rufffled & red heart wreath tutorial

So, I wanted to make a big ruffled and red heart wreath like this one from The Idea Room. I went to Jo-Ann's to pick up a wreath form but all they had were tiny little hearts. But I wanted a big wreath.

Hmmmmm....then I remembered all the pins I've seen on Pinterest about using pipe insulation to make a wreath. Why not a heart shape? It was worth a shot.

I had some ideas on how to do it, but first I googled around to see if anyone else had tried the same thing and if they'd figured out the best way to do it. I found this post on cameronhomemade.com.

So, then I got to work...

First I cut the pipe insulation in half at an angle and taped them together using electrical tape.

Next I cut crescent shapes out of the foam to make the pipe bend better.

I cut the ends at another angle.

Next, I decided to wrap the wreath in red strips. This accomplished two things. First it hid the ugly grey foam. And second, it made it so I could hot glue my circles onto the wreath without the noxious fumes.

Hmmmmm, I'm not totally thrilled with my heart shape at this point. I mean, it's a heart and all. But I wanted the top part to come down more....to be more...um...heartish. 

My husband suggested some wire. I tried wrapping the stuff around the top of the heart and bending it into the right shape. This is much improved...

But the real secret to that good shape is that my husband grabbed an old wire hanger and put it on the back of the wreath. And, no, it's not the prettiest thing, but it got the job done. If I were to do it again, I'd put the wire inside the wreath before I wrapped it. 

Now comes the time to pop in a good movie. I used 2 yards of felt, a 3 inch circle template (aka, a cup), a pencil and some scissors. Start tracing and cutting and tracing and cutting and tracing and cutting. 

Next I folded the circles in half and then in half again, dabbed some glue on the point and stuck these to the wreath form.

Over and over again. Gluing, gluing, gluing. 

Finally I was able to pop this pretty Valentine's decoration on my front door. I'm so happy with how it turned out!

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