Jewelled Valentines Door Wreath

I can’t believe how quickly this project came together ………

It started off with a MDF wreath that I gave two coats of white emulsion paint just in case any of the wood was visible after it had been covered in jewels.  My apologies as I don’t have a clue where the heart originally came from as I’ve had it for years.

I only had one or two bits let over from similar projects, the roses and few other plastic flowers, however, I managed to gather a few bracelets and necklaces from various local charity shops, which I then broke up. The Lucite flower beads and small plastic roses were found on eBay.  The swallows came from a necklace found in amongst a bag of broken bits, I was well chuffed at their discovery.  The bee charms and brooch I found while looking for something else!

I played around with the bits at first to make sure I had enough to cover the heart before getting stuck in with the B-7000 glue.  I had to spend a little time cutting all the loops from the back of the bracelet jewel clusters where the elastic passed through, to ensure that each piece lay flat on the heart base.

It only took me an hour to cover the heart, my quickest one ever, which then had to be left unfiddle farted with overnight for the glue to really set in.

When morning came I really expected to spend another hour filling in the gaps, but no, it was fine, all I added was the cherub at the top, cutting the loop off first.

All that was left to do was paint the back white to make it all look properly finished off ……..

……… and put in two staples on the back to thread a piece of thread through to then hang the heart on my front door. Eh voila, my seasonal February/Valentine wreath is done!

Finding suitable necklaces, bracelets and the occasional earring in a charity shop isn’t that easy these days, especially when they’re often not all that cheap either, £2 is my top limit and for that I want at least 8 – 12+ good bits to break up

I always start by placing the roses first, as they always seem to “set the tone” on any of my wreaths and mirrors. I originally got them from Poundland where they used to sell bracelets with nine on. I have bought so many, but like so many good things, they are no longer stocked.  I have used the very last ones on this heart. I have looked them up on eBay, but they are now selling for £9.99 a pop, so if I ever see anything similar on my travels, trust me I will pounce!

However, as I am really in the mood to make a few more wreaths and mirrors for presents etc. I have found a seller on eBay who sells just the other sort of jewelled elasticated bracelets I’m also looking for ………..

………. who, when I put a bundle together on my watch list, offered them at a discounted price of  £1.50 each (where they would normally ask around £1.99 plus in most charity shops), so I think this will be my main source of jewellery, supplemented with whatever I find when I am out and about.  The seller says he has thousands, so is now looking out for ones made up of single flowers, roses and daisies in particular, that I can again use to split up. Happy days!