June 08, 2020

How to make a metal hoop wreath

Wreath Week - Metal Hoop!

You didn't think I could let Wreath Week end after just one day, right?! ( I know this posted a week after we started wreath week but life sometimes happens and blog posts just dont go up like we had hoped so maybe we will call this wreath month instead!)

Today I am tackling the metal hoop wreath. It can be a challenge due to the lack of surface area for goodies to adhere to but my hope is this tutorial can help with that!

What You'll Need:

making a hoop wreath

Here is what I used:

  • 10" metal hoop wreath form from Michaels
  • Sola wood flowers from Oh You're Lovely
  • Twine, Binding wire or Paddle wire
  • Greenery/filler
  • Hot glue

Start Your Greenery Base and Mark Your Edges!

starting making a wreath

Much like with our willow/grapevine wreath, to start your greenery base, select your largest, flattest leaves and mark your edges by placing greenery at the points where you want your greenery to end. Once you feel good about their placement, grab some twine (paddle wire and binding wire also work!) and begin fastening the piece to the hoop.

I start by triple knotting the center of the greenery piece to the hoop (knot facing forward/toward me). Then I move to the ends. I like to tie it in three spots to help with stability and give more places on the hoop for hot glue to adhere.

Next , fill that section with the same greenery. You don't have to worry about covering everything as you'll be adding more greenery and then flowers to fill in!

Fill in Flat Greenery, Add in Long Greenery!

step by step on building up a wreath

When your leafy greenery is all in place, it is time to turn to your longest, wispiest greenery/filler! I do this second and use twine for this portion as well because they can be a little wild and unruly and I want to have more control over how they flow.

Bulk Up the Center!

adding more greenery

Since the hoop is very thin, you are going to need a good surface area for when you add the flowers and other fillers! Start by tying on some extra greenery stems just in that area. Use extra twine for this section so you can glue leaf pieces directly to it!

Add Flowers!

Adding sola flowers into your wreath

From here on out, we are gluing everything directly to the wreath/greenery base. I used gorilla hot glue and it does a pretty good job on metal (better on the greenery/filler). If you will be hanging this wreath in a place with hot sunlight or if you want some extra security that nothing will come off (ie - if you are using hoops for your wedding or another special event), I recommend using E6000. It takes a lot longer to dry and you will want to pause in between stages but it does a phenomenal job of holding everything on. Forever!

Add Textured Greenery!

adding texture

I love going a bit greenery/filler heavy on metal hoop wreaths so we still have a few more to go!

This wreath needed a big more texture and interest to it so I went for a leafy green that had a very compelling shape to it. At this stage of the process, you could also bring in a variegated leaf or one that is a complementary color contrast to what you already have in the wreath!

Berry Time!

adding finishes touches to a metal wreath

I kept my flower numbers light for this particular wreath so now I needed to add a lot of volume! I chose these navy berries to play off of the anemones and loaded them up in all the natural gaps I could find.

Last Bits of Filler and You're Done!

a metal sola wood wreath

So you may notice this wreath looks super different from the last few pictures. And you can't put your finger on it (or maybe it is something you've been hoping for throughout the entire tutorial) but it isn't just the addition of the white filler accents...

I totally re-painted the large anemone flowers.

Sometimes, I just don't get the color story right from the get-go. But that's okay! Wood flowers are incredibly versatile so when it finally clicked that the reason the wreath looked "off" to me was that the blue was too bright, I grabbed a paintbrush, squirted some black paint on a plate and changed the center of the flower.

Looks way better, right?! 

If you have any good crafty bloopers, I would love to hear about them in the comments