owls on my Christmas wreath.
Beautiful!🥰Thanks for sharing!
Sounds too time consuming for me this year.
Beautiful Christmas Wreath ideas. I Love the blue hummingbird and butterfly wreath!
Nice wreaths
I really admire all the creativity.
I really like this concept and design!!
I love blue and silver for Christmas wreaths, thank you for the ideas..
I can’t afford to buy fresh wreaths but most are beautiful!
I found one this year I loved but it was $40, so I had to pass.
I’m going to save this post so if I ever get crafty I can make them! 😂
Thanks for sharing!
Very clear instructions
Too bad I am just seeing this. I would love have tried to make my own. Thanks for the ideas and sharing how to do this.
Love all the decorations
I have always wanted to make my own wreath and decorate it. These tips will help me create a beautiful wreath. Thank you
These are so cool, and would make some great gifts!
Great directions! I’ve made one like this for years. Thank you!
What a nice idea, especially giving to others like friends/family!
must try this
LOOKS LIKE IT MIGHT BE ABLE TO DO NOW
Fun project!
Living in the Piney Woods of SE Texas, I have the materials and tools, plus your blog has provided the details, to create my own fresh wreaths. Thanks for your inspiration! And may you & your family enjoy a delightful, blessed, and love-filled Thanksgiving Holiday!
i tried to make one, i ended up donating my forms, just wasn’t in the books for me to make.
I have a friend who makes wreaths in her spare time. I’m afraid of how mine would look (or how long it would take before they started looking good)
Thank you for the post. I would love to make a few fresh wreaths for my family.
Thank you for sharing. It has been years since I created my own wreaths out of pine bough’s. My favorite to make was the princess pine wreath. The boughs are so soft.
Awesome information
They are lovely. I wish my hands had the strength to do this!
what a fun project!!
These wreathes are BEAUTIFUL!!! I think I will try to make one! Thanks for the ideas! And Happy Holidays!!!
good info
Thanks for the thorough step by step, I like that. You do a great job explaining things – left me with no questions.
Thanks for the ideas.
A truly beautiful wreath!
A gorgeous design and the birds make the look so magical. The colors are lovely too
There is just something about a fresh wreath that says Christmas. I would love to try to make one.
You got to love the smell of fresh cut pines – it’s just so Christmasy
They are so beautiful!
You make it so easy to do. I like it to just make it your way!!!
Beautiful! Your instructions seem easy to follow. Thank you.
I’m not a fan of wreaths.
Gorgeous wreath
I love making my own wreaths. It’s a lot of work but so satisfying. Thanks for the tutorial.
Just made a trip to a craft supply store to get supplies. My friend group will be getting together with our glue guns to begin.
Themed wreaths are such fun.
My dad used to make gorgeous holiday wreaths with pine cones. Last longer than greenery, but the greenery smells so wonderful I think it’s worth having for a single year instead of lasting.
Lovely and makes you feel so accomplished
These are beautiful!
👍
Great tips! I love making my own wreaths!!
I love this. The instructions are great. Thank you.
Great info, as usual. Thanks
These homemade wreaths look so much nicer than the $50 ones I normally buy!
I always wanted to make a fresh wreath, now with the step by step pics, I feel confident to do so, thanks!
Very pretty wreath
I love the blue and silver rather than the traditional green and red.
I have never made a wreath but your instructions are so clear and I think I will try this year.
I need to get busy on a Christmas wreath
I like the blue and white, something different from all the red and green
What a beautiful wreath. Too bad I’m all thumbs and would never get it to look that good! Even with the excellent instructions and images posted I am out of my ability zone. Thank you for posting it.
This is a beautiful wreath
Very pretty wreath. Great tips and steps to make one. Wreaths are so beautiful especially around the holidays.
I think I could make one of these ! Thank you
the tarp is a great idea. Thanks for posting these tips.
Such a cute idea for the holidays, thanks, happy holidays everyone!
I love your step by step instructions, very thorough!! Usually Christmas & Easter is when
do DIY Wreaths, whether they take 20 mins or 45 mins i still enjoy making them 🙂
I love the smell of fresh Wreaths, Thanks so much for the how to!
Me too! Pine is my favorite scent!
I never knew how well blue and silver go together. I love the colors it’s such a beautiful wreath. I would by this if you sold them (:
That’s so sweet of you to say that Tara!
I love making my own holiday decor!!
I know! It makes me feel so festive Susan!!!
last year we had a girls’ night where we made wreaths- I hope we can have one this year too!
I make these for all of the family. One year I couldn’t get fresh greens to use so I used an old fake tree to make them
very pretty! thanks for the clear and detailed instructions.
This would be a perfect project right now!
Thanks you for the new ideas and instructions. Looks great!
Love your creative tips for wreath making!!
This step by step Evergreen wreath making has inspired me to make my own this Christmas! 🎄 Thank you!
Awesome ideas! This really puts me in the mood to be creative
I have never made a fresh wreath because they don’t last too long here in Arkansas. I have made my own wreaths though and I love doing it.
Looks easy , definitely making one this year.
Beautiful!! I’ve only attempted one wreath before and it was an Easter one and it held up for a few years. I should try again.
One of my favorite memories is walking through the woods with my Mom kicking up snow to find crows foot to make wreaths.
This looks like a quick, easy, practical craft and the results are lovely!
Thank you for sharing. I love the smell of fresh wreaths, Christmas tree, and garland. Bringing the outdoors in.
I love the blue bird decoration.
Very pretty. Do you take it apart and save the wreath form and decor to use again? How long will this type of wreath last? Thanks
I don’t save it again~ too much work! I keep my wreath on m outdoor door, so it lasts up to a month. But indoors I would guess less? Good luck Pat!!!
I have not made my own wreath in years. It would be nice to get back to it.
Pretty cool !!
Wreaths add such a holiday look to a house, even if you don’t go all out with various lights, etc.
Fresh wreath-making for Christmas would be lots of fun to try. These are lovely.
The wreath looks amazing. Thank you for the instructions!
Thank you for going into great detail . I love the photos.
I’ve decorated fake wreaths, but never made a real one. Thanks for these tips.
These are very pretty. Thank you
We are going to attempt to make our own wreath this year. Your ideas and directions look pretty easy to follow. Wish us luck. Happy Holidays everyone.
I enjoy making wreaths with a few of my friends, a glass of wine goes well with wreath making!
I love making fresh wreathes. I’m always on the lookout for neat things to add into them. My family looks forward to seeing them every year.
This looks easy to follow! I saw some premade wreaths for sale yesterday that were pretty much dead. No way would I pay for those!
I still have a wreath I made over 30 years ago. I was in high school and made several for presents. Make em once, keep em 4ever. I could add some new fresh greenery to it to update it.
Great idea. I have never worked with fresh wreaths before. Thanks for all the instructions and tips.
I’ve never attempted making my own wreath before. The finished product sure is beautiful. Thank you for the clear instructions.
You make it look so easy.
Love to see all of your creative ideas. Definitely a money saver for sure.
I can’t wait to try this! Thanks for the step-by-step directions.
Great ideas. I am inspired to make my own!
Thanks for the great instructions. Your wreaths are so pretty. I hope mine turn out even half as well.
I have made wreaths before with my nanny they’re lots of fun to make because you can use your own creativity skills to design them however you like.
I love wreaths but they are so expansive. Thank you so much for sharing this as I have never made one before but I am going to try to make now.
the store of drilling holes in the bottom of a tree works great I did it for10 years a the tree lasted for a month longer and I put in crushed up byer asprin to