A Simple, Rustic Christmas Wreath

I was recently so humbled by my friend who asked if I would make a Christmas wreath for her and her family.  They had just moved into a new apartment in Brooklyn earlier this year, and knowing that I LOVE to craft, she asked if I wouldn't mind making her one.
I was so excited at the possibilities - do you know how many ways there are to make a Christmas wreath?!  But the one that I had my mind and heart set on had to involve BURLAP!

I had been wanting to work with burlap for awhile.  I also didn't want to make a straight all-burlap wreath because they're in Brooklyn, not Birmingham.
After discussing tastes and preferences with my friend, I had an idea for my inspiration:

 

 What she surely did not want was a burlap-dominated wreath.  So I reversed the idea by taking a traditional plain, green wreath and making the burlap the accent portion of it.

The only time I stumbled was figuring out what kind of bow to make and the placement of it.  Also - whether or not my final product needed some editing...and by editing, I meant MORE STUFF.

The actual wreath itself only took me about an hour to assemble - the most time being the bow.  But after I was done with it, I wasn't QUITE done with it.  I had to hang it in my house and be able to look at it multiple times to decide whether or not I was truly happy with it.

Here is my final product:

 

It turns out, I loved it.  I loved it for it's simplicity and I loved it for it's rustic charm.
Like I said, I took a plain, green wreath (from Michael's), some burlap ribbon (from Jo-Ann's) and use the dividers on the back of the wreath to weave the burlap in and out.  Then I was able to twist some of the evergreen stems over the burlap to make it look like there were breaks in the burlap.
Next, I bought stems of berries (they were 'fake iced') and separated  different stems from its bunch and tied each one to the base wire of the wreath until it was evenly distributed all around.
FINALLY, it was time for the ribbon.
I recall having a ribbon wizard - I think I even know where it is in storage, in my basement...but I needed the ribbon for this wreath to be FAT and SPECIAL.  I just folded the burlap ribbon (same one that is weaved through the wreath) back and forth and make sure there were no tails - so the end was tucked UNDER (not over) the top layer.  Then I cinched the middle with floral wire. Then I took a thinner, red burlap ribbon (from Jo-Ann's) and tied it to the middle and cut 'V' ends at the tails.  The red ribbon is wired so the tails are 'poseable.'  It took me awhile to get this fat, special bow right but in the end, I loved it so much - I lovingly deemed it the 'Nelly Oleson bow.'

The more I looked at it, the more I loved it.  I thought about putting bells in (but that wouldn't be good as it made it's way through the US Postal Service).  I thought about putting rhinestones in it to sparkle - but didn't want it to be tacky.  Ultimately, I left it as is. 

My friend offered to pay for my parts and labor but I couldn't charge her for this - especially since I didn't know if she would like it or not. I did, however, include a wreath hanger exactly like the one in my picture because I thought it just went so well together.

Here's to hoping she likes the wreath I made for her and it spreads a little holiday cheer!