Easter Wreath
/By Mel Evans
Wreaths aren’t just for Christmas and can be made for other holidays too. In the past I have made Easter Wreaths as well as Harvest Wreaths. Its lovely walking around and seeing doors dressed with seasonal wreaths as they look so cheerful and inviting. Something that people might value a little bit more right now.
Last years Easter Wreath looked beautiful with lots of fresh Spring flowers. Sadly it wilted quickly in the heat!
This year we have been thinking of ways to make an Easter Wreath that doesn’t wilt in the Sun. We started to wonder if pine cones might make good ‘flowers’. It turns out that painted pine cones make very effective flowers! Here I am going to explain how we made our pine cone wreath.
The first job was to prepare the pine cones. We went on a walk as a family and collected a basket full They were beautifully dry and open after all the sunshine we have had. Later we painted the cones with acrylic paint.
The children enjoyed painting the pine cones.
Once the pine cones were dry I took them and found a quiet spot in the garden to assemble the wreath. I decided to do this all by myself WITHOUT the help of the children!
Shhh! If you have been to any of our family Forest School sessions you might have figured this out already. If not, i will let you in on the secret. Forest School is not just for the children! Grown ups have so much to benefit from creating and playing in nature too. In fact sometimes the activities we offer aren’t even for the children! Activities can help parents unwind and connect with nature and each other. Often giving the children a bit more space to have their own fun. Under the watchful eye of the Forest School leader of course!
Firstly I found all the wreaths I had in the shed. Three Christmas wreaths and a Harvest Wreath! You might not be quite as obsessed with Wreaths as me, but maybe you have last years Christmas Wreath hanging around. (If not there are other ways of making a wreath, and I will explain later.)
I stripped the Wreaths back to the moss layer, carefully keeping any wire to use on my Easter Wreath.
The chickens quite enjoyed deconstructing the Harvest Wreath!
Then I cut lengths of Crack Willow and wound them around the moss base. If you can’t access a suitable type of willow then anything bendy would do. Ivy or honeysuckle would certainly do the job. Finally the pine cones were secured into the wreath using the lengths of wire I have saved earlier.
Willow was twisted around the moss base.
An alternative way of creating a wreath without the need of an old Christmas Wreath is to create a ring out of bendy sticks. These can be bent into a circle and twisted around themselves so they hold in place. Although willow or thin hazel are idea you can experiment with whatever you have to hand.
After created the ring I added layers of willow before securing the pine cones with wire.
Don’t forget to show us your wreaths!
