Wreathing

The internet is telling me that "wreathing" is actually a word, which is a little bit disappointing because I thought maybe I could be the one to make it up, but apparently, "to wreath" actually means to cover, surround, or encircle something, which sounds pretty accurate to me.

I started getting really excited about the prospect of making my own wreath a month or two ago when I realized that it would be a perfect Christmas gift for my mother in law, who is super generous herself but always a little tricky to buy for. I also remembered my mom and aunts collecting vines and moss and berries at the cabin over thanksgiving one year and everything spread out on the long table while they weaved pieces together in circles. I was a little awed that they could take all the tangled vines and wild greens and create something so tame and beautiful, it's like they collected up the whole mountain side and managed to hang it on the front door. I'm not sure why I haven't thought of giving it a try myself until now, maybe because it's such a homey thing, and this is probably the first year I have felt like I have my own little home to welcome others into. 

There was a good bit of trial and error involved and I ended up having to hot glue some of the pieces in at the end, which wasn't part of the original "all natural" picture in my head, but the process itself is really fun and I love the final result!

The whole wreath idea has me probably the most creatively inspired that I've been since our wedding.  I don't know, there's just so many different ways to make a simple circle beautiful and I want to try them all! But the best part so far has definitely been sharing it with friends. Our little apartment was full of pine needles and berries and moss and cotton and all kinds of mess the other weekend while some of my best friends made some awesome creations. It was so fun seeing how everyone's wreath was so unique to them!

  

We had a lot of fun, made some lovely circles, and will probably definitely do it again next year!