Spring Moss Wreath Tutorial

The other day I saw a Spring Square Wreath that I liked made by Suesan at Frou Frugal.  I wanted to recreate the bird nest and flowers that she accented her wreath with, but found out soon enough that it was going to prove to be a harder task than first thought.  Who knew it could be so hard to find a bird nest in March?  After searching several stores I gave up and decided that if a bird could make a nest, I could certainly give it a try.  I'm telling you though, those birds have some skill, without the help of a glue gun, my nest wouldn't have stood a chance! 

How to Make a Bird Nest (If you are not a bird)

1. Take some [budding] branches from a [Lilac] bush and bend and twist them together into the shape of a nest.  Hot glue a few short pieces on to form the bottom of the nest.

2. Twist some spanish moss into a long piece and form it into a circle. Glue it to the twigs.

3. Insert flower stems between the branches and glue in place.

4. Glue eggs inside the nest.

How to Cover a Wreath with Sheet Moss

1.  One package of sheet moss and one foam wreath.

2.  The wreath I used was a 15" bevel foam wreath (it's flat on the top and bottom).

3.  Measure the depth of the wreath and cut the foam in strips to fit around the outer and inner edge.

4.  Glue the moss strips to the wreath with hot glue.  I left part of the inside top unfinished until the end in case I didn't have enough moss to finish it in one large piece.  Turns out I had enough.

5.  Line up the moss sheet and trim it to fit right next to the adjoining pieces of moss.  Hot glue along the edges and a few spots in the middle and gently press it down.  Keep rotating and moving the moss around the wreath until the foam is completely covered, lining up the curve of the cut with the next part of the wreath.  The seams will disappear if you put the moss close enough together.

6.  As you can see, this is a very messy process and there were only a few scraps leftover.  I barely had enough moss in the package to cover the wreath.

The wreath is hanging from a strip of striped fabric in front of a new mirror I bought for our dining room.  The mirror is large (3 ft. x 4ft) and really helps to make the space feel bigger.   The nest is attached to the wreath with straight pins and the wreath is held against the mirror with blue Fun Tac (for posters). 

My plan is to display the moss wreath year round and either change the accent seasonally or leave it plain.  I don't think it will be the easiest to keep dust free though, so we'll see how long it lasts, hopefully for awhile. 

The total cost of the wreath was $15 with sale prices and was well worth it.   I really love the color and texture that it adds to the room!

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