winter: friends and wreaths

I have this lovely friend, Marian, for the past two years she has had this delightful wreath making party at her home. It is a highlight of my winter. This time of year I am so busy at the studio, getting orders ready and shipped, decorating the studio, designing holiday cards, that I have very little time left over for myself, or really anything non work related. Since the beginning of September, I’ve had very little time off… She always laughs at my exuberance, but let’s be honest, on any given day my exuberance levels are usually higher than most peoples!

As soon as the invite comes, I schedule it on my calendar, and there is not much that would make me change it! She buys the wreaths for us all, (this year from a fund raiser for one of her girls’ school trips) and spends weeks collecting natural items from the shore, from the fields, from her neighbors yards for us to decorate with. We, of course, all bring our own finds, I brought a bunch of moon snails, which I adore so there are always quite a few in my front garden, along with scallop shells and a few jingle shells…

I can’t describe how lovely it is, her house is one of the more beautiful I’ve ever been in, nothing on Pinterest has anything on her home, overlooking the bay in Wellfleet, it is truly spectacular. The food is delicious and the company always such fun, much talking and laughing, and then we spend a couple of hours creating wreaths. For me, I couldn’t think of a better way to spend a December afternoon.

Last year, I obsessed. I couldn’t commit to anything. I wanted my wreath to be perfect, but couldn’t decide exactly what my version of perfection was, and the party was nearly over before I glued my first item on! This year, I knew I was going to be freer in my creating. And to make that happen, started gluing immediately. Nothing says commitment more than using the glue gun. Lol!!

I love my first wreath. The tartan ribbon is gorgeous, and Marian spray paints horseshoe crabs gold for us. It is such a brilliant accent piece to my wild, natural wreath. It’s so simple and I couldn’t be happier with it hanging on my door! It is the perfect welcome into our home. Benvenuti, welcome. (Yes, okay, my husband complains because it’s a bit fat and the storm door doesn’t exactly close easily, but whatever, that’s the price of your wife being an artist!!).

This year, we got to make a second, and I couldn’t wait to use the urchins one of my friends had brought back from her place in Puerto Rico. I wanted super simple for the first, so the second I used all of those items I couldn’t make work, the perfect holly branches, the urchins, oysters, some driftwood, and of course one of my moon snails. One of the women I met there, aptly named Holly, is a bow queen it turns out, I might be now too, or at least I know the tricks. I might not need another bow until next year, and chances are good, I’ll just ask her again! I like to think I have bow making abilities now though!!

Of course, both my husband and my daughter prefer my second wreath, so instead of hanging it on our garage door, which was my plan, it turns out to be the beginning of my holiday mantel decorating. Something new…

(Usually the mantel is full of nutcrackers, but they’ve both gone off them, so you can visit them at the studio now, as I still adore them as much as ever!!)

I hope that in the midst of this busy season, you are able to take time out for yourself. Maybe make a wreath. Or even two.

And please, feel free to let me know which one you like better…