Summer Patriotic Wreath

Hey there, how are you doing?

Have I mentioned lately how much I love the red, white and blue seasons?  I love it so much that I decorate for Memorial day and leave it up all the way through fourth of July celebrations.

I recently shared this photo over on my Instagram account and lots of people seemed to love the wreath, so I thought I'd share how I made it.

I found my straw wreath form at the thrift store for $2.50 and my bandanas at Walmart for $1 each.  I ended up using 2 reds, 2 whites and 1 blue.  The amount of bandanas will vary on how tight you place the pieces on the wreath form.

Mark your bandana at 2 inch sections.  I used a white pen so I could see the marks, but a sharpie would work too.  I made marks on both edges, the edge closes to me and then on the opposite side so I would know where to cut to.

 After you have all your long strips cut, stack them one on top the other and then cut into 2 inch squares like you see here.  They do not have to be perfect squares, just close.  I picked out all the ones that were solid red to use at the last if I needed them, just my preference though.  Imma a weirdo!

I used some washi tape to mark my sections and then wrote with a sharpie to guide me as to what color goes in that section. 

I didn't notice until I was editing these pictures that you can't even see what I'm using to push the little squares in with! Gosh!

I used a really small phillips head screwdriver.  You can also use a wooden skewer if you want to.  Just try and place the screwdriver in the center of the little square holding the ends with your fingers.  It takes some getting used to, but you'll get the hang of it!

I pushed in each square pretty close to one another so it would look full.

NOTE:  I didn't fill the back of the wreath, but I did add squares down into the center edge and tried to make a straight line along the outside edge. 

I just worked one section at a time, filling in all of one color and then going on to the next.

All ready for the blue section now.  I was just loving how this was looking at this point! 

Stars are optional, but I chose to add some.  I used my Cricut machine and my George cartridge for may stars, but you could always draw some and cut them out too.  I used heavy white card stock for my stars.  I used the following sizes of stars: 1", 1 1/4" and 1 1/2".  I glued them on with hot glue.

 As an after thought I added a hanger.  I just used the solid white strip from one of the bandanas.  I folded it in half with free edges to the back/inside and hot glued it to the wreath form.

I bring out the wreath every year and use it in my decor for the red, white and blue seasons.  Have you ever made a rag wreath before?  It sure is time consuming, but the end result is so worth it!

If you loved any of these ideas and want to save them for later, be sure to pin it to your favorite Pinterest board.  I have a Pinterest board set up for all kinds of patriotic ideas and it's called Red, White and Blue.  I'm pinning something new on Pinterest every day. Won't you join me?

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