I have a super fun summer project for you today! I’m showing you how to use a bike wheel as a wreath base and the end product is adorable!
Y’all know that I am always in market for unique items to use as wreath or door hanger bases. Sometimes it’s a big ole ice cream cone, other times it will be a giant rooster. In the video below I’m going over how to use a bike wheel as a wreath. It may not be as crazy as the rooster but it sure is cute!
All we need for this project are some of those red, white, and blue supplies we love to buy and a bicycle wheel. The bicycle wheels that I use for this wreath are designed to be used in crafting. But, if you love rustic decor and happen to get your hands on an antique bike wheel, by all means take advantage of it and use it! Just be sure that there is no way that the wheel can scratch your door.
How to Use a Bike Wheel as a Wreath
Summer is coming friends! And people are already shopping for their patriotic decor. I say it all the time, but we always need to be a season or two ahead to keep up with customer demands. We can’t start listing Christmas items in the middle of December, people have been shopping for that stuff since October.
The same thing goes for patriotic decor. You want to get those designs listed when there is still snow on the ground in the north. It is always better to get your stuff in the shop a little too early rather than miss a bunch of sales because you waited until too late. That’s just a little tip from me to you! If you need help figuring out when you should be crafting for what, check out my post that teaches you how to Use a Craft Calendar to Plan Your Craft Production Schedule!
But Wait, there’s More!
In the video below I show you how to make an adorable patriotic door hanger with a red bike wheel. In the recipe, you’ll also find the list of supplies that you need to make it. But, if you keep watching the video you will also see how I tweak the design a little with a blue bicycle wheel. You can see how I made each one and then decide which way you want to go with your own patriotic door decor! Remember that it is all red, white, and blue so switching things up is really easy to do.
Patriotic Bow
Instructions
- Take a 2.5" ribbon, measure a 12" tail, then twist the ribbon and add it to the bow maker. Make a 7" tail, twist the ribbon and then add it to the bow maker. Repeat with another bow on the other side and then trim a shorter tail.
- Repeat this same process with a 1.5" ribbon but make the loops slightly smaller.
- Next, use another 2.5" ribbon and repeat the same process making the loops slightly smaller again.
- Repeat again with your next 1.5" ribbon and the last 2.5" ribbon. Then use the last 1.5" ribbon to make the last layer making the loops small this time.
- Take two pipe cleaners and twist the ends together to make one long pipe cleaner. Remove your bow from the bow maker and use the long pipe cleaner to secure the center of the bow twisting it off at the back.
You may notice that I’m doing something different with my greenery and florals for this wreath. Normally I trim the sprays and then separate them into smaller stems. This time, though, I am making the sprays work for me. What I do is leave them in tact and bend them into a Y shape. Then I add them to the bike wheel as one piece. When you work with grapevines and mesh based wreaths you have lots of contact points for adding in your florals. Not so much when you are using a non-traditional wreath base.
This greenery adding method is the perfect solution when you are working with a base like this. If your wreath base is outside the box, you have to think outside the box when it comes to the design. If you are looking for another unique patriotic door hanger check out this Patriotic Ice Cream Door Hanger!
How to Use a Bike Wheel as a Wreath
Materials
- Bike wheel red
- 2 floral stems blue and white
- 10" deco mesh patriotic colors
- zip ties
- patriotic pick sprays
- hot glue gun
Instructions
- Start by cutting a 32" strip of the 10" mesh. Curl in both ends a few times and then scrunch up the center to make a ruffle. Zip tie the ruffle in the center to hold it in place.
- Add the mesh ruffle to the bike wheel and then put the bow on top of it and secure them both in place with the pipe cleaner. Then dovetail the ends of your ribbon tails.
- Take one of your blue floral stems and bend the separate stems out to form a letter Y. Slide the whole thing behind your bow and use zip ties to secure it in place.
- Next take the white floral stem and do the same thing but place this one on the opposite side of the bow.
- Next, pull some of the stems from the back up and forward into the bow.
- Next separate your patriotic pick stems into smaller sections and add them around the bow and florals using hot glue to secure them in place.
Video
And that’s how you use a bike wheel as a wreath base! A few zip ties, some hot glue, and a little ingenuity gets it done. This, of course, isn’t the only way that you can work a bike wheel design into your shop. But it sure is a fabulous one! After all, bike wheels, patriotic decor, and summer all go hand in hand!
Just pin this bike wheel as a wreath tutorial below to find the instructions later!
CHECK OUT MORE GRAPEVINE WREATHS
If you need any help with centerpiece-making, bow-making, wreath-making, or crafting in general, be sure to check out more of our tutorials on How to Make Wreaths.
We would love to see your beautiful summer wreaths! Please share with us over at the How To Make Wreaths Facebook Group.
If you love to craft, check out our Eat. Sleep. Craft. Repeat. t-shirts and click on the picture below!
