Fall Wood Round Wreath

Last week, I got my new copy of Lowe's Creative Ideas magazine in the mail. If you don't already subscribe, I highly recommend it. It's free, and always a great source of inspiration. One of the things they featured was this wreath made from a cut up dowel.

Lowe's Creative Ideas

 They projected the cost at $32. Sounds great, but why would I go buy a dowel, when the backyard is full of sticks for free? So I set out to make my free version of the wood rounds wreath.

First up, Alex helped me find the perfect sticks. I was looking for one or two that were at least a couple feet long and 1 1/2 -2" in diameter, to match the style of the wreath in the magazine. I found some long branches that had a good width and tapered to about a half inch in diameter at the end.

Next, I told asked Prince Charming to cut them into random lengths with his saw. In keeping with the inspiration, I was looking for cuts between three-quarters and two inches. I didn't have him measure, because nature isn't regular. All things in nature are random, so having him make random cuts would give me a more realistic wreath. You can, however, make all your cuts the same at four different lengths if you want to follow the plan exactly.

So then I was left with a bunch of wood rounds.

I plugged in my big glue gun and got to work. I recommend not using the baby glue gun here because you want a lot of glue,and the small one just can't keep up. Got to use the right tools for the job. While the glue was heating up, I laid down waxed paper so my wreath wouldn't stick to my cardboard glue mat. Then, I took a dinner plate and a marker and traced a circle on my paper. This was my circle template.

Now time to glue! I glued two pieces together to make blocks. I then glued these blocks together, using gobs of glue, until I had filled in my circle. I then took my remaining rounds and arranged them around the outside to create a second circle. Then I glued them in place.

When arranging your pieces, make sure to vary the sizes so you get variety in both height and diameter. Once everything was glued, I let it sit for about 20 minutes to harden fully. Then, I peeled it off the waxed paper and hung it on my front door.

 love how rustic and fallish it looks. I may add a bow or some other embellishment to it, but for now, I'm keeping it plain.

It ties in perfectly with my fall mums and my pumpkins for fall. Which I would love to step back and take a picture of for you, but it decided to rain buckets today.

 It seems only fitting I share this over at The Nester's, since she's having a wreath link party. It is appropriately titled: You Made a Wreath out of What? So if you're visiting from there, hi. And if you haven't gone yet, go check out some fabulous wreaths!