DIY Coffee Grounds Spring Wreath

With Valentine’s over and done with (sniff), it is officially time for greener things.  Here’s a little tutorial on how to make this fun (and fragrant) coffee ground wreath.

Ingredient #1 is, of course, a foam wreath form from the craft store.  Foam form from the craft store–got that? 

Plaster all four sides with two healthy coats of black or dark brown spray paint (I used Satin, but any finish would work), and let dry thoroughly between coats and afterwards.

Next, slather the front and sides with a pretty thick layer of Modge-Podge or white glue of some sort.  I used a sponge ‘paintbrush’ and kind of dabbed it on so that the MP really seeped down into the crevices of the foam.  Put it on thick, and work quick so it doesn’t start to dry out on you.

While the MP is good and wet, dump coffee grounds on the wreath form, sprinkling and rolling it so that all the ‘podged’ surfaces get completely covered by grounds.  Leave this to dry thoroughly.

Abbie enjoys watching the podge dry.

Okay, crazy lady, your podge is dry now, let’s get on with it.

Once it’s nice and set, gently tap and shake off the excess coffee grounds.  Now give the coffee grounds two decent coats of clear spray gloss (I actually used satin again so things weren’t too shiny).  Let this dry thoroughly.

Oh yes, it still smells wonderful!

Now you are ready for the fun part.  Choose your embellishments.  I went with a branch of small leaves from the craft store, some greenish baker’s twine, and various grosgrain ribbons in shades of green.  Green, green, green!  You’ll also need bamboo skewers from the market, and a small, thin piece of craft wood (from the craft store).  And don’t forget to pack some heat….glue gun, of course.

Cut the craft branches into small segments of varying heights.

Sprouts!

Carefully begin to place your ‘seedlings’ into the wreath by piercing the coffee crust with the wire of the pieces.  No glue should be necessary to hold them, but if you feel you need it, put a little dab at the base of each stem before punching them through the form.

Once you have your seedlings placed, cut two bamboo skewers to your desired length (I cut mine about 5 inches in length).

Gently slide these into place in the wreath at an angle that will leave them upright when the wreath is hung.

I never like things to be perfectly symmetrical, so I intentionally placed the skewers at different heights on the wreath.

Now, cut a length of twine about 24 inches long (to allow for some excess to work with), and cut varying sized pieces of your ribbons–I cut mine roughly around 1 inch long each, without being too meticulous about it.  Swallowtail one end of each ribbon piece.

Using your glue gun, run the tiniest bead of glue along the top of each piece of ribbon, one at a time, and gently press them each onto the bakers twine.  Let set, and then trim away any errant cobwebs or glue blobs.

Yay for miniature bunting! I will never be sick of it. NEVER, I tell you!

Now tie each end of the bunting to your bamboo skewers with a simple slip knot.  Trim the excess twine right up to the knot, and then seal the knot in place with a dab of hot glue.  Cut two new small lengths of twine and tie a bow over each knot on each skewer.

To create the little sign, I used a small square of thin craft wood (it was about 2×3 inches originally).  Using a Dremel tool, I actually cut the wood in half, and then roughed up the edges so it looked a little less perfect.  I brushed brown acrylic paint onto small alphabet stamps and stamped my message.  Then, using the same brown paint watered down on a rag, I rubbed the edges of the sign for a little bit of an aged effect.  I finally hot-glued the sign onto a bamboo skewer and placed it in the wreath.

To hang the wreath, I used a segment of the craft leaf wire leftover from the seedlings (it was about 10 inches in length with a few leaves on one end of it).  From the backside, top of the wreath, I poked the non-leafy end of the wire through.

Backside of wreath.

Let about two inches of wire stick through the front face of the wreath, and then bend it into a spiral knot of some sort so that the wire doesn’t slip back out.

Front side of wreath.

Next, fashion a bow out of some of your ribbon, and then glue this securely over the top of the wire knot to conceal it.  Glue the backsides of the bow ears and tails to the wreath, also, for extra security.

The hanging wire had a lot of excess length to it, and this I just spiraled around the nail for a final bit of fun.

And there you have it!  A hint of spring for your front door.

Tagged: bamboo skewers, coffee ground wreath, coffee grounds wreath, diy, diy wreath, green, grosgrain ribbon, grosgrain ribbons, miniature bunting, ribbon pennants, seedlings, spring bunting, spring wreath