Mardi Gras Wreath Tutorial

Mardi Gras Wreath Tutorial (2015) Supplies: (Click here for a quick list of supplies to purchase) XX751106 24" Emerald Green Metallic Pencil Wreath RE1034H2 21" Deluxe Foil Mardi Gras Mesh MR81204 6" Deluxe Foil Mesh XY4959LA Glittered Groovy Balls - 3 MZ1538T6 Sequin Mask MZ1803TC Fleur De Lis RE3542F2 Purple/Black Tinsel Tubing XS546550 Sequin Ball Spray - 6 FH7499T6 Feather Spray - 6 HG3064MG Dangling Ball Spray - 3 Let's get started....put on some jazz))) Start with the 21" mesh and gather end end together grasping at about 3-4 inches from the start of the roll. Choose one of the twists on the 24" pencil wreath and lay the mesh in the twist, close the twist with a couple of turns. No need to twist it too many times right now, as you'll be opening the twist back up later to add something else. With mesh secured in the first twist (doesn't matter if you start on the inner or outer ring), tuck that raw edge into the inside of the wreath. We'll secure that raw end later. Measure about 14" of mesh, gather and pinch in your hand, secure in the next twist. You have made your first pouf! You may need to fluff it up from the underneath with your hand. Continue working around the ring until you have completed all the poufs. When you get back to your starting point, open that twist, keeping the first pouf in place and secure that last one in the same twist you first started on. Pull the mesh up snug and move up to the closest twist on the inner ring. Attach the mesh, continue to measure and attach making poufs all the way around the next ring. When you have created your last pouf, if you have mesh left (it took the whole roll for this wreath), cut the end off leaving 4-5 inches. Tuck that end to the inside of the wreath and wrap around the wreath frame, secure it with a zip tie and snip off the end. Do the same thing with your beginning mesh. Next, add some contrast. You can do this with assorted ribbons or other products. We chose another deluxe foil Mardi Gras mesh that is 6" in width and 20 yards on the roll. We cut strips of mesh 10-14" in length, pulled them gently on the diagonal and rolled the opposing corners together to make a curl of sorts. You want them to be pointy and as long as you can make them. We put them in cluster of three and also added a double loop with the purple/black Tinsel tubing. Take the cluster and place one in each twist around the wreath. Open the twist and lay the cluster on top of your mesh, re-secure the twist now with 3-4 turns. You don't have to put a contrast cluster in each twist....it just all depends on how you want to embellish your wreath. Next we added to two larger focal pieces - the mask and the fleur de lis. These were attached using the pencil twists. Typically, we attach larger pieces using zip ties and securing down to the work wreath frame, but this deluxe mesh was so bulky, to attach these pieces it was going to bury it in the mesh, so we had to secure closer to the outer edge of the wreath. Next we secured the groovy plastic balls using metallic chenille stems and they were attached to the work wreath frame. Next we used several different styles of picks. Once these were placed, we flipped the wreath over and secure the picks to the frame using chenille stems or zip ties. The dangling ball sprays were placed in a bundle first along with some feather sprays and secure with a zip tie. Then the entire bundle was placed down in the wreath and secured again. Overall the wreath measures about 36". Be sure to take a look at the back of your wreath when you're done and check for any sharp or rough edges that might need to be covered up.