12 Crafty Days of Christmas {Day 1}: Burlap Snowman Wreath

Welcome to {Day 1} of the 12 Crafty Days of Christmas here at Happily Mother After!

I am so excited you are here because I have been sitting on pins and needles waiting for December 1st to arrive so that we can get this series started! 
I have lined up some of my favorite crafty bloggers to share their creative Christmas DIY projects and recipes so that all of you can sit back, watch the creative juices flow, and get inspired to re-create some of these jewels just in time for your holiday guests to arrive.  Some are kid-friendly projects while others are projects to save for nap time, but all of them are AH-dorable!
I'm kicking off the series with today's craft:
Burlap Snowman Wreath

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For this snowman, no snow is required.  You just need 3 wreaths, a couple yards of burlap {natural and black}, a few ornament hooks {or other flexible wire}, four skewers, glue {I used Gorilla but hot glue should work as well}, a scarf, a little decorative piece to dress up your new friend's hat, and a lot of time.

I picked up three wreaths from the Dollar Store {one 18" and two 15" wreaths}.  I chose the Dollar Store wreaths over others I found because they were cheap and the greenery was loosely attached to a circular wire.

I removed all the greenery from each wire {it was only attached in three places so this was easy peasy}.  Then, I cut {roughly} 12" x 1" strips of the natural-colored burlap and began tying each one with a knot around the wires.  Repeat a gazillion times.  This is the step that requires time and patience.  It's an easy step but it took me about 1.5 hours because I wanted my snowman to be full/thick.

With the last wreath {one of the 15"ers}, I stopped about three-fourths of the way around and began tying the black burlap {same size strips}.  After securing a few black strips, I stuck two of the skewers down through the knots {see below}, leaving most of the skewer sticking straight up out of the "head" of the snowman. This will become the snowman's top hat.

Then, with Gorilla glue, I attached two more skewers perpendicular to the previous two skewers {one across the top and one along the edge of the wire wreath}. I used chip clips to keep them in place while I continued working.  Side note: I think hot glue would be a better choice than the Gorilla glue as it would dry quicker and hold just as well.

In addition to holding the skewers together with glue, I also secured each "junction" with a burlap knot.

FYI: the point of the bottom skewer is to create the effect of the rim of his top hat as you tie knots outward along the skewer.  Oh, I sure hope this is making since!

From there, I just continued tying knots with the black burlap all along the skewers, just as I did the wire wreaths.

Once you have covered every inch of the skewers with the black burlap, you can use a pair of scissors to trim around the edges of the "hat" to make it more of a structured and obvious top hat rather than a burlap mess.


Lastly, attach the wreaths together, forming your snowman {with the 18" wreath on bottom} by using some flexible wire to "twist tie" them together.  I used ornament hooks like these which were flexible enough to do the trick.

For some finishing touches, wrap a scarf around the snowman's "neck" and throw a little holly or other decorative detail into his top hat.  Then, hang outside to enjoy for the rest of the winter season. :)

Phew! I really hope you guys followed this tutorial.  That was not an easy project to explain, but it really wasn't as hard as it might seem.  And I just love coming home to him hanging on my door...he makes me smile every time!
Be sure to check back tomorrow morning for {Day 2} of the 12 Crafty Days of Christmas series!
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