A DRIED CITRUS MAGNOLIA WREATH
Oh the citrus my friends, the citrus! It’s so gorgeous, so fragrant, and so perfectly tasty and that’s because it’s ripe in winter! I also think it makes the perfect decoration to adorn our homes with when the deep evergreens of Christmas, along with the reds and whites, has come and gone.
We need a little sumpin – sumpin! It all seems a little bare and lonely and I long for the brightness in these dull gray days outside. So I bring a little sunshine in with yellows against the grays and as this Farmhouse Girl loves to use what’s out in nature highlighted in my home, and my January look incudes citrus.
I love to go out foraging in nature’s beautiful landscape looking for what inspires me and wanting to bring it all back into my home to reflect the majestic beauty of it all. And sometimes, I just need to get outside, breathe fresh air, and enjoy the change of the seasons.
We have a few citrus trees: orange, grapefruit, and lemon and as I love to cook with it in many different delicious recipes, I can also dry out some orange and lemon slices in the oven so easily to use as a pretty accent for a wreath. We have a magnolia tree as well, so I gathered leaves from the ground because I want a more weathered muted look rather than the vivid green from fresh leaves.
I took all of these things in and did a little prepping for what I have in mind. I just gave the leaves a little wipe down of dirt with a dry towel then put them all in this basket. Here alone they actually look kinda cute!
But let me move on, next I take some of those lemons and oranges and slice thinly and place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, then pop it into the oven at 200 degrees for a couple of hours or so, watching and turning to make sure they dry out and not burn.
Then thinking about how hard we worked and spent for Christmas, I really want to keep this simple and inexpensive. I actually had all of the supplies here so I spent nothing to create this wreath.
I already had a grape vine wreath because I like to rotate seasonal wreaths so I already had this for Christmas. I just reused it, isn’t that great?
While my citrus slices were baking, I started on the magnolia leaves. Now, I have made magnolia wreaths many times and here’s a tutorial for a bit of a different style. But as a refresher, I take a grouping of three leaves, wire the stems together and set aside. I made ten trio groupings for this 16 inch grapevine wreath.
Next, I lay the grouping down and at about a 1/3 up I start wrapping wire around a few times until it’s secure. Then I overlap the next group so as to cover the previously wired down leaves, and secure this in the same way and I keep going until the wreath is covered.
I then stand back and tweak it a little, readjusting the shape and position of the leaves to my liking. I even add another leaf here or there to get it just right.
Aw, next the citrus! I take them out and let them cool a bit then poke wire through them and group them together in threes, or fours, or even a few singles. Then I take them and kind of place them in between leaves and secure with the wire while hiding it amongst the leaves.
Mmm, I like it! It smell so good too. I always like to dab a bit of essential oils in so many of my craft projects to add fragrance and that’s just what I did with this too. So now it looks so darling but smells wonderful as well.
And during winter, especially the after Christmas time, it’s when we all get really good and cozy. Hey, in my opinion, Christmas launched winter, so instead of thinking of this after time as limbo until spring, I say embrace it!
Let us reflect the winter season with the muted grays, branches, citrus, and the smells of citrus and vanilla cuz that’s what most of us do, bake and cook things that are full of cozy and comfort.
I tried this wreath out in a few places in our home but I found I loved the kitchen the best with it’s farmhouse style of white and bead board, I thought it was the perfect back drop for this lovely, fragrant wreath!
Well I hope you enjoyed this tutorial for a simple sunny dried citrus wreath that can add some brightness in your home on a cold winter’s day!
XO Jerri