Hello friends! I am more than a little happy today. I spent the weekend catching up on lots of jobs that needed to get done. This amounted to a bit of cleaning, straightening and a touch of organizing. I always feel so much better when I have gotten a few things back in place.
But the best part of the weekend was getting my fall decorating in full swing. I can’t wait to show you a few of the things I was able to put together. I had done a bit of preplanning in my mind and it was good to see it actually come together.
You’ll have to wait a bit longer to see it, because today I want to show you a fun little project I was able to accomplish this weekend.
DIY Wheat Sheaf
While browsing through the fall Pier One catalog I ran across this set of wheat sheaves. I have always liked the look of wheat sheaves and the message of unity in strength they evoked. One stalk of wheat can easily be broken, but a whole sheaf has great strength. I like the message and meaning.
This pair of sheaves really caught my eye. I had an idea of just where I would like to use them.
Seeing these inspired me to try to create my own.
Last week I took a trip to one of my favorite places and purchased everything I would need. Well to be truthful, I really went several times – sometimes twice in one day – I had to use a coupon each time so I could get each item I needed at that 40% discount. Now I was all ready for my project.
I began by cutting a paper towel roll in half. Remember – I keep everything – you just never know when you will have a need for something. My sweetie just rolled his eyes when I caught him throwing this out. I already had this project in mind and knew I would need it.
I glued half of the paper towel roll to the top of a Styrofoam cone. I sat this aside and let it dry before I continued. If you don’t let it dry, the top will keep sliding off of the cone as you work – I found that out the hard way.
Once the glue had dried, I covered the cone base and top with sheet moss, gluing the moss as I went. To help hold the moss onto the cone, I wired very small floral tape covered wires around the base and top.
I used brown floral tape that I had on hand. Brown really works much better for many projects, especially this time of year. Just a quick note – you can’t find the brown colored tape at most craft stores. Go to your local florist where they will have it for purchase or they can order it for you.
While the glue was drying, I took the time to trim my wheat stems. You will cut the actual stems in half. Don’t include the length of the head in your measurement just the actual stem. You will use the trimmed pieces as you complete your sheaf. Sorry, in my rush to get to the next step, I didn’t get a photo of this one.
Once I had the cone base covered, I began laying the pieces of wheat around the form. To help hold them in place I again wrapped the coated wires around the wheat. To keep the wire from sliding up the cone, I made “hairpins” out of wire and anchored the wires in place.
I left the wire wraps just loose enough that I could slide each wheat stem down the cone, arranging them as I worked. You can loosen the wires as you insert more wheat stems to allow for the addition of the stems. Once you get the hang of it, the process goes very quickly.
After I had all of the wheat inserted, I began to insert the trimmed pieces in the same fashion. This will give the base of your wheat sheaf a nice full look.
The sheaf completed, I wrapped jute roping around the stems covering the wires.
To add additional interest to the wheat sheaf, I took a bush of grasses and “weeds” and divided it into two separate bunches. I taped each together with brown floral tape and inserted them into the center of the sheaf.
This was simple to do as the center was open inside of the paper towel holder and the stem could be easily inserted into the top of the Styrofoam cone.
After each wheat sheaf was completed, I was happy to find that they stood perfectly.
I hope you check back next time to see where I’ve used them in my fall decorating!
If you enjoyed this wheat sheaf tutorial I invite you to take time to pin it to your Fall Pinterest board. You can find all of the wonderful things I am pinning HERE!
Unable to Pin any images from this.
So sorry you are having that problem Teddee. I went back and checked the images and I was able to pin from the post. I will keep trying to figure out the problem and let you know if I come up with an answer for you!
These look great! I already know where I would put them in my house… might have to make a set. Thanks for sharing.
I am sure you could make a set and they are so much fun to decorate with.
I would love to see them if you make them.
Debi
Awesome tutorial! They look amazing..just like Pier one!! Come link up to Centerpiece Wednesday and share this with us! http://thestylesisters.blogspot.com/2014/09/centerpiece-wednesday_16.html
Thank you for the invitation to join your party. I just went for a visit and I love your blog. You will see me back often.
Well done, Debi! I can’t wait to see how you use these in your decorating. Thank you for sharing your idea. I’d love something like this for my mantle, and just may try this…….Rosie @ The Magic Hutch
Rosie – if you try these please let me know. I would love to see yours as well!