Wreath decorations, most commonly made of evergreens, pine, holly or cedar, are a symbol for the strength of life, eternity and immortality. They are also commonly used as a symbol of remembrance of the dead, as noted for wreaths left at gravesites, or in cases of wreaths left to float on the sea or ocean. But wreaths are also used as festive crowns for special occasions such as weddings or festivals in the form of a headdress and can be created using either real, silk, fabric or paper flowers. Wreaths can also be either hung on a wall or door or used as a centerpiece on a table.

.Reference resource: Click Here.

How to make various types of wreaths with (mostly) found items.
Wreath Materials from Mother Nature

Many materials for wreath-making are right in your own backyard or as near as your local supermarket.
Greens

You can use fresh pine branches or condition the branches in glycerin. Holly can also be used fresh or treated in glycerin and the berries sprayed with clear acrylic to preserve them.

How to Treat Evergreens in Glycerin

This method works best with greens gathered in early fall when the new-growth tips have stiffened. Best varieties to use are boxwood, hemlock, laurel, pine and spruce. Cut branches up to two feet long for conditioning. You can later cut them to shorter lengths for your wreaths.

Don’t wash the branches. Place one cup of glycerin and two cups boiling water into a tall narrow jar or vase. Cover and shake to mix or stir with a long wooden spoon.

Shake the branches out well and wipe the green parts with a cotton ball dipped in pure glycerin. Strip the needles or leaves and bark from the bottom four inches.

With a small sharp knife, cut a cross into the cut end and plunge into the glycerin mixture making sure to cover the exposed wood.

.Reference resource: Click Here.

First bend the lower part of your coat hanger to form a circle; this will be the wreath base for your twig wreath. Next bend the hook part of your coat hanger into an oval; this will be the hanger by which you will hang your finished project. Cut several pieces of wire into six inch lengths. Next, take a small handful of twigs, whatever number looks right to you and wire them together, this is called making a “bunch”. Secure the end of the wire in such a way that no one will be apt to be stabbed at some future time. Make several other bunches the same way until you feel that you have enough bunches to cover the wreath base. Now take a bunch and wire it securely onto the wreath base. Take another bunch and being careful to overlap the first bunch so that the wire is covered, do the same thing.

Repeat this over and over until your wreath base is finished. Tuck the last bunch of twigs underneath the first bunch to hide the wiring and fasten on. Clip the wire and tuck it in securely and as safely as possible, to avoid any potential injury. If you find that the first bunch is too inflexible to be maneuvered this way, don’t worry about it, you can just glue some of the flowers or other ornamental parts on in such a way that the wiring will be covered. Next take the berries, dried flowers, pinecones etc. and tuck them and glue them around on the wreath, placing them in areas that seem right to you. Let the glue dry and you will have a very attractive twig wreath which will make a lovely decoration for either inside or outside your home.

Our 24″ wreath weighs about 6 lbs and our 30″ wreath weighs about 8 lbs. A double-faced wreath has the balsam tips attached to both sides of the wreath ring making a much fuller wreath. We have a customer who has us decorate both sides of her wreath because she hangs it on a glass door where it can be seen from each side of the door. This wouldn’t work with a single-faced wreath with the balsam tips attached to only one side. Naturally, the single-faced wreaths are cheaper to make in materials and labor. Most of the major big box retailers sell single-faced wreaths.

The wreath industry in Maine includes tippers, wreath makers, wholesalers and retailers. Tippers (people who gather the tips) sell to a local wreath business or wreath maker. There is a large cottage industry of wreath makers who make wreaths at home and sell them, undecorated for the most part, to local wholesalers or retailers or directly to consumers.

The balsam fir tips are not only used to make Christmas wreaths. Christmas centerpieces, kissing balls, swags and garland are also made. Garland is not a huge part of the industry because wreath makers can make a lot more money making wreaths and so garland is harder to find. Demand for balsam fir Christmas products is increasing every year. It is the most fragrant of all the firs with the smell most associated with Christmas. Also, it’s natural and sustainable and artificial, plastic wreaths are viewed as tacky and they sure don’t smell like Christmas.