Learn to Make Wreaths

Do you need more room for storing your wreaths? Are you a fellow wreather like me? If so, then I know you crave more storage/crafting space and smarter storage areas. I want to share with you my idea for storing my wreaths until I sell them. It’s so easy and no tools are required! This display would also be perfect for displaying your wreaths in craft shows; you can easily disassemble and reassemble as needed because this requires no tools. This took me 15 minutes to construct and cost less than $50.

What you will need

3 ClosetMaid 6′ x 15.89″ Shelves ($15 ea at Lowe’s)

15 Heavy Duty Cable Ties (I used TwistTail 14.5″)
9-12 “S” Hooks (31 cents ea)

Assemble The Base

Line up two of the shelves vertically side by side and use cable ties to secure tightly in 5 places. I secured 1 on the top, 1 in the middle, 1 on the bottom, and then in between those areas for a total of 5 ties.

Side one should look like this.

Now attach the third shelf to the two just connected, again secure in 5 places using cable ties. Note: I attached the cable ties in the same areas all the way around. Your display should now look like this.

Now twist off the excess cable ties.

Hang Your Wreaths

Now you can use the “S” Hooks to loop onto your wreath hangers and attach to the shelving grids. The feet on the bottom of these shelves are already covered with protective coating from the shelving unit itself so it won’t scratch the floors. I found this display to be very sturdy and level. I was prepared to use a 2′ x 2′ square piece of plywood and drill holes into in order to zip tie the display to that for a stable base, but I don’t need to. It’s sturdy on its own.

Like I said, these would be great for using during craft shows alone or combined with other display methods. What do you think? I hope this was helpful to you. I have 3 of these constructed that I use to store my wreaths until they are sold.

What to learn to make money selling your own wreaths check out http://learndecomeshwreaths.com

I just LOVE my wreath easel! I love it because a wreath easel enables me to hang my wreath vertical when designing so that all I have to do is step back and then I can see what my wreath will look like hanging up on a customer’s door. Many people design their wreaths on the wall to also get this same effect.

In my ebook, Learn Deco Mesh Wreath Design, I mention where I purchased my wreath easel but a lot of you have emailed me mentioning that, for whatever reason, you are not able to make that investment. Therefore, I put my hubby to work in helping me design a work wreath easel that is easy to assemble (you don’t need to be a wood worker or engineer), easy to use, sturdier than the floral easels found in the craft shops, and can easily be folded up for storage.

Additionally, I like that you can easily put this easel on a table top so it doesn’t take up room on the floor. Just remember to put a piece of cardboard under it to catch those glue drips. If you have a high stool, you can work and sit down, which has been a blessing during those busy seasons for me!

Materials needed:
2 6′ long 2×2 pine studs (will cut to three 3′ sections)
5/16″ wooden dowel (only need 4″)
#16 light duty, link chain
1 5″ bolt 5/16 in diameter
1 5/16 Wing Nut
2 #212 x 15/16″ Screw Eyes
2 5/16 x 1-1/4 Washers

pencil
ruler
drill
drill bits (7/16 & 5/16)
circular saw or jig saw (or have Lowe’s or Home Depot cut for you)
clamp
pliers

Step 1 Cut The Legs

Using a circular saw or jig saw (or have Lowe’s or Home Depot cut for you) cut 3 pieces of the 2×2 three feet in length. Hubby made a mark on each side of the wood and then used a straight edge to draw a line all the way across. After the cuts are made, feel free to sand your wood pieces but we weren’t going for looks here so I opted not too.

Step 2 Angle the Tops of the Outside Legs

Lay one of the three foot pieces you just cut flat on the table straight; this will be your back leg and will be in the center of the finished easel. Now, lay a second piece on top of that one but move the bottom of that leg out 9 inches from the center back leg (in the 2nd pic below you can see we used the cheap craft store floral easel as a guide).

Using a pencil mark your angle underneath this piece of wood.

Turn the wood over and use a ruler to sharpen up the pencil line you just drew if you cant see it.

Using a circular saw or jigsaw and a person to hold the wood, cut on the line.

This newly cut piece of wood or outside leg will now be your guide for your other outside leg. Lay the newly cut leg on top of the other outside leg and use a pencil to trace the cut. Cut this piece of wood the same as the last with the saw.

Now when you line up the top of the three legs, it should look like this:

Step 3 Adding The Bolt

With the tops of the legs lined up, use a clamp to hold all the legs together tightly.

Turn the clamped pieces on their side and measure 3 inches down from the top and place a mark in the center of the wood with a pencil. This is where you will drill your hole.

Use a 7/16 drill bit to drill a hole all the way through all three pieces of wood.

Once your hole is drilled, insert the bolt through one washer, through the three legs, and place another washer on the other sie. Use the wing nut to screw on and tighten as much as you can but still be able to move the center leg backwards.

Your wreath easel should look like this. Once you complete the easel, you can use the wing nut to tighten in order to keep the legs in place, or loosen to collapse the legs for storage.

Step 4 Adding the Dowel Hook

Measure 3 inches on the dowel and use a hacksaw to cut the dowel. This will be the peg used to hang the wreath hanger on when you design your wreaths. (NOTE THE PICTURE SAYS 4 INCHES BUT I THINK IT COULD BE 3)

Lay the three legs back down on the table an use the drill with a 5/16 drill bit to drill a hole on a 45 degree angle. Drill the hole only about 1/2 inch deep. This is where your dowel will go and you want it to be angled up.

Use wood glue to glue the dowel into the hole you just drilled. Squirt glue into the hole and then put the dowel inside the hole. Some glue will seep out of the sides. You do not need to let the glue dry before finishing the wreath easel but obviously let it dry before hanging a wreath on it.

Step 5 Securing The Legs

In order to secure the legs to each other, add a chain from the front two legs to the back leg. To do this, open the wreath easel up and stand it on the table. From the bottom of one of the front legs, measure 12 inches up from the table and insert a screw eye into the center of the leg but facing to the back of the wreath easel (or back leg). If you have soft wood, you can just twist it in with your hand or if not, use an awl to start the hole and twist in the screw eye. Do this for the front two legs. On the back leg your screw eye will still be 12 inches from the bottom but the screw eye faces towards the front of the wreath easel.

Use pliers to open one of the links on the end of the chain and insert this into a screw eye on one of the front legs. Use the pliers again to close the chain link back making it secured to the screw eye. Now hold the chain up and back towards the back leg to measure the length of chain needed. Use pliers to again to open the link, which will now free it from the rest of the chain. Insert the link into the screw eye on the back leg and bend it back with your pliers securing it to the back leg.

You can now use this chain length to measure out your second piece of chain length. Use your pliers to open the links and insert into the front and back leg screw eyes.

There you have it a sturdy table wreath designing easel

I do hope this is an easy project for you, that was my goal; easy but effective. I want you to be able to crank out those wreaths quicker & easier. Let me know if you need help with any other aspects of your wreath making endeavors and as always, I am here to help you succeed!

Happy Wreathing Ya’ll!