I hate to admit this but I've had the supplies for this project so long that I was originally going to do this for Fall & Halloween. I don't know what my problem was because this is so easy and only took me a little more than 1 1/2 hrs from start to finish. I originally saw this on The Thrifty Couple (click on name for the page) which is a great site for saving money in a lot of ways. The instructions are from a different site and you can check them out here: http://writtenreality.com/diy-wreath-occasions/
What you need to get started:
Some kind of cardboard or thick poster board
Washi tape (narrow) or ribbon with adhesive. I used this one: ribbon
Pack of clothespins
Ribbon or scarf to hang wreath. I got wired ribbon from Dollar Tree. It's not big but was enough and was a dollar.
Wire if you're using a ribbon, scissors, Xacto or craft knife (not necessary).
(The spring side cost me about $11 or $12 and the other side will only be the cost of the ribbon for hanging & bow. I had the wire already. I used my coupon at Michaels for the pack of ribbons but see it's $2 more than what I paid.)
As usual I didn't exactly follow her instructions but tweaked it to suit me. I found a poster board that has foam in the middle so was thick enough on it's own and is already white. Instead of Washi tape I found the pack of ribbon with adhesive on it and a variety of colors. It's not super sticky so will glue if needed at some point. I used a bowl to draw the circle which originally was 10 1/2" and then cut it out and put my clothespins around it. I got about halfway around and realized that I didn't have enough. I thought 9 1/2" was too small but wasn't thinking that the clothespins make the wreath bigger so used another bowl and cut it down to that size. Once I had them all around the circle to my liking I counted them and decided how many colors. I wanted 3 so had to make sure it was even (more about that later).
I did draw a circle on one side but didn't want to take off all the clothespins so just used a craft knife to cut around a little inside the tips of the clothespins on both sides of the poster board. It turns out I didn't need to mark it at all. It comes out a little messy but is easy to clean up the edges with the knife. Of course if you do this make sure your table is protected. I have one of those cutting mats so put it under the wreath. I did think about measuring the clothespins and then drawing a circle and cutting out before putting the clothespins on. Probably a bit easier but my way was fine.
I decided that 45 clothespins was tight but would work out evenly. I made a template out of a piece of cardboard the length of the clothespin so was easy to cut out the ribbon. If you're using Washi tape you won't need that because you'll put it on the clothespin and cut around it. Sadly my rolls of ribbon were only enough for 14 each and for some reason my yellow one was shorter. I decided that I'd fix it at the end so put each color on the clothespins which were on the circle. I was able to leave the clothespin attached because my ribbon was exactly the width and you take off the protector right before sticking the ribbon on. I ended up being short 2 ribbons and rather than try to rearrange my pins I used some pink Washi tape for the 2 that would be covered by my ribbon. I found it easy to use but you have to trim the sides because it's wider than the clothespins. On the good side the Washi tape roll has more on it and you could probably do 2 colors and still have some left over. I never did have to squeeze the extra clothespin in so had 44 total.
Now for the ribbon. If you like simple then you could just use the ribbon to hang the wreath with no bow or use a scarf like they did. I wanted a bow but have never been good at making them. I found this tutorial online so decided to try it. http://hubpages.com/hub/How-to-Make-Wreath-Bows I went as large as I could with the amount of ribbon I had (the drawback of the dollar ribbon) but it would be easier with a larger size book and bow. My book was 7". I had to modify the tail part so I could use it to hang the wreath. I did the loose knot but made it near the end of the tail and put it around the bow and fixed with wire. I left enough wire to make a small circle for hanging by winding it around itself. On the other end of the tail I tied 1 knot and put the wire through it and made another small circle. I decided to twist the ribbon once it went through the wreath so it would be the right side both ways.
So there you have it. It turned out to be easier than I expected and plan on doing a patriotic theme for the reverse side which you'll see for 4th of July. I decided against leaving it on the front door because of the knocker which made it awkward and we don't have a very protected front door. Looking at this pic reminds me that we have another project in the not too distant future- painting the front door. Happy Spring everyone!