Dried Hydrangea wreath {fall wreath} + our updated entryway

I am excited to share my first fall-ish project with you!  Something happens when August comes to a close and September begins… I start longing for fall.  And it seems get worse every year.  Are you longing for fall and starting fall projects yet?

So onto my project.  A friend and I did some thrift shopping last week and then headed back to my house to do some “crafting” together.  We had both browsed Pinterest for wreath ideas and I was super excited when she said she had some dried hydrangeas left over from her son’s wedding.  And she was super sweet and offered them to me!  I love hydrangeas and plan to add some to my yard next year.  I love them cut and brought inside, I love them displayed in pitchers or in mason jars, and I love them dried too.    I had seen and pinned a few on Pinterest (so I guess this makes this a Pinterest inspired project too!)

So here is how I made my wreath.   I grabbed a grapevine wreath from my stash and laid out all the dried hydrangea stems.   (I will share at the end of the post how you can dry your own hydrangeas if you want to make something like this.)

I just stuck the stems in the wreath trying to spread out the colors and sizes of the blooms throughout the wreath.  And I did this all the way around the wreath.  When I got done I had 2 stems left and I broke those in smaller parts so I could fill in a few blank spots.  I didn’t glue anything but you are welcome to do that.  If your stems were shorter, you would probably need to glue the bunches to your wreath.

Then I needed to add some ribbon to dress it up and give me something to hang it by.  I am IN. LOVE. with this ribbon.  I can’t tell you how long I have looked for burlap ribbon.  I had seen other bloggers talk about it but I could not find it ANYWHERE near me.  But lo and behold, look what I found in Hobby Lobby about a month ago!!  My store is carrying larger rolls like this on in their regular ribbon section and smaller rolls with fall and Christmas themed packing (but it is the EXACT same ribbon) in the seasonal sections.  Of course I bought it when it was 50% off, so it was $5, and I probably only used about 2.5 feet.

It is wired and the most amazing stuff ever!  I am going to be stocking their fall aisle and hope that they have some left and clearance it super cheap when fall is over.   I added a simple bow of my lovely burlap ribbon and hunt it up on a magnetic hook I have on my door. 

Here is my finished wreath!

I LOVE it!

I love how you can see all the muted colors of the original hydrangea flowers.  And I love that it is perfect for fall, but would also be gorgeous to display year round too.

So if you were adding up the cost:

• hydrangeas – free, from a friend
• wreath, from my craft stash
• ribbon – used less than $1 worth of my $5 roll

So this whole wreath cost me less than $1 :)  I LOVE decorating with nature.  (You can find all kinds of other ideas to decorate with nature in this post.)

When I was at Hobby Lobby, I also picked up something else.  This wood sign that was 50% and cost $6.00.

I wasn’t sure how well my wreath would hold up outside (due to weather and creatures bothering it), so I hung it on the inside of my front door.  And because I LOVE having something pretty INSIDE my house to enjoy since that is where I spend the most of my time.    Yes, you can hang wreaths on the inside of your doors too!

My added Hobby Lobby sign over the door looks perfect with my wreath too.

And just for fun, I dug up an old picture of my entryway.  I have made quite a few changes over the last 2 years and you can really tell in the before/after pictures.

You can even see that my dining room is still the old colors before I redid it last uear.  And I changed out the light fixture in here about 2 years ago too.

Entryway – 2 years ago.

Entryway – as it is today.    So much better!

You can see my tutorial on how I spray painted the lamps from brass to white in this post.

Now, if you have hydrangea bushes and are wanting to dry them to use for a wreath like this or other projects, here are some tips I got from my friend and online.

How to dry hydrangeas:

• Wait until the flowers are starting to lose their color on the bush.  They will have started to feel “papery” and slightly dry. 
• Cut them, strip off the leaves, and place them in individual vases or cups with a little water in the bottom.  Make sure that each stem has room for air circulation so they will dry quickly.
•  In a few days or up to a week, the water will have evaporated and the hydrangeas should have dried all the way.  They will have dried a muted color of their original color.
• Make a wreath or display them in vases or in décor around your house and enjoy!

I know that I will enjoy my wreath!  Thanks to my friend, Carolyn for sharing her beautiful blooms with me!

Ready for some more fall decorating ideas??  You won’t want to miss next week – I will be sharing lots of fall inspiration and hopefully some more fall projects and fall décor in my house as well.