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

Fake Wood Signs In 5 Easy Steps

If you are like me and like the look of wood signs but

 don't have  the space for woodworking equipment, here is

 a way to make fake wood signs using only craft supplies.

Step One: Assemble Supplies

The main thing you need to make these "fool the eye" signs is

wood-looking paper. I found a large roll of weathered wood 

paper (4' x12') at Michael's in the kid's section for only $8.

I could not find the paper on the Michael's website but

here is the same thing on Amazon.

Another option is to use wood-look contact paper. If you want a white-ish

 color wood on the contact paper, give it a thin coat of acrylic paint. 

You also need a base for the paper to give it form.

I had pieces left over from a project I did using a large 

sheet of insulation foam ($15 for a 4' x8' sheet) at a home

improvement store but you could use a foam sheet from the

floral section of craft stores. If you you don't mind if your fake wood sign is not very thick, you can even use cardboard or

foam core for the base of your sign. 

You can use the insulation foam for lots of projects that you  might normally have to use

  wood for actually. Be sure to take a knife with you to the home improvement store to cut the 

foam in the parking lot to fit it in your vehicle.

Step Two: Cut the Foam and the Paper

Here's the BEST thing about this project...you only have to use

a sharp kitchen knife to do the cutting! Decide what size you want

 your sign to be, mark with a pencil and "saw" it with the knife.

Cut the wood-looking paper large enough to cover the front of the

foam AND be able to go around the sides and attach to the back.

If you are making a small sign and are going to print a design 

on the paper  from the computer, do it before you attach the paper to the foam. 

Step Three: Attach The Paper To The Foam

Pull the paper as tightly as you can to the back of the foam.

Have you ever upholstered a chair cushion? It's kinda like that. 

Start with one side of your sign attaching, move to the opposite

side pulling taut, attach paper, then move to other ends.

You can also think of this like half wrapping a present.

I did fold the ends of my paper covering like a present but if

 someone is looking closely (or it bothers you) you can see the

diagonal fold in the end product. You could pull the paper in 

a straight back fold and not angled like is pictured.

For the first signs I did, I used thumbtacks to hold the paper

down and then glue to keep the tacks in place and under the

edges of the paper on the back. This works fine but I later 

tried regular tape to hold the paper in place and then packing

 tape for extra hold and I think that was even easier.

My pieces of insulation foam had been in the attic for a few 

months and had a slight "bow" or curve. If your foam has a 

bow, make the bow go towards the front so your paper will 

lay flat on the front...the back will be a little concave.

These are going to be a pair of signs I wanted the same size.

Here is one board wrapped and one getting ready to be wrapped...

Step Four: Draw or Paint Words or Images on Front

You may be good at free-hand lettering and drawing...I am not.

I made enlargements of the sayings I wanted and transferred

them to the fronts of the signs.

This set of calligraphy-type markers ($12 at Michael's but I used

a coupon) worked really well to fill in the transferred font letters. 

Everyone has their favorite way to transfer designs. 

At the very end of the post I have more details of how the 

lettering was transferred to the paper if you are interested in that. 

Oops! My signs weren't cut perfectly but I guess real wood

signs can have their imperfections too. 

One of my "wooden" signs had its lettering painted with acrylic

craft paint. To keep the paper from wrinkling, try not to use

much water to thin down the paint.

I tried an experiment of sanding the painted lettering...

don't do it...it only gave a smeared look you would not like.

This little sign was small enough to run the wooden looking 

paper through the computer by cutting it down to 8.5"x11".

It was glued to a round cut of foam since the sides would not show.

Step Five: Hang Your Sign

Another advantage of these faux wooden signs is that they are

so very lightweight that they are easy to hang. I weighed these

signs and each one was less than 6 ounces. Find the center 

of your sign by measuring and mark the spot near the top.

Attach your hanger to the foam low enough that it won't 

show when you put the sign on a nail or other wall hanger.

I didn't have any pre-made lightweight hangers on hand so I

made one out of ribbon, thumbtacks and glue. Cut a piece of

ribbon and make it into a loop. Thumbtack the ends down.

Use a glue that won't "melt" foam and glue it all down.

For the signs that I was going to be hanging on framed chicken

wire, I attached a small Command hook upside down near the top.

I had to think this through...not only is the hook upside down but

the foam becomes "the wall" in the instructions.

