I made the clothespin wreath with an Americana stamped theme on it for a girlfriend for Christmas.  She has one room in her home that is covered in red, white and blue, with a country feel.  She has just about every surface covered with knick knacks so I thought something to hang on her door would be nice.  This wreath could also act as a Christmas card holder, although I don’t see her using it as such.  The peg stamps worked perfectly on the wreath and it took sixty-two clothespins to cover a 12″ wreath form.  I couldn’t believe how fast the project was and really recommend it for anyone who has a friend or family member who likes the country look.  I could have made the wreath look more Christmasy,  just by stamping it with holly or snowmen, but thought she’d like this design better.

I was surprised at how fast you can stamp sixty-two clothespins.  I didn’t think it would take forever, but definitely never thought I could put the entire wreath together and stamp the clothespins in under thirty minutes.  The only problem I’m having is trying to find a bow that works with the look of the wreath (Americana), but still makes a nice bow.  I started with red burlap ribbon that was frayed.  It was impossible to tie so that was out.  Then I moved onto a navy ribbon with a rubbery white line running through the center.  It tied into a nice bow, but the white rubbery material rubbed off when I used the bow jig, so it’s not working either.  I tied a bow with some red grosgrain ribbon with white stitching and it looks odd. I’m not really sure what ribbon will work well for this if I want to maintain the Americana feel   So much angst over something so small.  Unfortunately, the bow is the most important component of a wreath so I have to get it right.  Geez, so much hassle over a bow!  I’ll keep thinking about it and make a few hundred more bows until I get it right.  Slight exaggeration, it might only take twenty more.

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