I have made these wreaths several different ways and each one turned out beautiful. I have seen these made with a wire wreath frames but I never have one of those just lying around the house. I do however, have wire coat hangers.

Start by bending a coat hanger to the desired shape and size. You can shape these into oval, circle, heart or even square shapes. Leave the hook part of the hanger on (this makes a great hook to hang the wreath). It’s best to lay out the flowers you plan to use. Begin by wiring the stems of the flowers to the wire hanger. The amount of wire you use depends on how long the stems of your flowers are.

The best way to avoid gaps in your wreath, are to make sure the flowers are as close as possible. After you have attached the first set of flowers, begin to layer the next set by laying the tip of the flower right below the first. Continue to layer the flowers, till you have the wreath looking the way you want. This may take several layers to get the desired look. Keep in mind, the smaller the wreath, the less flowers you will use.

For silk flowers and foliage, follow the same steps. You may want to use greenery with your flowers, alternating between the two when layering.

Supplies Needed:

• Wreath frame ( or wire coat hanger)
• Dried flowers or silk flowers
• Craft wire

These make a wonderful personalized gift for very little cost. I purchased two cloth place mats from my local dollar store for this project.

I would consider this craft to be fairly simple. These can be assembled with either a sewing machine, simple hand stitching or even hot glue. Any cloth place mat or cloth napkins will work. Using vintage place mats, napkins or any family heirloom would make these pillows extra special. I wrote a special saying on each of the place mats with sponge letter stamps. I then used various stamps and stencils to embellish it. Ribbons, bows, silk flowers, etc. can all be hot glue to embellish as well. After the paint has dried, either machine sew hand stitch or hot glue the two pieces together, make sure you put them together inside out (embellished side facing each other). Leave an opening large enough to fit your hand in. When you are finished sewing or gluing them together, simply turn then right side in. Stuff the pillow with desired amount of batting and hand sew or hot glue the opening closed.

Supplies needed:

• Cloth place mats or cloth napkins
• Sewing machine, needle and thread or hot glue gun
• Glue sticks
• Fiber fill batting
• Fabric paint
• Stencils or stamps (optional)