My favorite time of year is upon us with its crisp weather and grand blanket of color over the landscape! Fall seems to have a cozy feel about it, and it wakes up my creative juices which is kind of contrary to what autumn is all about…hmmm. When I saw this colorful wreath in a recent issue of HGTV magazine I knew I had to give it a try! It seemed simple enough and fairly inexpensive with a BIG result!

After visiting the website for instructions on this DIY, I set out to purchase my materials. First, I should mention I happen to have a very large magnolia tree in my front yard which is quite convenient. Next, I chose six colors of spray paint for my leaves. I wasn’t able to find all six colors in a glossy finish, but it didn’t seem to hurt the finished product.

While shopping at my local big box store for the paint, I hoped I’d find the metal wreath frame called for on the website, but no luck. I ended up buying something totally different. In the plumbing department I got foam insulation cover for pipes which I figured I could cut to size and covered with burlap to make it look nicer. Now I was ready to go home and get to work!
Here’s how I did it!

Materials:
Magnolia leaves – 36-48, depending on the size of your leaves and the wreath.
Six (6) different colors of spray paint, your choice
Plastic drop cloth
Foam insulation cover of pipes (I believe it’s about 5 or 6 feet long)
Duct tape
Wire hanger (optional)
Burlap
Hot glue gun and glue sticks (Use low heat glue sticks so the foam won’t melt and the paint on the leaves won’t bubble up.)
Scissors

To get started I painted my leaves so they would have to time to dry while I prepared the wreath “frame”. The plastic drop cloth was perfect to spread over the driveway and lay the leaves on it. After grouping the leaves into 6 sections of about 6 or 8 leaves, I began spraying. I ended up doing two coats, the second coat being a quick touch up really. Let them dry completely.

Now to form the wreath. I cut approximately 10” off the length of the foam, brought the ends together, and taped them closed with duct tape. (This is when you could straighten a wire hanger and run it through the tube and shape into a circle and tape.) Then I cut approx. 3” wide strips of burlap and began hot gluing them around the foam cover until it was entirely covered.

Time to begin gluing the painted leaves in place. I kept all my leaves going from left to right and varied the colors as I went along. (Sorry the picture of how I began is a little blurry.) When I had gone all the way around the wreath I checked for places that needed an extra leaf to fill in a bare spot and added one.

To hang the wreath I used an over-the-door wreath holder. Carefully I pulled the wreath into place on the hook and hung it on the front door! Love the beautiful colors against the wood. I’m curious to see how long the leaves will last, but hopefully it will look festive through Thanksgiving!

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Enjoy this lovely, comfort-filled season!