Going Natural

When the Fall decorating bug bit me last week, I started looking for ways to do some simple projects. I have tons of Indian corn from a Walmart sale a few years ago, but figuring out what to do with it is a different matter! I tried tying a few pieces together and hanging it from the front door, but it needed something else.

Something like a grapevine wreath. But at that moment I had no transportation, and no desire to shell out a few dollars for a wreath. What I do have is several miles of wild grapevines in the back yard.

All I needed for this project was a pair of garden shears, plenty of grapevine, and some patience (stripping the leaves off of a vine is not exactly a thrilling occupation).

This was actually much easier than I anticipated! Just wrapping the vines in a circle and tying them off with softer pieces of vine did the trick. As I progressed, I would alternate -- I'd bend one piece of vine in a circle along the wreath, and then I'd wrap the next piece of vine in a spiral around the wreath. Once the wreath had a little bit of body, I'd just insert the ends of the vines into the wreath to secure them.

My wreath is still a bit thin, but I was ready to call it a day -- I can always add a few more vines next year, if I want to. A few pieces of Indian corn and some raffia, and it was ready to go!