From trash to treasure
Like many YouTube viewers, I have my favorites. And they range from crafty to nature to Christian bible journaling (I’ve written about that last one).
I love Posh Paper Lady, an African American woman in the Carolinas who loves to paper craft. I enjoy a cool urban couple whose channel, Lead Farmer 73, teaches how to garden in large and small spaces. Over at One Big Happy Life, an interracial couple opens up about their life. Aussie Natasha at TreasureBooks makes junk journals out of scrapbook paper, embellishments, paper bags and nearly anything you can think of.
But one of my favorites hails from Ireland. Catherine, of Dainty Diaries, has my favorite DIY projects. Her accent makes me want to listen to her all day! Seriously, her projects are beautifully done and she is so down to earth.
She did a makeover of a bicycle wheel, turning it into a decorative wreath. When I saw how easy it was, I knew I had to try it. Last year I acquired two weeks from a friend of mine (thanks, Jeremy!) but because I knew I wanted to make a spring wreath, I decided to wait until now.
You only need:
an old bicycle wheel (tire removed)
spray paint and primer
Artificial (or real) flowers and plants
Florist wire (or something to tie the flowers on)
Cleaner for the old wheel
Seriously, try to get the wheel for free. Some people who are into cycling may have an old wheel they no longer need.
I started by cleaning the wheel with a spray household cleaner. It really doesn’t matter what kind it is. Spray it down and try to wipe the cleaner in and around all the spokes and on the surfaces. Then rinse it really well and sit it outside to dry. I put it on some leftover packing paper I got in a box.
Before I even started, I ordered some artificial stems and ivy from a big box craft store. I wasn’t really sure what I wanted, and in my mind I wanted to do something a little different from the side spray that Catherine did. So I bought two 6-foot lengths of ivy garland. I also bought two white roses, two pink ranunculus, one white ranunculus, one white poppy and two sprays of white baby’s breath. I should have coordinated my colors and flowers a little better, but it turned out OK.
I said earlier that you can even use real flowers and ivy, but they won’t last, of course, and you’ll have to redo the wreath.
After it was dry, I sprayed it with a coat of white primer. Spray paint is your friend for this kind of job. There is no dripping and it covers pretty evenly.
The paint I used said it would dry in 15 minutes but wait two hours before handling. I waited about 20–30 minutes in between coats. I sprayed one side, waited for it to dry and then sprayed the other side. WARNING: Please do NOT do this inside your house or even the garage. You need proper ventilation!
For some reason I did not take a photo of the wheel with the copper paint, so here is a photo of the back. I picked the “best” side to decorate, but isn’t this pretty? I loved this copper or rose gold to go on my red front door. By the way, I glued a cotton pad on the back part that touches the door so it wouldnt’ scratch.
After spraying the wheel with the rose gold paint, I let it dry thoroughly before I began to apply the faux flowers. Here, your creativity comes into play. As you can see, I borrowed from Dainty Diaries’ ideas, but used different flowers in a different design.
Try it! I had a lot of fun doing this.
Here is another tutorial she did, this time with a Christmas theme.
