I love Fall weather and autumn leaves but where I live, we have neither of those things! Instead we have hot and humid year round in our little tropical paradise. Because of this, instead of embracing beautiful fall decor, I skip right to Halloween decorating!
There are lots of great wreaths out there, but didn’t want to spend too much money and if you’re like me, you DIY everything! I was determined to make my own for less than I could buy one for and I succeeded! This wreath is both easy to make and inexpensive! You can get as creative as you want with what you add to it, I chose to go with snakes and a spider. You could also do bats, ravens, bugs, skulls…you name it!
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Here is everything you need to make your own!
- Grape Vine Wreath
- Small Rubber Snakes
- One Fuzzy Spider
- Black Yarn
- Plastic Primer (I didn’t use this but you should!)
- Matte Black Spray Paint
- Metallic Gold Spray Paint
- Hot Glue Gun
- Hot Glue Sticks
I started by weaving in the snakes through the vines. It might have been easier to paint them first, but I hadn’t decided to paint them gold until after I spray painted everything black. More on that later.
After I weaved in the snakes, I used some yarn that I had on hand to make the web. I had white yarn, but you could definitely use black yarn instead and not have to spray paint it. But we’re on a budget here so I always try to make do with things I already have instead of buying something new that I might not need. If I had black yarn, I would have waited to put the web on until after spray painting. But here we are with my white yarn.
So to make the web, flip the wreath over and work on the back side. Then simply tie pieces of string from one side of the wreath to the other, going through the center. After tying the first one, I tied the others like spokes on a wheel so it resembles a sliced pizza. Mmmmm, pizza. Now I’m hungry for pizza! Side note, I make a really good keto pizza! If you’re into that sort of thing, let me know and I’ll post my recipe! But I digress, back to the spider web.
Once you have all of your spokes, cut a long piece of string, tie it near the center and work your way around in a spiral pattern, looping around each spoke so it stays put. You can tie single knots as you go, but I didn’t find it necessary. Plus if you just loop it around, you can adjust it to get it exactly how you want it. Pretty easy, right?
After you’ve weaved your web, cut another piece of string and tie it to the bottom of the wreath for the spider to hang down. I attached the spider to the yarn using hot glue. Once you’ve added all of your creepy things, you’re ready for paint!
I spray painted the entire thing, string and all. It was after it dried I realized that the spray paint wasn’t sticking to the snakes very well. They looked glossy even though I used matte black spray paint. They just never really dried and stayed tacky. If I touched a snake, some paint would come off on my fingers so obviously I had to do something about it. So learn from my mistake, make sure you use a plastic primer first or use acrylic paint. I will definitely do this next time I spray paint something rubbery. That’s what I get for using what I had on hand instead of buying the right product for the job!
Because of my sticky snakes, I decided to paint them gold. Plus, the snakes didn’t stand out enough and the gold paint would really make them pop. So I guess it was a happy accident that I had the problem with the paint to begin with. For some reason, the gold paint dried just fine. Maybe the black paint acted as a primer, I have no idea. Again, I didn’t have metallic gold paint, but I did have metallic gold spray paint. Being my crafty, resourceful self, I spray painted some of the gold into a cup so that I could use a brush to carefully paint it on just the snakes. I used a tiny little artist brush and it actually worked really well!
Sometimes I don’t do things the easy way, but the important thing is that I eventually figure out a way to get it done. It usually takes some trial and error, some creative thinking and problem solving. I always learn things in the process! In hindsight, I would have bought the right stuff to paint the snakes gold with the right kind of primer first, spray painted the wreath separately and then weaved the snakes in afterwards. But that’s just not how it went. The good news is it all worked out in the end!
Alright! We are DONE! Now it’s time to hang this creepy wreath on the front door. I hope the delivery people aren’t afraid of snakes or spiders! I’m actually really afraid of spiders but I’ll be prepared to see this every day.
Our spooky Halloween wreath is done! Now to decorate the rest of the entryway but that will be for another time. Be sure to subscribe to see more Halloween content and easy DIY craft projects! More to come! If you make a spooky wreath, I’d love to see yours too! Follow and tag me on social media to share yours!
Until next time, happy DIY-ing!
-Selene Builds Things
