We’ve had a couple very windy days, but, there’s no complaining about the excellent Iowa harvest weather we’ve been enjoying so far this month.

Windy conditions can play havoc on seasonal yard decorations, however.  With the exception of pumpkins and gourds, I’ve wired and tied things down, to still see them blown across the yard, or disappear all together.  So now, I opt to add a bit more seasonal flair with small wreaths inside my home.

An abundant crop of egg gourds, dried, and stored in my basement, has been on my mind a lot since summer.  I’ve been wanting to make something with them for a long time.  I got to thinking that, some of them, a few of my favorite things, and what Mother Nature had to offer, would make for some pretty fall décor.  Simple and inexpensive, just my style!

I’ve never been able to decorate a wreath when its lying on a flat surface.  I like to hang a prepared wreath on a paper covered board, and work on it at eye level.

Gourd Wreath – Choose seven egg gourds of similar size and shape.  Soak overnight in bleach water and scrub clean.  (A small plastic basket, used for holding baby bottle rings and nipples in a dishwasher, works great for this step.  It will hold the gourds and its easy to weigh down under the water).  Dry gourds. Wax and buff with Briwax or any furniture wax. On a non-skid surface, arrange the gourds in a circle, and secure together with painter’s tape.  Gently turn them over and mark with pencil where they meet each other.  Remove the gourds from the tape, one at a time, drill holes with a Dremel and 3/32″ bit, then replace gourd on tape.  When done drilling, turn gourds face up and remove tape.

  

Measure and estimate the diameter of the wire ring you will need.  Pre-shape a length of 16 gauge wire around a container of the same diameter.   Mine was about 3 1/2″.

String gourds on to the wire.  Cut off excess wire and twist ends together.  Turn over, face down, and attach a push-in hanger with Gorilla Glue.  Let dry.

  

With side-cutters, cut a few long, bleached pinecones, to form flowers.  Spray pinecone pieces and False Baptisia pods with Clear Matte Sealer.  Attach the prettiest pinecone pieces with hot glue.  Embellish with pods.

Pear Wreath – I like pears and couldn’t resist when I found smaller egg gourds that resembled their shape.  Always remember to soak and scrub the gourds.

I mixed a small amount of white and green wall paints for the palest of green color.  For a special touch, I used a small slender glass leaf I had, but, you could trim down an artificial leaf, or use no leaf.

After soaking a 6″ grapevine wreath overnight, slide two thick rubber bands around it’s center to form a more oval shape.  Let dry 24 hours. While the wreath dries, give the gourds 2 or 3 coats of paint, one side at a time, and sanding lightly between coats.  Be careful, they like to roll!

 

Cut the rubber bands from the dry wreath and lay it on a wire rack, over a bowl.  Water down a small amount of dark brown craft paint and lightly brush it over the wreath.  Let dry.  Speckle the wreath, lightly, with black craft paint.  Let dry and seal with Clear Matt Spray.

 

Using a Dremel, I drilled a small hole to accommodate the base of my leaf, and glued it in with a small dot of hot glue. Spackling was used to fill in around the leaf.  Once dry, it was sanded smooth and repainted.  Small indentations were drilled in the top of the gourds to hot glue apple stems in place.  Touch up paint around the stems.

After gluing the pears on the wreath, two leaves and some berries, saved from past projects, were added.  The pretty green, dried Astilbe, tucked in and around, was cut from the bush outside my backdoor.

Egg Basket Wreath – I have a thing for collapsible wire egg baskets, they’re cute!  And, so easy to decorate!  I found a flower sprig and feather sprigs for 50% off last month … a total of $3.00, YEAH!  I cut and reconfigured my flower sprig a little, but you needn’t.  Simply arrange your sprigs the way you like them, cutting off the long stems if needed, and add a raffia bow for a quick colorful wreath!