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There are lots and lots of things that the house needs right now which seems amazing because there are lots and lots of things we also need to get rid of. Our sofas don’t really fit and so we’ve got one in there but it’s going to have to be replaced with something smaller sometime soon.
One of our biggest problems we have encountered is storage space. Looking around the house with no power on we had kind of an interesting time trying to see in the dark with our realtor holding his flashlight into rooms for us.
We didn’t notice the GIGANTIC anthill growing in the garage (yes, the garage… like totally inside of the garage!!!) And since we were so happy to find a well laid out 4 bedroom that wasn’t too big or too small we didn’t notice that there wasn’t enough storage space. Luckily we have a pantry which is something I’ve never had but always wanted and it does help with the storage problem immensely.
I’m more talking about in our work areas. Rob’s studio and my office/craft room don’t have enough places to put our stuff. We’ve gotten a storage unit in the town north of us and it’s getting packed to the gills with Rob’s paintings and next we’re going to put some of my stuff that I can use for work in the future but just don’t need right at this moment.
I bought a bunch of shelves off of the internet to use in my office (stay tuned this week for the big reveal on that!) and wrapped around the little bins that go inside of the cubes there was tons and tons of brown paper.
I had no clue what I was going to do with the stuff but I kept tossing it into the corner of the office knowing it could be used for something. Strolling through Michael’s I thought it would make an amazing wreath the second I noticed the wreath forms and the plan was set in motion. This brown paper bag wreath really minds me of a post from the past where I made faux leather out of paper bags and Mod Podge.
So gather those paper bags and paper bag packing stuff and let’s get after it!
For this project you will need:
- Paper bags/brown paper bag packing
- Wreath form
- Hot glue
- Fall floral sprays
Straw wreath forms tend to be the least expensive. This one was 50% off of $4.99 or about $2.70 for me with tax.
There is no reason to unwrap this wreath unless you want to make a gigantic mess so leave that puppy bound up! Using a hot glue gun apply glue to the backside of the form.
If you’re using packing this stuff is already pretty wrinkled up. If using brown paper bags you’ll need to tear them into strips and then squeeze them together to create these lovely folds that will give your wreath some volume and interesting texture.
Start wrapping your paper around the wreath form, binding tightly.
Continue wrapping around, gluing down ends to the back of the wreath and starting a new piece where needed until the wreath is completely covered.
Flip your wreath over and use hot glue to cover any parts of the wreath form showing through. Just smear some hot glue in there and finagle the paper over it. Hold down until secure and move on.
I’ve found that in straw wreaths you can actually use screws to attach your hanging device. You can also simply place two screws a few inches apart and wrap string around them for a simple and effective hanger.
And here is our wreath. It’s a bit bumpy and not perfectly round but that’s okay by me. If you pay a bit more attention you can easily wrap the wreath more uniformly around. If you’re cool with it being a bit wild, as I was, just get on after it.
While the wreath can be used as is I wanted to add some embellishments because more is almost always better in my book. These fall floral sprays were $4.99 apiece from Hobby Lobby and half price, or about $5.41 total.
Take the wire and bend it back underneath the bulk of your spray. Using nippers trim the excess wire away so that you have about 2 inches or so.
Find a fold that the wire will neatly fit underneath and fill with hot glue and shove the spray inside. Be sure to make sure your florals fit before committing to glue! Add as many sprays as you please and fluff as needed.
All in all my wreath cost me $8.11. It may cost a bit more as Rob and I think that one more spray down toward the bottom middle might be in order. I think I’ll keep it as is for a few days and see how I feel then. Even if I do add another spray my recycling/upcycling nature helped me make a fantastically unique wreath for less than $10. Boom! :)
