Valentine's Day Entrance Hall and Romantic Shabby Chic Wreath Tutorial

​I’m amazed how well this wreath turned out using recycled Christmas decorations, a curtain scrap and ribbons I had on hand. The roses mixed with tulle and lace rosettes lift this wreath out of the ordinary. It’s one of a kind which is the best thing about crafting your own home decor.

I was inspired by a wreath made by Olivia from Olivia's Romantic Home to create this romantic themed wreath. Hers is so beautiful, but I think I got a little daunted at how fabulous it looked. Could I recreate the effect with the supplies I have on hand.
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Now it’s finished I love how it came out. I had a couple of dry runs before settling on the method I used. I encourage you to have a play with your supplies and see what you come up with.

​The wire base is from a Christmas wreath. I removed the garland of greenery and stored that away for next Christmas. Next I lay an old curtain scrap around it. Enough to go about twice around the frame . I found the center and put that at the top of the wreath and then gathered the fabric loosely around the rest.

Once I had the placement how I wanted it I tied it on with a ribbon at the top and then wound the ribbon around the wreath down each side catching the curtain at the struts of the wreath and tied it off at the bottom.

​ ​I looped a Pink glitter Ribbon around the wreath securing it at the struts by folding the wire edged ribbon over the frame at these points. I hot glued the curtain to the inner wire support and also where I’d attached the pink ribbon to secure it.

​Then came the fun part, adding  the embellishments.

At the very top of the wreath, I tried on a funky bow that had been used on top of a Christmas lantern. Follow this link to Arlynn's Country Craft Youtube video for how to make one. I hot glued two small roses to the center of the bow.

Rosettes from the Christmas tree were placed around and hot glued where the pink ribbon was secured to the frame. YouTube tutorial for how the rosettes are made is on Olivia's Romantic Home. Roses were added, alternating the pink and cream, in between,with hot glue.

​Scraps of ribbon were looped or tied into bows and glued on to add dimension and whimsy.
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And here is how it looks above the hall table all decorated for Valentines Day.

I have used a scrap of lace curtain as a runner and brought out my romantic trinkets that I've collected over the years. 

​The picture of Sam in a heart frame sat next to my bed before we moved in together, so I could kiss him goodnight.

A very young Dora with my baby girl is in a sweet rose embellished frame.

The picture of Sam and I was taken at our engagement dinner. The printer ran out of yellow ink and so we're very rosy hued but I love it, a happy accident.

The heart frame has the picture that it came with. It's a lovely image and it was my hope for the future that Sam and I would one day get married, and now we planning our wedding!

The centerpiece is the love sign I've had in my office for years. It lives there because I like to have romantic things around me when I'm writing romance.

Hearts, flowers and a candle say romance added to that is the pictures that remind me of all things loving. 

Last year I decorated the hall as a surprise for Sam, this year he watched me do it and enjoyed the process of it coming together. I'm going to keep it up from now on because I enjoy so much coming home to our sanctuary and being greeted with this pretty festival of love.

Further reading
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Published last Saturday on Romancing the Genres,
 A Detailed Account of Where I Got the Inspiration to Write my Novel by Dora Bramden
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Check out the Romancing the Genres blog next Thursday for my post on why I chose to celebrate Valentine's day.

Dora Bramden writes heart-melting, passionate romance.