The Complete Guide To Making Burlap Rose Heart Wreaths

If you have ever wanted to know how to make a
 heart-shaped wreath covered in burlap roses,
 here is your complete guide!

Let's start with with wreath form. If you have ever looked for a

heart-shaped wreath form near Valentine's Day, you KNOW that

they are hard to find. Here is how to make your own for a very

small price in the size that YOU want. 

Make your own wreath forms with "Great Stuff" insulation

foam in a can. Yes, you need to keep kids and animals away

from this stuff until it hardens, but you can do it. 
Follow all the safety precautions listed on the can. 

Draw a heart on the paper of your choice ahead of time so 

the form comes out in the size and shape you want. 

Shake, shake, shake your booty your can of "Great Stuff" . 
Spray one then two lines of the foam along the lines you
have drawn. Make sure lines one and two touch each other
 on the sides Then spray a third line on top of the first two
 to give your heart some dimension. 

Sorry for the squiggly colored lines...I can spray the foam better than I can draw lines in PicMonkey.
This wreath was done mainly to show how to spray the foam 'cause I don't have a picture of how I made the first ones.

Keep your kids and animals away from your wreath forms
for at least eight hours. After that, they are not fragile (and 
won't stick to your kids and animals). 

Depending on how large you want your wreath forms, you can
get 3-4 forms out of one $4 can of foam...what a bargain!
Once you start spraying the foam, you have to keep going or
the can will seal itself off. Have plenty of newspaper work
 surface ready so you don't have to stop after one wreath form
(unless you only want one wreath form and don't care 
about wasting the rest of the can of foam). 

I hate to be the bearer of bad news BUT "Great Stuff' sort of
has a mind of it's own. Sometimes it puffs up a lot and then
sometimes it only puffs up a little. It has to do with the 
temperature and the humidity when you are spraying. 

2013 Wreath Forms...

2013 wreath forms puffed up a lot... a 2015 form did not.

2015 Wreath Form

You can add more spray foam to a wreath form if it doesn't get as puffy as you like. Usually by the time you can see

(about 15 minutes) how puffy your form is going to get, the can has sealed itself off and you need another can. 

I actually made the red burlap rose wreath in February 2014

but I have never done a blog post on it. By the time I used this

extra foam wreath form I made in 2013  (the others were

 used in The Key To My Heart Vignette) it had yellowed...

...

It probably would not have yellowed if it had not been left to the elements out in the back yard. 

Red burlap is only $3.99/yard at Hobby Lobby ...even cheaper is you use a coupon.

You can use any color or print of burlap for this project.

You will use burlap to wrap the foam heart form and

to make the easy roses. The above picture shows that I got

two yards of burlap but I did not use all of that. Depending

on the size of your heart form, you could get by with 1.5 yards.

Because the burlap has an fairly open weave, I wanted to paint

the foam to match my burlap so that none of the form would

 show through the weave of the burlap.

You might be able to skip the painting step if your burlap weave is tight and doesn't let the foam show through. 

Regular craft paint would work fine too to color the foam form. 

You can cut off parts of the foam form that you don't like

with a kitchen knife after the foam has cured for 8 hours. 

After the paint dries go ahead and add a hanger. It will be harder

 to add a hanger after you complete the next step, wrapping 

the wreath. I used thin wire wrapped around the top of the 

wreath form. You might want to use a different type hanger

Cut some strips of burlap to cover the wreath form.

The step allows you to not have to cover the entire surface of

 the wreath with burlap flowers...sort of a "fool the eye" trick.

The strips that were used to cover this wreath were 2" wide.

The longer you can cut the strips, the less you have to add 

new strips (but don't cut all your burlap this size...the burlap

for the roses will need to be wider).

 Use straight sewing pins to hold your first burlap strip in 

place as you start to wrap the wreath form in an overlapping 

style. Also use the pins to add new strips and to make the burlap

 strips conform to the shape of the wreath.

Your width of strips might need to be smaller if your wreath is smaller than this  15" wreath. 

When you come to the hanger part of your wreath, wrap

the strips so they do not cover it up on the back. 

After you have wrapped the whole wreath in overlapping strips

and pinned it in place, add a little glue (one that dries clear is

 best) on the pins to keep them in place. 

Now comes the fun part...making the burlap roses!

You can experiment to see how large or small you want your 

roses to be. I wanted to make a few roses as possible so I made

mine kinda large. They were about 4" in diameter.

The strips that were cut for this size rose were 4" by 24".

If you want smaller roses, make the width less (and maybe the

length too...you will need to see what appeals to you).

Whatever size of strip you decide on, the technique of making

the burlap rose is the same. 

Have a sewing needle threaded with a long doubled thread (that

matches your burlap color) knotted and ready.

Fold the width of the burlap strip in half. 

Turn down the folded corner edge of the strip to meet the 

raw cut edge of the strip. 

Start rolling the end point towards the fold for 1.5" to 2".

This will be the center of your rose. 

Take a stitch or two near the cut raw edge of the strip to

hold the now-rolled burlap in place. Knot it to hold it.

