dollar store – The Pirate Pieman

Getting Started

If you have access to some vines (grapevines or Virginia creeper for example) you have a free resource. See my blog post on working with grapevines to get this basic wreath shape https://piratepieman.home.blog/2018/09/25/grapevine-time. Or, you can purchase a grapevine wreath from your local craft store. Joanne’s Fabrics and Michaels are always running a promotion or offer a coupon so depending on the size you want this could cost about $5-$10.

Grapevine Wreath

Assembly

I used a combination of wire and hot glue to affix the snakes and bugs to the wreath. I also wove the snakes in among the vines; do what works to keep them secure.

Add dollar store snakes

When everything is attached begin spray painting. It is easy to miss spots because of all of the twisty vines and snakes so take time to walk around the project and turn it around so that you get an even application. This process may take a couple coats. I did mine outside so clean up was simple and the area was well ventilated.

Halloween Wreath made from grapevine, toy snakes and spray paint.

This is where going back to Pinterest is a lot of fun. People are super creative and I was inspired by wreaths using skeletons. I found a simple skeleton head, some arms and black roses with eyeballs at the Dollar Store. As you can see I thought I would use the black spooky fabric in my design but instead used some gold mesh ribbon; do what appeals to you. I poked holes in the back of the skull and threaded wire through to secure it to the wreath.

I got my Halloween Box up from the basement and repurposed a costume headband. I found the key to this project was the even application of the snakes all around the wreath and then using a pop of color to add some luxury and visual interest.

Halloween wreath.

In past years I have hung the basic snake wreath with just a bow and I liked how the snakes are camouflaged and hidden in the simple design. However this year I decided to change things and added embellishments. About every other year I find I get a little tired of my designs and I take items off or just add new elements so that I am excited to see it on display.

In 2011 my husband James innocently brought home a Niagara Grape Vine and asked me “where should we plant it?” I thought our stark chainlink fence separating the front and back yards would be a nice structure to support the vine and, into the ground it went. On September 8th, 2013 we got our first (and best) harvest of grapes.

Niagara Grapes, West Michigan 2013

Niagara Grape Harvest

Niagara Grape Jelly 2013

Single Niagara Grape vine growing on fence in 2018.

It was a big project but I made some mediocre grape jelly which was tasty but runny. Most years we allow the birds (often Cardinals) to have the grapes (and raisins); the primary harvest for myself has been the VINE! Since I started using grapevines for projects in 2014 I have learned a few things about crafting with vines, here is what you need to know:

Supplies:

Gloves
Pruning shears
Measuring tape (so you know how big your wreath will be)

There is a sweet spot for working with grapevines. Too soon and you might as well be working with asparagus, too late and you are working with toothpicks. I have made both of these errors. This photo shows the magic balance between green vines and drier areas that are darker in appearance. If the canes are too dry they can be soaked in water to make them less brittle and if they are too green you can let them dry out a day, maybe two. Even if the canes break or splinter you can continue to make loops and wrap them up. When the globes or wreaths are dry you can adjust the vines to improve the overall appearance.

I usually start from the ends of the individual vines and remove leaves with my hands and then with sheers trim the tendrils away from the fencing and other vines to produce a pile of canes. I sort the largest canes for bigger wreaths and begin arranging them in circles using the longest most flexible vines to wrap around the bulk to secure the wreath.

Vines stripped of their leaves.

Wreaths set out to dry.

This year (2018) I got started a little too early and the vines were easily broken (like asparagus) but I had a lot of them so I pushed ahead anyway. As you can see one grapevine in a sunny location in West Michigan can give you a lot of material to work with.

Because in past years I have made a lot of wreathes, I was interested in trying some 3-D globes I saw on Pinterest. Off to the Dollar Tree I went for some beach balls. They worked well to hold up the vines while I wrapped them. In addition to these globes I made a smaller one freestyle without an armature; and some larger wreath shapes (since I already have some small and medium wreaths from last year.) It takes a couple days in the sun for the vines to dry and turn reddish brown. I fed my failed attempt to fashion a basket to Donald https://piratepieman.home.blog/2018/09/11/feeding-donald-our-hot-compost. It was so bad it couldn’t even be photographed well.

Grapevine wrapped beachball to create a globe.

Overlapping first few vines to secure the base shape.

I tried to keep the vine’s tendrils for visual interest.

And once your shapes have dried you are ready to start doing some crafting. I have not fully sorted out what I am going to do with my new globes so if you have any suggestions please leave them in the comments below.