simple solution: revamp a wreath

 this lush, gorgeous fall wreath rivals those I saw recently at a famous garden & home decor store nearby.

only it was created for far far less money than the ones in that store... 

 my mom had this fall wreath stored in the garage. she's used it for years, and it's... well, it's okay.

she bought it on clearance at Target

[yeah, the nut doesn't fall far from the frugal tree around here!!!]

but i knew i could make it better, and look exactly like the ones we saw over at that swanky store. 

she was eyeballing those wreaths over there and i could tell she wanted one... i simply MADE one for her instead

 i enlisted one of my TOP TIPS as a stylist:

cheap fake foliage. 

 yep. i went to the Dollar Tree and bought some stems of colorful fall fabric leaves for a buck each. 

mom had a few larger branches of dull-colored leaves that i mixed in, too.

here's what you need for this project:

scissors and wire cutters [scissors cut through the plastic stem, then wire cutters snap the wire inside]

branches/bunches of fabric leaves, flowers, whatever you want to use

an existing wreath

you can start with a new bare wreath or strip a wreath completely down and start over, of course, 

but i'm just showing you how to 'pump up the volume' of something you already have on hand.

spread the branches of leaves out on the Dollar store bunches, 

and slide the leaves up toward the ends of each branch.

cut all of the small branches of leaves off of the larger branches, as shown here.

leave @5 to 6 inch stems on them.

you'll end up with a large supply of short-stemmed leaf bunches.

choose one type of leaf to start with - i selected the dull brown leaves to use first, 

because i wanted them to be in the 'background' of the arrangement.

simply begin inserting the stems right into the existing wreath at regular intervals

[think of it like a clock, and insert them at 12,3,6, and 9...etc.]

by pushing the stems into the wreath structure, they should stay in place with no problem.

[you can always add a drop of hot glue if you are worried about windy conditions, etc.]

when you tuck them in, nestle them behind the existing foliage as shown here.

continue around the wreath until you have used all of that type of leaf. 

you'll have a balanced arrangement working with one type at a time.

this first step has already filled out the wreath, making it more lush and abundant

now take the brighter, more vibrantly-colored leaves and insert them into the wreath

place them closer to the front of the arrangement, right next to the existing flowers, etc.

again, place them evenly around the wreath

[at 2,4,6,8,10, and 12 on the clock, for instance]

this helps to keep the wreath's rounded shape intact as you work.

after adding the additional leaves, the wreath looks three times its original size!

 for just a few dollars, we've revamped an old wreath

and made it fresh and new

(and just like something that costs $125 at a swanky garden shop)

i love that!

here's the finished project:

 that's a pretty big improvement over the sparse twiggy 'before' shot, don't you think?

and yes, you CAN do this with REAL leaves, too!

[read that as FREE LEAVES]

you don't have to hang a wreath on the door or wall, by the way...

i've seen some great ideas for using them in fresh new ways

and am sharing them on the HOMEWARDfound facebook page

come on over and see what YOU can do with your newly-revamped wreath! 

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chic and crafty thursdays @ the frugal girls