With the same needle and thread, start sewing a running stitch 

about 1/4" from the cut raw edge. Be sure to catch both sides

of the burlap in this stitch.  The stitch does not need to be tight. 

Continue the straight running stitch along the whole edge.

Start sliding the burlap strip down along the thread to gather it.

Keep gently sliding the burlap strip down the thread until all

of the strip has been gathered into a ruffle. 

From the sewn down roll you made at the first of the strip,

start rolling the gathered strip around it. You may need to 

adjust the gathers as you go.  Keep the raw cut edge of the

rose lined up as you roll. 

Using the same thread that you began with, you can take 

stitches on the raw edge (not the folded edge) of the roll

 to  keep it in place as you continue to 

add more of the gathered burlap onto the roll. 

To conceal the cut edge on the end of the rolled rose, turn it under

  and stitch it down to hide it and keep it from fraying as much.

Ta-Dah! You did it!

My wreath took ten of these roses to cover the top surface 

of the wreath. Because I used the same material to cover the

wreath form as to make the rolled roses, it is not as obvious

that there aren't many roses and they don't cover the sides

(especially when you see if from the street and not up close).

Attach the rolled burlap roses to the wreath with a hot glue gun.

You may need to hold each rose in place until the hot glue dries

a little since the rose has a kind of uneven and small base. 

You will probably have lots of burlap strings to cut off to

"tidy up" the finished wreath.

Here is the wreath on my front door in 2014...

It is smaller and simpler than most wreaths that I have for other

holidays on the front door but I like the change occasionally. 

The thin wire (attached to a screw in the top of the door) 

that  actually supports the wreath is (almost)

 hidden by a cuter red grosgrain ribbon. 

We had to replace the front door since it started "bleeding" 

the glue that was partially holding it together. You can see it

a little in the above pictures but it got much worse over the year.

Also it was not very energy efficient and the afternoon sun

 comes hot and heavy on that side of the house. 

 Out with the old...

...in with the new...

Here is the carpenter, Adam, replacing the door and transom and also most of the trim around the door.

Some of the wooden trim had rotted. 

The new door and transom have energy efficient glass and

 the mullions on the glass are thicker and built onto the glass

 and are not just a thin pop-on window grille (that fell off at lot).

The doors actually look a lot the same...I did not dislike

 the old one. It probably had a nicer proportion of glass. 

We just reused the old door hardware.

 I had to "initiate" the  new door with a screw in the top to

 hold wreaths that I want to suspend with fishing line or thin wire...

...we don't have to mention this to Tom Kat m'kay?

Here is the new door with it's first wreath,

the Red Burlap Rose Heart Wreath!

I am sharing this post over at 

Between Naps On The Porch's Metamorphosis Monday

A Stroll Thru Life's Inspire Me Tuesday

Carolyn's Homework Creative Inspiration Link Party

Savvy Southern Style's Wow Us Wednesday

DIY by Design's Link Party #205

Mostly Food & Crafts' Friday Frenzy

DIY Painted Burlap Christmas Tree

'

Sometimes you might want something other than a wreath on

your door at Christmas time.  A painted burlap shape is an easy

and inexpensive option that you can design to be whatever

you want it to be.  I had seen some images of whimsical 

Christmas trees that I thought would be fun to try to copy.

The window area of my front door is long and thin.  I wanted 
the tree to fill up as large a portion of that as possible to be
easily visible from the street.  The good thing about painted
burlap door hangings is that you  make the pattern to cut the
burlap so it can be the size and shape that you want. 

To make this pattern, I taped together newspapers to

 be the same size as the window so I would know 

how much space I actually had to work with and

 make the tree as large as possible. 

Freehand draw the shape that you want your burlap 

hanging to be.  My shape was a lot of trial and error

 with a sharpie so I could see the lines on the newspaper. 

 If you have some white paper without writing to make

 your pattern that would be even better.  

Since I wanted both sides of the tree to be the same 

shape, I folded the paper in half and will cut both

sides at the same time.  

After I got the shape of the tree drawn, I thought

 I needed some more height on the middle section

 so I added a "spacer" with painter's tape.  

As long as you can see the shape you want, your

pattern does not have to be pretty. 

Although you don't have  to stuff your burlap shape, it adds

dimension and strength to the door hanging. To be able to 

stuff it, of course you need two identical shapes of burlap.

Pin your pattern to the burlap and cut it out. 

I happened to have green burlap left over from some

 curtains that I made a few years ago. 

Since you are going to be painting the burlap, you can 

use natural colored burlap also for your door hanging. 

 Since there are colored burlaps available, if you

 buying burlap specifically for this project, it does

 help to purchase a burlap close the the color your

door hanging will eventually be.

Since this burlap had been wadded up in the attic for

several years, it was wrinkled.  Go on and get any major

 wrinkles out of the burlap by ironing before painting.

Line up your two burlap shapes.

You can sew the shapes together if you want but hot glue

is a good option too.  You will not be turning the shapes

inside out for this project. Your ragged edges can be 

trimmed at the end of the project if they bother you. 

