Raven Wreath

I have a left over wreath, from my birdnest cardbox wedding project. Since I already have a wreath that I always hang at Christmas I wanted to re-purpose it into a Halloween decoration. I wanted something on the classy side. Maybe it was the Martha Stewart Halloween Handbook that inspired this need to class it up or perhaps the plethora of seasonal kid art that's already up in my house did it. Whatever the case, I searched "Halloween wreath" until I found this one. It's from Crafty Loo. Perfect.

I already had the wreath (from the wedding), black spray paint (Riley's Minnie party) and moss (also from the wedding). All I needed was a raven and some letters.

Materials

• Wreath
• Black Spray Paint (I used glossy)
• Moss
• Raven
• Wooden (or foam) letters (or pre-made word sign)
• Paint for your letters (if you choose wood)
• Hot glue gun
• Ribbon
• Wire

Step One: Paint your wreath. I left mine in the sun to dry in between coats and it went pretty quickly. Each side got a full spray and then two rounds of touch up. Remember to apply your paint in the thinnest layers possible.

Step Two: Add your nest. I got this bag of Spanish Moss from the fake flower section of the craft store for wedding projects last summer. I used the hot glue gun to attach a nice thick moss nest in the bottom of my wreath. I liked a more nestled look, but feel free to glue it over the wreath in front and back like the other blogger did.

Step Three: Add your raven. These birds are also in the fake flower section of the craft store. They have foam bodies covered in feathers. Not too complicated if you had the time and wanted to just make it yourself. I think this guy is actually a crow. He's a little chubby and his beak is a little stubby for a raven (photo on left). That's why Mike and I altered him (photo on right). We extended his beak by breaking the foam one off and attaching a spray painted piece of gnarly orange tree branch. We also turned his head and added spray painted willow tree leaves to extend his tail. Much better, eh Mr. Poe?

He already has wire attached by his feet. I poked them through the moss and bent them around the wreath itself. Then I used a little hot glue for extra security. I also bent his claws to point down, like he's perched.

Step Four: After your bird is in the nest add your Halloween word. I was very tempted to write nevermore on mine, but I was afraid there wasn't enough space. It's a lot of letters. I went with "spooky", like the inspiration photo. I bought little wooden letters and painted them. I mixed colors we had laying around (gray, green and gold) until they looked antique-y. Then I attached the letters to black wire with hot glue. Then I twisted the wire around either side of the wreath.

Step Five: Next you add ribbon. A loop around the top to hang it in your desired color and an embellishment pieces you'd like. This was my final step, but feel free to add webs, spiders, bats, twinkle lights, a motion activated player that recites The Raven when anyone comes to the door or whatever you can dream up.