Birds Nest Wreath Tutorial

It's hard to keep your mind off the earthquake, tsunami and pending nuclear disaster in Japan when you subscribe to a 24-hour news service (or rather, are married to one). So I'm trying to focus on creating my family home and decorating for spring, and an important part of that for me is making my own decorations.

That said, inspiration hits me at the strangest times.  This time it was near midnight when an idea for my unused willow branch wreaths came to me.  (It's why the lighting is bad in my photos -- when inspiration strikes I just need to go for it, right then and there.)

Some leftover bits of spring green yarn from Nathan's spring cardigan sparked my idea -- what if a bird were to use these pieces of yarn in its nest?  Combine that thought with the pile of willow branch wreaths I didn't know what to do with, and I have a spring wreath inspired by a bird's nest.

Here's what you'll need to make it yourself:

- A small willow branch or other kind of wreath (check out my willow branch wreath tutorial to make your own)
- One long-ish piece of yarn (but definitely a scrap -- no purchases needed here)
- Wool roving
- Felting needle
- Glue gun

Start wrapping the yarn around and around the wreath, starting at what will be the top of the wreath.  I tried to do this as hap-hazardly as I could, which is somehow hard to do.  Leave a long tail at the beginning (I left mine too short and it was hard to make a knot).

Cut the yarn when you're done wrapping and tie the beginning and the end together in an overhand knot.  This creates the loop you'll hang the wreath from.

Get out your felting tools...

And wrap your wool roving into an eggy shape.

Give it hell with your felting needle until it gets firm and you like its eggy shape.

Glue the eggs to the wreath with your hot glue gun.  There you have it, a bird's nest inspired wreath!