2012 is all about grace.  And, one thing I have learned about having grace on myself in this busy season of life is that I need to carve out time to create.  It fuels me.  It feeds my soul.  It is my way of showing myself favor--to allow for time to do something I love.  You might have another outlet, and if so--I challenge you to take time for it.  It's a great way to show yourself grace AND be intentional.  See how I just combined 2011's word intentional with 2012's grace?

From what I know, many of you also enjoy being creative and crafty.  And, thus, I introduce to you this debut edition of Make it Mondays.  As if I needed one more thing to distract me, pinterest has my brain a-whirling.  There are so many things I want to try!  From recipes to organizing tips to of course, crafty goodness!  I thought that if I began a "make it" feature on my blog, it would surely give me a good excuse to craft without feeling guilty.  Boy, do I need to keep learning about grace or what?!

Onto today's project.  I love these wreaths I've seen on Pinterest.

Deco Mesh?  That's a new one to me...but sign me up!  And, it's perfect that I now have a GREAT way to hang a wreath on my door without making it hard to close the door.  Duh.  It's called a command hook.  Costs a whopping $3.50.  And, when you tell your 10 year old he is way smarter than you and can figure it out faster--voile!  Installation is a breeze.  So, I was eager to create a January winter wreath once I tucked away my Christmas wreath.  

Here are the supplies I scored at my favorite spot, Hobby Lobby. 

1 package of white glittery deco mesh   (50% off--it was $2.50)
3 floral stems of pearl and white beads  (also 50% off--$4.00 total)
Burlap from my fabric stash
Cream ribbon from my craft room
Hanger from the cleaners
Pine cones from my front yard
Spray paint from garage & ultimately my neighbor 
Wire cutters
Hot Glue

So, I kicked back while watching The Biggest Loser premiere to get my craft on.  And, here are the steps I took:

1.  I bent the hanger into a diamond-ish shape.  I used the wire cutters to cut off the hanger part, and then used my jewelry tool to wind the loose end around.  This is my wreath form.  FREE!

2.  I cut lengths of cream ribbon, which will fasten the deco mesh to the hanger.  I'd guess about 8" or so in length each?  

3.  I grabbed the deco mesh and tied the end to the wreath to start.  Then, I pulled up a loop of it, brought it back down to the wire, then twisted it.  I secured that loop to the wire by tying it down to the wire with the ribbon.  The loop was probably about 4-5"?  I just repeated that all the way around the wire. Tie, loop, twist, tie...

4.  The loops were looking a little sad.  I used up the entire package of deco mesh, spread them out around the wire, and fluffed them up even.  But, I could still see the wire in between.  So, I cut the burlap into strips, and then tied one length of them in between each deco mesh loop.

5.  I grabbed the floral stems into a bunch, and tied that to the bottom right corner of the wreath with another strip of burlap.  Then I added in a little bow there in front of the bunch.  

Here's how it looked:

Pretty.  But, not quite right?  Something was missing.  I was going for wintry and white...but this looks bridal.  My friend, Rebekah, swung by my house and agreed.  She suggested spray painted pine cones to winter it up.  EASY BREEZY.  They are all over my front yard.

Now, I thought spray painting 5 pine cones and then hot gluing them would finish this up quickly.  But, my silver paint didn't quite look right.  Plan "B" was some white I had on hand--but it was nearly out.  Plan "C" was calling my crafty genius friend and neighbor, Jessica.  Jessica is my partner in crime for our craft club, Art and Soul.  Her ivory spray paint was PERFECT.  

And, now....the New and Improved Version: