1. Gather your wreath-making supplies
No matter what type of wreath you’re making, here are the tools and equipment you’ll need:
- Hot glue gun
- Florist wire (about 22-gauge)
- Wire cutters
- Garden snips
- Scissors
- Ribbon
- Metal hoop (18 or 19 inches in diameter)
With this modern wreath design, the hoop will be partially visible, so you can spray paint it the colour of your choosing. Use whatever size hoop you like, but 18- or 19-inch wreaths are the best size to hang on your front door.
One safety note for working with florist wire: the ends can be quite sharp after they’re cut! Be careful as you’re working with it and wear protective gloves if you’re worried about poking your fingertips.
In addition to your tools, you’ll need some greenery to form the wreath.
You can use almost any branches, leaves, flowers, or other plant material you can find, but for this modern Christmas wreath we’re using a combination of evergreen branches, holly, and magnolia leaves.
If you’re lucky enough to have some greenery in your yard, you can snip a few branches yourself. Don’t take anything from public land (or someone else’s yard), though.
If you don’t have your own plants to use for the wreath, pay a visit to your nearest plant nursery or garden centre. They should have trimmings they can give you or, at the very least, be able to sell you something.
2. Lay out your wreath’s base layer
Once you’ve got everything together, you can start making your wreath.
First, find the largest foliage of your collection, something that’s going to work as an anchor or background to the finer pieces on your wreath.
Lay the pieces out to see how they’ll look on the wreath. Try to keep things balanced between the left and right side.
With this modern wreath, we’re only covering the bottom portion of the ring. If you’re covering the whole 360 degrees, keep your top-bottom balance in mind as well.
Once you’re happy with the layout of your background pieces, secure them to the ring using your florist wire.
Wide, flat evergreen branches make the best anchor pieces for our modern-style wreath.
3. Attach your finer pieces
After you’ve got the anchor pieces of your wreath attached, you can start adding the finer details.
Here, you can use bits and pieces of whatever you’ve got:
- Thicker, fluffier evergreen branches
- Holly leaves and berries
- Pinecones or acorns
- Large leaves like maple, magnolia, or oak.
Just try to include a variety of components—at least 3 in addition to your base layer.
Just as you did with the initial pieces, first lay out your highlight pieces and move them around until you’re happy with the look. Again, keep your wreath balanced.
Once you’ve got things settled, start attaching your components to the ring with the florist wire.
After everything’s strapped on, use the hot glue gun to carefully glue down any bits that are flapping around, or anything that you couldn’t attach with the wire.
4. Add the finishing touches
There are just two more things your wreath needs. The first is a centrepiece, something to really tie it together.
You can use things like dried flowers or more bits of holly to round out your wreath’s appearance.
After that, all that’s left is to put a bow on it!
Tie your ribbon in the centre of the top part of the ring. Fold your ribbon in half before you start tying.
Then, make a simple knot around the wire ring, leaving a 3-4-inch loop at the top for hanging. The ends of your ribbon should hang down into the centre of your wreath.
And that’s it! Your modern holiday wreath is ready to hang on the front door, giving the entrance to your home a shot of holiday spirit.
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