Jinormous Grapevine Wreath Easter Basket

When we lived in Memphis, I took every opportunity to go to all the amazing design show homes that were featured every year. Every room had inventive floral arrangements that often captured my attention more than the rooms themselves. I don't feel like I have "the gift" of floral design, but I certainly love to play. Those show homes further developed my appreciation of floral design. 

At one of the tour of homes, I literally stopped dead in my tracks when I saw a huge grapevine Easter basket with colorful dinosaur-sized eggs. I love me some big ol' arrangements. The bigger the better.

I tracked down the florist that made the Easter basket and asked him where he bought it. I just HAD to have one! The florist with the Pepto-pink tie and jacket said "Oh honey child. You don't buy those Easter baskets. You make them! It's so easy. I'm not telling many people because I know it'll be on every front porch in Germantown." That sweet man led me over and started whispering how to make the basket. The rest is history. Well, except it's taken me 15 years to make it.

I've adapted his version a bit. He used grapevine garland, but I decided to try it with varying sizes of wreaths.  Here's that TOP secret Easter basket. (Hopefully it won't go gangbusters like the infamous hot-glued burlap Christmas tree skirt, but oh well if it does.)

Grapevine Wreath Easter Basket

*Makes (1) 3-3.5 ft basket

Supplies Used:

• Grapevine Wreaths- (2) 14", (3) 18", (5-6) 24". One of your 24" wreaths will be used for the handle.  This number can vary depending on the thickness of the wreaths. I bought my wreaths at Hobby Lobby. I find they have a bigger selection than Michael's. Just get a cart and go to that back corner and plan to camp out a while. Stack from smallest to largest to find the wreaths that fit well together. People will look at you like you're crazy, but it's worth spending the extra time getting the look you want.  *Note: you will make a big mess in the floor. In my mom voice--"Don't leave it for someone to trip on or the employees to clean up." 
• Gloves-You may want to put on an old pair of gloves. The grapevine can scratch your hands and arms pretty badly.
• Wire cutters to cut one of the wreaths for the handle
• Medium gauge wire or zip ties to attach the wreaths together

• Roll of large gauge floral wire-This is used to secure the "handle" to the basket and for any needed internal support for flower pots, etc.

Directions:

• Stack the 2 smallest wreaths. Attach them together on the inside of the wreaths with zip ties or floral wire. I connect them at 3,6,9, and 12 o'clock. Make sure you put the ties or wire through the thick parts of the vine.

• Continue securing the wreaths together. Periodically check to make sure that the wreaths are symmetrical and arranged the way you want. Lift up the "basket" to make sure there aren't any gaps that need to be secured.

• Using wire cutters, cut one of the largest wreaths in one place to form the handle. I tried to find a wreath that was more oval in shape for the handle.

• Carefully tuck one end of the handle between the top 2 wreaths. Once secure, start wiring with heavy gauge wire. Repeat with the other side.

• You may want to "build up" an base inside the basket if you plan on using an arrangement. I used heavy gauge wire and made a spider web design for the potted flowers I used.

• Double check to make sure there aren't any spots that need to be adjusted or secured. Remember-don't pick this up by the handle. Always hold from the bottom. You can't bounce around with this basket like Dorothy heading down the Yellow Brick Road. 

ALL FINISHED! 

This weekend, I'll post pics of how I decorated my basket, along with a few of my Easter decorations.

If you decide to make this, please let me know! I'd love to see the finished results.

Dried Fall Flower Arrangement How-To

I’m loving the cooler weather so much that I decided to pull out my fall decorations.  I’m not quite ready for bright orange Halloween decorations, so I thought I’d use muted dried flowers and pumpkins.

Here’s how I made this arrangement:

Get 2 medium sized outdoor flowerpots.  The ones I have are made of a lightweight fiberglass material.  We have some strong wind gusts, so I put rocks in the bottom to weigh it down.

 

Put a disk of styrofoam (designed for dried flowers) in your container.  This is a good base for heavier branches and keeps you from having to fill the whole bottom of the container with styrofoam.

Cut pieces of styrofoam blocks (again-for dried or silk flowers-not the kind you soak in water for real flowers) and arrange on top of the styrofoam disk.  The cut pieces don’t have to fit perfectly.  I put mine almost flush with the top of the flowerpot.

Here’s where the handy dandy duct tape comes in. I usually used waterproof floral tape, but didn’t have any. I figured the pot was gray & the duct tape was gray, so why not?

Tear off strips of duct tape the width of the container’s opening. Tear each strip in half. Place in a spoke-like fashion over styrofoam.  These strips provide further support to your arrangement.

**All you perfectionists, take note: flower arranging is not about being perfect.  It’s about what looks natural and we all know…nature isn’t perfect.  Don’t be afraid to move things around if they don’t look right, but realize that arrangements look best if you don’t “fiddle” with them too much.

Start adding larger branches at a slight angle in the center.

Fill in with dried/artificial flowers. I bought all of these at Hobby Lobby, but use whatever colors and types you want.

I really dislike fake flowers & never use them in my house.  However….if they look organic & like something you’d actually see in nature, then I say go for it!

 

Keep filling until you get the fullness you want. Again, don’t over-think this…..my girls helped me do this part. You can do it!

Add enough moss around the base of the stems to cover the styrofoam . Be careful to not break the more delicate branches.  Use floral pins to secure the moss.

Next, I added some real mini pumpkins in the base of the arrangements.

I decided to not add a wreath because I think the biggest mistake some people make in holiday decorating is not knowing when to stop .  I also like keeping the black door unadorned.  I think it “grounds” the look.

Happy Fall Y’all !