Makeover Monday: 11/12

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 For Nana's wreath, we chose a varied size mix of newer and vintage balls in cranberry, subtle gold, and white.  A few of the white balls have holly sprigs painted on them in traditional red and green.

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I glued the tops on, Mike formed the hanger, and Sophie put them on in the order she thought would look best.

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Finished it off this morning with a bow made from glittered golden tulle.  She really lights up a room!  I think this would look especially stunning on Nana's mantle... what do you think, Nans?

Spotlight Saturday

Today all eyes are on the work of Karen from The Vintage Station!  Karen had been wanting to make a vintage ornament wreath for awhile, and she collected special ornaments from all over Pennsylvania on a weekend long shopping spree.  She was not looking forward to gluing them on a wreath form, though.  As luck would have it, she happened upon my blog post about the wreaths before she got started, and she decided to try the hanger version.

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Just look at what she created!!  Isn't this gorgeous??  She and her husband came up with the fabulous idea of creating a hook and loop type closure with the hanger before any balls were ever added.  This gave her the flexibility to close up the wreath when she needed a break or wanted to check her progress.  It also made it easy for her to take them off and change things around when she felt like it. 

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She was so pleased with her vintage creation that she decided to make two more smaller wreaths as well.  She used new ornaments and tried purchased wire for these, but found that there was some sag with the thinner wire.  So, she went back to the hanger method.  This one is the "shiny" wreath...

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... and this one is a more matte, glittery style.

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*APPLAUSE* for Karen!!!  These came out so beautiful that I am going to use her tips and try again.  Apparently some Nana in Gettysburg would like one for her very own, so Mike, Sophie and I have a weekend project lined up.  Will share the results next week.   Thanks so much for sharing your work, photos, and inspiration, Karen!!

Tuesday's Treat

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I found a lovely load of vintage glass ball ornaments at Bee-Thrifty the other day.  Decided to purchase them with the sole purpose of making one of the glass ball ornament wreaths I keep seeing and coveting.  Having never made a wreath of any sort before, I set to work on my google research and found THIS TUTORIAL from the Thrifty Decor Chick.  It offers a how-to with extra tips of what NOT to do, plus it is written in a really funny way.  Bonus! 

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So far I have selected my coat hanger, sorted my ornaments and glued on the caps.  I began the "putting on" process and realized I need more ornaments.  Off to the thrift store this afternoon hoping to find more in my color scheme - pink, silver, jadite, and aqua.  Will share whatever I have complete tomorrow on Wednesday's works.

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This is the PERFECT time to score fabulous ornies for cheap at the thrifts... all the holiday gear comes out after Halloween.  Want to make one?  Please do, and then either send me photos or blog about your results and let me link up... I would love to see your handiwork!!