Deck the Halls

So, about those wreaths...

Back in 2009, (I'm still having a difficult time wrapping my head around the fact that 2009 was five, yes FIVE, years ago) I posted a wreath that was made for a DT assignment for American Crafts.

That wreath is my most popular blog post of all time! I still get hits on it everyday. All of the flowers were handmade with American Crafts paper, and Flair. There used to be a full tutorial on how to make your own paper flowers, and instructions for assembling the wreath. But, those have since been removed. Not because I'm a jerk. I promise... I'm not. I'm ALL about sharing the creative process for almost anything that I make. 

Buuuuuuut (and here comes the exciting news), I am in the process of opening my own Etsy shop to sell these babies! You might have noticed that there is a link over there on the right that says "Visit My Shop." And, you might also have noticed that, as of right now... that link leads off into the never never land of the interwebs. I promise, that's changing soon!

As soon as this baby is born (Did I mention that I'm 39 1/2 weeks pregnant?), I'll be more focused on getting it opened. In the meantime, while this baby gets ready to make his grand appearance (I swear, he's never coming out)... I've been making plenty of samples. The files are all ready to go to my shop designer (the fabulous Rebekah from Le Charmed Boutique that is responsible for my beautiful blog redesign). I finally found shipping boxes that are just the right size too! That took a little more time, and research than expected. As soon as they land on my doorstep, I already have a couple wreaths to pop in the mail! Not much left to do!

Some things have changed with the wreaths, though. They are no longer made of paper. That was a tedious material to work with! They are now made of crafting felt, sparkly tulle, and jewels!

The whole idea behind the shop is to have the wreaths available for custom order, made just for you at the time of purchase. You can pick your colors, and prints. In addition to the custom orders, there will be a limited number of pre-made wreaths available for sale. For example, this Christmas design that I finished this afternoon...

When I first pondered opening an Etsy store, it was at the suggestion of my husband and a good friend. A friend who happens to be a fellow cheer mom. People are always surprised to learn that I have a 10 year old daughter that competes in all-star cheer. I don't fit the typical "cheer mom" mold. I get that. But, I'm WAY into it! And, it's a great excuse to craft... all sorts of opportunities there! As a matter of fact, that's how the inspiration for my "spirit wreaths" came about in the first place! I started making these in Hazel's team colors a couple of years back as Christmas gifts for her coaches and gym owners.

So, that was the whole premise behind the custom order spirit wreaths: being able to match them to your team colors. Or your home decor colors. Or your favorite holiday colors. Whatever floats your boat. This wreath below was made for a friend back in North Carolina that owns a cheer gym specifically for military kiddos. Naturally, their colors are red, white, and blue. But, this would also work great as a 4th of July deco... or for any military family on your shopping list...

Their are so many colors that will be available for you to choose from... 

So, be on the look-out for a grand opening announcement in the next couple of weeks! In the meantime, if you have any questions... please feel free to comment on this post or e-mail me at charmedgirlnc@gmail.com!