How to Make a Dried Hydrangea Wreath that Looks Fresh

Welcome Friends... I'm finally, just now, getting to take care of some of my favorite things! Like Fall Decorating! This is, officially, the latest I have ever been at getting my Fall Wreath and Autumn Love  up around my house. But, this has been an especially busy year, with many trials but, thankfully, followed by many Blessings and triumphs.

 Putting together this Autumn Wreath was such a great joy and complete pleasure for me this year, and , I think, it just may be  favorite! This year's wreath was quite a departure, for me, from my
usual, and I have to say, just love it! If you aren't following me on Facebook or Instagram, you may not know how completely blessed I am to have a wonderful friend, who's a horticulturist!  Big pay off for me! Her gardens are like something that could stalk the San Francisco Flower Mart!

So, lucky me got to spend a Sunday afternoon helping her "thin" her garden!!  "Thinning" to 

her = Major Haul for me! The picture above shows my FULL passenger seat, after I left her house and quickly headed for home to Play! The real "trick" to getting hydrangeas to dry so perfectly, is simply by getting them from a garden, whether it's yours or a good friends. I have found that they dry so much better, and with very little difference from their fresh picked state, when they have been grown in a yard, as opposed to the ones that you can buy from a store.

Believe it or not, the image below is completely dry!

As usual, I gathered up my last Autumn Wreath and began from there, with just the bare grapevine wreath and a few little cream blossoms left over from years before.

Last Fall, I was lucky enough to hit our Michael's store just when they had their Burlap at half off, and I just so happened to have an additional 50% off of that! I believe my total cost for 6 yards

 of this lovely, floppy 6 inch burlap was around $1.99! I love the contrast between the fragility of the hydrangeas and the rustic look of the burlap.

Just for fun, and to add a little more dimension and elegance, I made a cute little burlap rosette and put a little pearl pin in the center! It's just that touch of fun, whimsy and elegance I like. Other people may not even notice it, but I sure do. :)

Did you notice it? 

All in all, I have to say that, surprisingly, this was also one of the easiest wreaths I've ever made. I simply let the hydrangeas dry in their various vases from around the house...You may remember seeing some of these blooms, recently,  in my Upcycled Cassette Case Centerpiece

When they were completely dry, I sprayed both the underneath and top of each stem with a finishing hairspray. I've found this to work wonderfully against any brittle blooms breaking off.

I simply stuck the hydrangeas into the grapevine wreath, until I achieved the look I was hoping for, attached my burlap bow and rosette and it was ready to hang! That's it! This is what I ended up with! What do you think?! 

 I hope you are taking time to welcome the new Fall/Autumn Season around your house too! So many things to be grateful for, I enjoy celebrating the beginning of each Season that the Lord has blessed me with!

Thanks for visiting! Wishing you all many blessings,

Theresa

** One extra tip I forgot to share, I did for these, and have always, trimmed the bottom of the stems and lightly hammered the bottom half inch of it. For whatever reason, this has always made my last an exceptionally long time! :)  **

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