One would think after 4+ years of blogging, I could have learned to finish my holiday posts ahead of time by now.
One would be mistaken.
At any rate, this DIY boho winter hula hoop wreath will make a gorgeous addition to your holiday decor, whether you hang it in November, or as your relatives are ringing your doorbell this weekend.
If you’re thinking that there’s no way you can make this last-minute, just remember my motto: if I can do it, you can do it.
AND, if you have a dollar store near you with a hula hoop, and a tree lot that discards greens, you can make this wreath for around $25. (Sorry, West Elm, your wreaths are beautiful, but I need those 75 bucks to buy presents!)
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DIY BOHO WINTER HULA HOOP WREATH
SKILL LEVEL: Medium – you gotta have the patience to wrap the hoop very tightly with cord, and maneuver floral wire around branches that just don’t. want. to. stay. put.
TIME: 1.5 to 2 hours (90% of that is wrapping the hoop with cord)
WHAT YOU NEED:
+ cheap hula hoop (got mine at the dollar store for $1!!)
+ cotton rope (I used macrame cord because it’s what I had on hand).**
**3 yards of macrame cord wrapped 7 inches of my hula hoop. If my calculations are correct (I’ve always wanted to say that), you’ll need 36 yards of cord to wrap a hula hoop with a 28″ diameter.
+ one large bunch magnolia leaves
+ fresh pine (raid those tree lots for their discards!)
+ one large air plant, real or faux (OR sub with a large white flower such as hydrangea, or a cluster of white anemones)**
**Etsy is also a great source for air plants!
WHAT YOU DO:
STEP 1–4: First we’re going to cover that hula hoop in cord. Because those patriotic colors are not what I’m going for in my Scandinavian holiday decor.
Cut a length of cord roughly three arm-lengths long. Using the hot glue gun, glue the end to one side of the hula hoop. This will now be the “back” of the hula hoop — you will do all gluing on this side so it doesn’t show on the front.
Wrap the cord around the hoop five or six times and scoot each loop nice and tight to the one before it. Glue down the last loop in your row.
Keep on wrapping! You will keep doing this until the entire hoop is covered, pulling the cords tightly, and gluing them down every five or six loops so they stay in place. When you get to the end of a cord, glue the end down so that it’s on the back of the hula hoop, then start there with a new length of cord.
I will admit, this part of the project feels very tedious. Throw on your favorite Christmas movie (Muppets Christmas Carol!!!) and just keep wrapping. The end result will be worth it!
STEP 5: Once the hoop is completely covered in cord, attach the magnolia branches using floral wire. Don’t worry too much right now about the wire being visible, you will hide it later. Just wrap lengths of wire tightly around the branches, and twist the ends of the wire together on the back like a twisty tie.
The backside of the wire will look like this:
STEP 6: Layer a few small pine branches onto the magnolia leaves and attach with wire.
STEP 7: Now you’re going to fill in any spots where the floral wire is showing through. You can do this with individual leaves, or small branches. Tuck them in where they are needed, and make sure that the new wire is hidden underneath surrounding leaves.
STEP 8: Attach your air plant or statement flower where the magnolia branches come together. You will probably need a lot of wire to secure it in place. Just keep wrapping it until it holds, and make sure you arrange the plant so that it hides the wire.
STEP 9: Finally, make a tassel to hang on the wreath. I didn’t take pictures of how to make a tassel because this post is already too long, but you can follow these instructions to make a nice fluffy one.
Hang your boho winter wreath on a nail, and you’re done!
Tip: If the wreath doesn’t want to hang straight, add an extra nail for the hoop to “sit” on, on the side the wreath wants to lean.
I just adore the silvery air plant against the copper magnolia leaves. Swoon!
Ok now that this is up I finally feel like I’m getting in the Christmas spirit. You know, with 6 days to go. Maybe next year I’ll be more organized…
Where are you on the spectrum of “TOTALLY READY” to “OMG DID YOU SAY 6 DAYS?!”
THIS WAY TO MORE HOLIDAY DIYS…
This wreath is so gorgeous! I love the magnolia leaves.
Magnolia leaves are my favorite! I wish they would stay fresh to leave up all year. Thanks for reading, Haeley! xoxo