There you go! Five easy steps for making these faux wooden

signs that can be used in your home, at parties, school 

functions, as photography props and more. 

If you want to see how I have used them in

 decorating my home, read on...

This faux wooden sign "kick" got started when I wanted

 to  have something simple to take the place of the

 Christmas cards that  had been hanging on the 

framed chicken wire  over the console in the living room.

I had put away the bleached bottle brush trees that had

 any ornaments on them from the Christmas decorations but

kept out the simple trees for winter decorating.

The snow scenes were cleared of any Christmas people and only

snowmen and woodland creatures were left in the "snow". 

These two quotes have meaning to me.

The first one reminds me that even winter, that some view as a

bad or "dead" season, can be beautiful in its own way. In the South

we don't usually have the dramatic snow and ice beauty, but I like

to see bare limbs of the trees against the sky for part of the year.

They look like sculptures to me. 

The second quote reminds me of a sermon that I heard about

 a man who saw a dead-looking tree in the wintertime and 

decided to do away with it by chopping it down.

 In the spring he passed by the stump and saw green

 sprouts coming out.  He regretted chopping down

the tree because it was not dead after all.

I couldn't find the original story but I did find this quote

 attributed to Robert Schuller.  Here is the full quote:

"Never cut a tree down in the Wintertime.

Never make a negative decision in the low time.

 Never make your most important decisions when you 

are in your worst moods. Wait. Be patient.

 The storm will pass. The Spring will come. "

The mantle and bookcases also have some hold overs from the

 Christmas decor but (most of) the angels have been removed and bottle-brush-type woodland creatures have replaced them. 

Tom Kat usually won't let me turn on the gas logs unless it is 

"cold enough" but with the Blizzard of '15 going on in the 

Northeast, even the South has below freezing temperatures. 

The bottle brush tree wreath got an "wooden sign" insert. 

The sofa is cozy with sweater-covered pillows.

The bottle brush tree and automatic l.e.d. candle arrangement

came in from the dining room to give a warm glow at sunset. 

The Christmas angel in the dining room becomes a cupid angel

to usher in Valentine's Day. 

Since she is free-floating, her framed backdrop is replaced with

a faux wood one with a lovey-dovey saying on it. 

 An inexpensive 3-fold cardboard project board is taped down

and covered with the wooden-looking paper. Since the sides of

this "sign" will be covered, it won't be noticed that it is not as

thick as a real wood sign would be. 

This wood-looking paper-covered cardboard is also useful as a photo

 background for food or small item photography. 

Her Christmas star is now covered with heart-shaped confetti

that have been glued together to represent the "hundred hearts".

In one of bedrooms (that is slowly becoming my office since

we are empty-nesters) I am working on assembling a gallery wall.

The sign that I experimented on using paint instead of markers

will be used in there.

When I was playing around with the items I had so far in this gallery, I didn't realize

that the bird canvas from Hobby Lobby had the hook installed on the the 

wrong end of the hanging. 

So after "The Five Steps" and the living room tour if you want 

to stay around for more details of how the lettering was 

transferred to to wooden paper here goes...

The free online site that I like to use to enlarge images is

Block Posters. It is really easy to use but it only takes jpg.

images so I composed the text in PicMonkey. I am not very 

tech savvy...there is probably a way to make text a jpg. image

 without using PicMonkey but I don't know what it is.

Block Poster prints out your image in separate sheets on your

 computer after you decide how large you want it to be.

Cut off the white margins and tape the saying or design together.

At first I chose a Block Poster image two sheets wide for my Southern saying...

...I went back to the site and tried the three sheet wide choice

 and liked it better because it filled more of the sign's space. 

If you want a fairly light transfer you can scribble on the back

side of the lettering with a pencil to make your own carbon paper.

I find that holding the image up to a window to scribble helps me "see" where the design is on the paper...less scribbling. 

Then turn the image over, place it where you want it on your

paper-covered foam board. Trace over the outline of the letters

or design with a pencil. If you think it is slipping around, you

can tape the original down on the backside of the board.

If you want the lettering to be easier to see, you can use

 transfer or graphite paper from an arts or crafts store.

 Be aware that is pretty dark. If you are using a light color

of paint for the sign, this transfer might be hard to cover. 

Although you can't burn these signs in the fireplace to stay warm

 in the Winter Blizzard of '15, I hope you will make some to 

warm your heart with sayings near and dear to you.