Back at it again with the ladies from Beijos Events to bring you an awesome DIY! So a lot of the time when people say "oh my gosh how did you make this?!" and I say "oh this!!? It's easy let me show you!!" ... well this is one of those projects that I'll say is a little more complicated ;) BUT individually each piece is super approachable for the average crafter so if you're up for a little bit of a challenge, then follow along!!

Otherwise you can also just buy one here or here ;)

There are three major steps to this project: 1. floral swag 2. macrame hanging 3. combining

FLORAL SWAG MATERIALS:

Your favorite Christmas greenery (I got mine at Michaels and it's ALL ON SALE)
Green florist wire
Hot glue + hot glue gun

FLORAL SWAG ASSEMBLY

Choose your base floral - a simple pine is what I chose because it had a lot of structure to build off of and wasn't the "feature" color

*Note: I almost always lay out my entire piece without gluing/connecting to begin just to make sure I have the balance right.

Using your florist wire, wrap two long pieces together so they are facing opposite directions

Add your next layer of "base" using the same method as above

Next I added my large "focus" pieces - the large flowers. I cut them from their original stems, but left about an inch of original stem to use to wrap around my "base"

I reinforced the connection between the flowers and the base using florist wire

I then added my larger filler elements (these gold twigs) - again using the same florist wire method

Next came smaller filler elements - these green velvety leaves. I hot glued these in place. With these I fully removed them from the "base" they came on - they should just pop right off with a good tug.

Medium pink flowers were next. These came in a "bunch" so I cut each individual flower, leaving a small stem to work with. These were hot glued in place

Even smaller flowers were added using the same method. All up, I used 7 different types of florals in this piece - 2 base green stems, 1 large focus flower stem, two small flower stems, one medium flower stem of an accent color, and one structural stem in an accent color.

Phew! Next section: Macrame!!

MACRAME HANGING MATERIALS:

MACRAME INSTRUCTIONS:

Cut your dowel to your desired length and paint with your choice of acrylic metallic paint (or leave natural) - set aside to dry

Cut between 30 and 35 strands of macrame twine at 26" in length

We are going to start with a "Larks Knot": fold one of your lengths of twine in half and wrap over your dried dowel

Pull the tail through the loop and pull tight

Repeat until you reach your desired width for you macrame hanging

How here is where things get a little dicey - pull your furthest left strand apart from the rest of your hanging. Try to think of this strand from here on out as your new dowel. This is no longer a string - it is the "dowel" you are tying your other strings onto. If you pull on this string as though you are tying your shoes - pulling each strand evenly, you will not get the results you want.

Pull the left most string all the way across your piece - remember it's your new dowel. We will do double half hitch knots all the way across.

Grab the next leftmost string - this is the string you will be knotting first - make a "four" (the same made by the two strings crossing) with the leftmost string on top

String the second most left strand through the loop of the four made by the leftmost string. WHEW - you got that? Slowly synch them both up together - at the top remember you are knotting the second leftmost string ONTO the left most string - ideally you'll be pulling tightly on the second string while simply holding the leftmost string in place

Do this TWICE with each string. The second leftmost string is done after it has knotted onto the leftmost (aka: "new dowel") string. Repeat with the next string in line making your way left to right. Your "dowel string" stays the same - this is the string you will knot all the rest of the strands onto

This took me many many tries to get right when I first started doing macrame so don't be discouraged!! It takes practice and patience!! The nice thing is you can ALWAYS pull the knots out and try again - which I have done countless times.

add your leather strap for hanging to the ends of the dowel

Place your swag on top of your macrame hanging to get an idea of where you want to attach

Flip over and attach using your florist wire and a dab of hot glue

Hang somewhere front and center and enjoy the endless compliments on your amazing creativity and skill. Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas!

DIY Modern Christmas Wreath