I have been getting crafty this weekend, and am very pleased with the results! I decided to make a Halloween wreath for my front door, but I wanted it to reflect my pagan values while still being quite fun. I have ended up with a beautiful creation that has a Gothic feel, honours our ancestors (which is the purpose for Samhain or All Hallows Eve), and includes my favourite horror references.

I began by making the wreath shape from several lengths of beading wire and multicoloured seed beads. It was sort of like making a rigid necklace, but I used enough wire to give it strength, and the 24 gauge silver thread was pliable so I could ‘mould’ it to fit the other components.

I then decided to make leaves which would act as a frame and provide the seasonal reference and pagan feel to my wreath. I used an old sheet of wrapping paper which is flocked, and I stuck the leaves back-to-back in order to strengthen them, and to give a professional finish if the wreath were to be hung in an open doorway. I glued the leaves onto a length of green woolen ribbon, and threaded it through the wreath, securing it with glue at regular intervals and tying it off at the ends.

That was the fiddly part. Then came the fun! I set to with the embellishing, choosing some craft feathers that I had been hoarding for a few years, and a sheet of designs purchased from Crafts U Print. I knew there was a reason I had been keeping all this stuff! I also raided my rather large ribbon stash, and used up some scraps of card for backing to strengthen and support the printed motifs.

While working on this project, I took advantage of a free first month trial on Netflix, and oh how I love that website! I watched a program called Wolfpack of Reseda which seemed to be a random pilot that was never continued, and it was pretty cool. Then I got very excited when I discovered the 1979 version of Dracula starring Frank Langella. That is my favourite of all the Dracula versions, and I hadn’t watched it for years since my rare DVD was stolen during a burglary some 6 or so years ago. Finally I finished with another classic favourite, Elvira, Mistress of the Dark!

And here is my finished project, a beautiful, Gothic Halloween wreath:

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