How to Make a Birch Branch wreath. Repost

For your reading and crafting pleasure I am reposting the directions and inspiration for the birch branch wreath that was a feature in my Minimal Valentine Decor post.
Enjoy:


This Birch Branch wreath in this photo is one that the Sweetwater Sister-in-Law made for me long ago.  It is a perfect accent for any Valentine display.

(BTW..I found this photo on last year's post with a round up of other people's Valentine Ideas....VALENTINE IDEA POST)

 Back to the wreath tutorial....

I have a whole bin full of birch branches leftover from Christmas....
They are cluttering up the garage.....

HMMMMM....I was thinking I could make a smaller version of the Heart Wreath...

How hard could it be???
Well it turns out it was a tad bit harder than I thought....but I did figure it out (with a little help from a friend)!





 I went looking for some other versions of branches shaped into hearts...!

This one is so simple and clean looking!

I couldn't find the original website...but it looks like it is from an Etsy Shop.

This would be something fun to make with kids!

Source

This is very similar...the little stuffed embroidered heart and ivy are sweet additions.

If you have access to Red Dogwood branches.....this would be something stunning to hang on your door....


Check out the tutorial here for this one.....

This is the Sweetwater Birch Branch Heart!

It fits perfectly in the kitchen window!

 

When I made this yesterday.....I didn't take any pictures.....so I did another one this morning to show you the step by step process.

I started with six branches.
They are about 2 1/2 feet long....but obviously the length of the branches will determine the size of the heart....so you decide how long to make yours!

Separate the branches....Three to a side!

Cross the bottoms of the branches over  each other and wire them together with paddle wire.

Make sure the wire is VERY secure or your branches will be too floppy for you to manage the next steps.

Take the tops of each side.

I twisted and shaped each side into an arch....it will want to pull back straight....but by doing this you create some bend in the branches.


Then bring the tops together in the center top and pull down.

Wire this together too.

Here comes the tricky part....

After I wired this together....the top kept springing up and not staying in a heart shape!


I had pretty much given up....
I was considering trying to shape it by soaking the branches or steaming them...

And then....MY FRIEND CAME TO MY RESCUE,,,,

I showed her the dilemma...
I showed her the original heart wreath....
SHE NOTICED....that there was a WIRE running from the top of the heart to the bottom!

 SEE.....a piece of wire from the center top is pulled down and wound around the bottom.


Now the branches make a nicely shaped heart!


The extra twigs on the branches are woven into the heart.

I did put a couple of pieces of wire around the sides to secure the branches.







Since the paddle wire is green....and...I had some red raffia....
I tied some at top and bottom to conceal the green wire!

These hearts could be made in any size.....
....maybe a row of small ones propped on a mantel
or
....really small ones tied into a garland!

  I hope YOU have good friends who help YOU solve YOUR Problems!

Have A Great Day!