Part of the charm of the burlap door hangings is that

they are not perfect and have a rustic quality to them.

If you are going to stuff your shape, leave openings between

the two shapes the get the stuffing in there.  

If you are making a shape like a football, you probably only

need to leave one opening.  Since this shape is tall and has 

some more intricate points, I left several openings

 between the two shapes to be able to stuff it easily. 

If you are using hot glue to join your pieces, only put glue on

small sections at a time so that you can press the shapes 

together before the glue dries.  Be VERY careful pressing the

sides together because the hot glue WILL come through the

weave of the burlap and burn your fingers.  You can use a 

wooden skewer or the end of a paint brush instead to press. 

Leave the openings on the least-curved parts of the shape.

You can stuff your shape after you get it glued together

as I started to do in the photo below.  Then I stopped.

Wait. Do you stuff before painting or after?  

I went back to look at my own tutorials here and here.

The advantages of waiting to stuff the shape AFTER painting 

it are that the shape is easier to paint flat and that the paint

seals the edges somewhat and keeps them from fraying as

much when it comes to the stuffing part. 

 The disadvantage of stuffing after painting is that your paint

 sometimes seeps through to the other side of the burlap in

 places and the front and back sides stick together.

Either way is fine.  I chose to wait to stuff this time.

Protect your work surface.  

Acrylic paints from the craft stores are fine for this project.

You can thin them with a little water to make them 

easier to brush onto the burlap.  The paint seems to be

the thing that makes the burlap stiff so try to water

the paint down as little as possible. 

To avoid having too many just plain areas of color on this
large burlap hanging, added some embellishments like
making the tree stand have diamond shapes...

...adding painted candy canes on the tree...

...stenciling the white areas...

...and using a trick I saw on Pinterest...cardboard tubes
to make painted circles.   At first I used a smaller diameter 
tube from a wrapping paper roll.  Dip the end in paint...

...then onto your surface... 

...to make ball ornaments shapes to color in. 

After making several small ball ornaments on the tree, I 
tried a few larger ornament shapes made with an
empty toilet paper roll to add variety.

Depending on how much time and patience you have, you
could decorate each ball ornament but I just used that
 old paint trick of loading different paints on either side
of the paintbrush and applying it on a circle shape in
a swooping motion to give some dimension to the balls.

All of this paint can make the front and back stick together.
Use a paint brush or ruler to try to break up any stuck
together places before stuffing.  This is the first time I have
had the burlap stick together.  The other projects I have 
made used a looser (cheaper) weave of burlap so probably
the tighter the weave, the more likely it is to stick.

With the tighter weave burlap, however, it is
 easier to paint more intricate images on it.

When your paint is dry, you can stuff the burlap shape.
If your hanging is going outside, be sure to stuff your shape
with a material that will not mind getting a little moist.
One option that is free is plastic bags from stores.

To keep the edges of your shape from fraying as much
as possible, use a ruler or the end of a paint brush to 
poke the bags into the openings that you left while you
were gluing (or sewing) the two shapes together. 

If a whole bag is making a bigger lump than you want,
you can cut the bags in half (or more). 

Trim off any frayed edges that bother you. 

To hang most burlap painted shapes, you use wire.
This aluminum wire (available at Dollar Tree and in 
the floral sections of craft stores) is easy to cut and 
bend but it is also pretty sturdy.  


Just poke it through the burlap, make
a curly-q, then (leaving enough length to go over your 
wreath hanger) poke it again on the other side. 


With this shape burlap hanging, after about a week (and lots 
of rainy weather), the tree looked like this:

Maybe there was not enough space between the wire
insertion points to support the length of the tree?  

The wires were pulled out and a grosgrain ribbon loop was 
glued onto the center of the back of the tree up high.
So far, so good...hanging without buckling now.

You can paint the back of your burlap door hanging too.  It adds even more stiffness.

Although I wanted to add one more thing to the tree,
I needed it "as was" to take pictures for another blog
post showing the other outside decorations for this year.
"Make Big Candy For Decorating"

It looked perfectly fine BUT if you want to add a finishing
touch to your painted burlap hanging, you can outline the
edges (or more if you want) with fabric paint.

Painted burlap door hangings seem to hold up fine in a 
covered area outside.  They would probably not hold up 
in an outside area that gets rain, snow, etc. directly on them.

One of the main reasons that I wanted this burlap hanging
on my door this year is that I made wreaths for the six
windows that are on the front of the house and I thought
something other than a wreath would give some variety.

If you would like to see how these deco mesh wreaths were made, click
"Make a Christmas Mesh Wreath"

The painted burlap Christmas tree along with the other 
decorations that were made new this year combined to 
win this award!

If you want a painted burlap Christmas tree for next year
"pin" it on your boards...I'm really late in posting this tute!

I'm sharing this post at
Sunday Showcase @ Under the Table and Dreaming
Metamorphosis Monday @ Between Naps On The Porch
Inspire Me Tuesday @ A Stroll Thru Life
Nifty Thrifty Tuesday @ Coastal Charm