My favorite season is – without a doubt – the Fall. The tourists have packed up and gone home, the weather doesn’t really drop below 60, the waves are great and we can wear hoodies and beanies [hooray!!!]
Summer is overrated, and for me, I thoroughly enjoy any excuse to stay in and work on projects around the house. Cleaning the oven, reorganizing furniture, hanging seasonal decor and making use of my overflowing craft closet are all great ways to pass the time while the sun figures out if it is going to make an appearance or not.
So now that we have finally gotten a break in the never ending summer heat, I decided to work on some dreamcatchers I had planned on earlier this year. Dreamcatchers are all the rage right now, but I wanted to make something different than the usual suede-wrapped-feathers-and-beads version. I wanted something more ethereal for my new place [moving this weekend – eek!], something more in line with my rustic/minimalist design aesthetic that would look nice on the front door to welcome guests and set the tone for their visit.
What You’ll Need:
small twig wreath
artificial branch of glittered berries
hemp cord
variety of ribbon
silver plated chain
wire cutters
sea glass
Directions:
First you will want to work on the center of your dreamcatcher. I wanted to keep this simple since adornments were being added to other areas. I used a hemp cord I found at a local bead shop in Ocean Beach, and free handed the wrapping of the wreath. Typically when you make dreamcatchers, this is a very calculated step, but since I wanted a more free spirited vibe to this particular dreamcatcher, I just wrapped it around the wreath in a random linear fashion about 6 times. Simply wrap around the wreath one time before stringing across the center.
Once you tie off the end of your cord and trim it down, you can add the berries to the wreath itself. Because the artificial branch they come on are made of wire, you will want to use your wire cutters to trim them down in sections [about 3 or 4 berries per mini branch] and just wedge the wire stems into the twigs of the wreath. You can add glue for extra secure fastening, but mine did not need it.
Once you have your desired amount of glittered berries attached, you will want to work on the tail. I wanted a long tail, so I cut 3 different strips of ribbon [ivory and white to match my furniture]. I also had some silver plated chain leftover from an old jewelry project that I added as well, for some extra shine. Gold would also work because my berries were gold, but I just used what I had on hand.
To attach these to your dreamcatcher, I just pulled the ends through the loop I created with all of the tail components and secured it over the spot I finished my center string [to cover the excess cord]. Once this was done, I added another small grouping of berries over this. I also found some sea glass in my craft closet that I thought would be a nice touch to the ends instead of wooden beads. I used an extra bit of hemp cord to include in the tail and wrap the sea glass.
The result was a very pretty, dainty, nature inspired dreamcatcher that will be the perfect addition to my front door, for the holidays and after!
Health Habit & Home 