It’s not technically autumn yet, but once the school buses start rolling around here, I always decide it’s time to take down the summer decor. Since it’s too early for my Halloween decorations, I opted to make my own fall-inspired wreath using my Silhouette Cameo, some cardstock and ink, and burlap ribbon:
Using designs I purchased from the Silhouette Online Store (listed below) and customized for my own wreath, I cut and assembled many sunflowers, assorted leaf shapes, and a couple of little bees and ladybugs. I wanted to keep the wreath somewhat summery still (it’s still very hot in my neck of the woods), so I made sure to add several warm green leaves in the mix.
I changed the 3D sunflower design so that it would have 3 layers of petals instead of two for added color and dimension. To make the flowers more natural looking, I curled each of the petals by hand and flicked the ends with “Crumb Cake” ink from Stampin’ Up using a Ranger Blending Tool. All of this can be time-consuming, but I thought well-worth the finished product.
I like to re-purpose my burlap-wrapped wire wreath frame depending on the season (see original wrapped frame in this post), so I usually attach my elements using floral wire instead of hot glue. In this case, I chose to insert a little lasso of wire into a dollop of hot glue on the back of each flower and twist off the wire at the back of the wreath for each element. When it comes time to make a new wreath for the next season or holiday, I can just clip everything off with a pair of wire cutters and start over.
I also cut many different shapes and colors of leaves to frame out each sunflower bunch on my wreath. I curled them around my fingers just like the flower petals and distressed the edges with “Tea Dye” distress ink and a blending tool to make them just slightly more lifelike.
The final touches were a couple of cute bugs I converted from cut files into print-and-cut designs and a little extra burlap garland to round out the empty areas of the wreath.
Materials Used
Cut Files (from Silhouette Online Store)
3D Sunflower – Design #48166
Leaves – Design #20959 and #20749
Ladybug – Design #42734
Bee – Design #3695
Ink
“Tea Dye” Distress Ink
“Crumb Cake” Classic Stampin’ Pad from Stampin’ Up
Other
Burlap Garland
18in wire wreath frame
I’d love to hear any comments you may have and thanks so much for stopping by!
I saw this wreath on the Silhouette Design Team post and had to come hunt down your post…it is so lovely! Congratulations on making the team, I hope to be brave enough to apply for one someday. Your creations are fantastic – and I feel the need to go cut some flowers!