The Problem With Improvising

After seeing numerous deco mesh wreaths on Pinterest, I decided to whip one up.

Cute, how I thought this would be easy.

When I got to the good ol' Hobby Lobby, they were out of poly deco mesh in any color but HOT pink. I found mesh garland.  Then I got a wreath form and some pipe cleaners to twist around my mesh garland.

I attached the pipe cleaners to a 20" wreath (the only size left at my neighborhood HobLob)  form every couple inches.

First problem: 20" makes an enormous deco mesh wreath.

The wreath form wasn't going to work. My friend Magan made one using a wire hanger. Phew, that was easy to fix.

Once I switched my wreath form, I went back and put my pipe cleaners on again.

Second Problem: pipe cleaner slides all over the place

I had no real solution for this without waiting to order one of THESE. The wires on that guy are attached and won't slide all over like the pipe cleaners.

Finally, I started to add the mesh garland. I attached the end of the mesh garland to one pipe cleaner, measured off about a foot of garland and attached it to a pipe cleaner 2" (before they started sliding...) away from the last one. I continued that around the my wreath and used 18 ft of mesh garland.

Third Problem: Mesh garland does not equal poly deco mesh. Looks fairly similar...shoulda thought about the texture. It doesn't fluff the same. The little bubbles or puffs between each tie down do not stay bubbled or puffed up very well.

I wrapped silver ribbon around the wreath, added a few sprigs of sparkly stuff, and put a letter in the middle. Here is the final product:

It is still festive and cute.

The mesh isn't as poofy as I'd like it to be. If I had picked up the right materials to begin with...things may have gone a little smoother..... : /