Year-Round Wreaths Don’t Wait For Holiday To Create These Beautiful Decorations; They Look Good Anytime

Making wreaths is one of the most satisfying craft projects I can think of - and you don’t have to wait until Christmas to do it.

Don’t get stuck on one idea of what a wreath should look like. It doesn’t have to be evergreen. It can be made of fresh roses, dried sunflowers, seashells, autumn leaves, cranberries or stalks of wheat. It doesn’t have to be round, either. A wreath can be oval, square, rectangle or shaped like a star. And it doesn’t have to hang on the front door. You can suspend a wreath indoors in front of a mirror, place a small one on a table as a centerpiece or hang one from a tree in the garden.

Here are directions for creating three very different wreaths. The necessary supplies for these and other wreaths can be found at craft stores, garden centers and florist shops. Each of these techniques can be applied to other materials.

If you’d like to learn more about making wreaths, look for my book, “Great American Wreaths” (Clarkson Potter, 1996), which includes ideas, inspiration and instructions for more than 50 decorations. (It is available at bookstores and by mail order: (800) 950-7130.)

Autumn corn wreath

Many wreaths start with a double-wire form, which consists of two concentric circles of sturdy wire joined together in several places. The wreath shown in the accompanying photo is made on a 30-inch, double-wire wreath form. It is decorated with dried dent corn, which gets its name from the small dimple in every kernel, but any other kind of dried corn will work just as well. Miniature ears of corn would be charming.

The following method can be used for many other classic wreaths. Instead of wiring corn onto the form, gather bundles of evergreen-branch tips or any beautiful leaves, and wire the bundles, one at a time, to the form.

1. Open the husks to expose some of the corn. Wrap raffia ribbon around the wreath form to cover it completely; glue or tie it to secure at the end.

2. Attach the end of a piece of floral wire to the wreath form. (Floral wire on a paddle is the easiest to use.) Place one ear of corn on the form, and wrap the wire around the base of the corn and the form, joining them together securely. Do not cut the wire. Continue adding ears of corn one at a time, overlapping them by about half and changing the angle slightly so some point outward, others inward.

3. Continue adding corn until the form is covered. Hot-glue extra husks over any exposed wire.

Bean wreath

This is a perfect project to do with children. The only supplies you need are dried beans in various sizes and colors, cardboard and clear-drying craft glue.

A smaller wreath could be made with seashells; a Christmas wreath could be made with colorful glass-ball ornaments.

1. Start by making the frame. Make a paper template of the shape you want for the wreath. (I like a big oval, about 18 inches long.) Trace the shape onto two pieces of corrugated cardboard. Cut out the cardboard shapes with a utility knife, and glue them together. (The dried beans are heavy, so you need the stability of two layers.)

2. Glue the beans onto the form in neat concentric circles - or any other pattern, alternating the direction of the beans if you wish.

3. Glue a picture-hanging hook to the back of the cardboard form.

Cactus wreath

This is a living wreath, which is built on a form filled with soil. Many flowering plants, succulents and grasses will take to this technique. Living wreaths make lovely decorations for the patio or porch or anywhere in the yard. Don’t forget to water them.

1. To make a base for a living wreath, start by securing the end of a piece of 20-gauge wire to a wire form made specifically for living wreaths. Pack potting soil inside the form. (For a cactus wreath, use cactus potting-soil mix.) Surround the soil with sphagnum moss and wrap the wire around the form.

2. Buy a variety of small cactus plants. Use a pencil to poke a hole through the moss and into the soil in the form. Wearing heavy work gloves, pick up one cactus with tongs and insert its roots into the hole; use the pencil to push the roots into the soil. Use a couple of floral pins to support the cactus, but don’t pierce it.

Keep adding cactuses until the wreath is covered. Wrap with fishing line at 1-inch intervals; tie off the line. Leave the wreath on a flat surface and water it weekly for a month to allow the plants to take root before hanging.

MEMO: Questions should be addressed to Martha Stewart, care of The New York Times Syndication Sales Corp., 122 E. 42nd St., New York, N.Y. 10168. Questions may also be sent to Stewart by electronic mail. Her address is: mstewart@marthastewart.com.

The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Martha Stewart New York Times Syndicate