Making your own holiday decor doesn't always require advanced sewing skills to create something from fabric. In fact, you can achieve some pretty impressive results without sewing a single stitch. I recently found a nice variety of examples of wreaths made using the technique I'll be sharing in this article. The end result is a lovely textured ruffly looking wreath. I adapted the technique to also show how to make a topiary and I'll be sharing some ideas for adding your own personal finishing touches!

The ruffly appearance is achieved with the use of lots of 2 inch square pieces of fabric. To create the wreath and the topiary, I started with a yard (each) of 2 different mulsins and 1/4 yard of a variety of different colored, patterned fabrics. I used most of both of the muslins and had quite a bit of left over material from the colored fabrics.

Choose a foam wreath shape of your choice for the base. These some in a wide variety of sized circles. You can also purchase squares and hearts. I knew I wanted to add a banner to my wreath so I chose a 14 inch circle.

Using one fabric square, bunch it up around the tip of a pointed object. I used the Fiskars Small Tipball Embossing Stylus. You can also use a pencil or the handle end of a paintbrush. Dip the tip of the fabric in white glue.

Push the end your tool about 1/2 inch into the foam wreath. Continue doing this with the fabric squares, spacing them 1/2 inch to 1 inch apart.

Pick the wreath up periodically and check for even fullness and spacing of your fabric patterns.

When finished, you can add embellishments. I made a Happy Easter pennant banner. Using the Holiday Hooplah Simple Stick™ Repositionable Rubber Stamps, I stamped my sentiment on a scrap of muslin. These repositionable stamps are one of my favorite new products. They have the convenience and compact qualities of acrylic stamps as they are not permanently affixed to a block. But they have the crisp image transfer of a rubber stamp. The best of both worlds!

I completed the banner by folding over the top edge of my stamped panel, as well as some various sized triangles cut from my colored fabrics, and gluing them to a length of yarn.

And here is my completed wreath, all soft and ruffly and fabulously shabby!

This same technique can be used on stryrofoam balls to create topiaries. I chose to use an egg shape. When you have finished filling the surface with fabric, simply stick a short length of dowel rod through the bottom of the egg, fill a flower pot with floral foam, and stick the other end of the dowel rod through it. I covered the floral foam with some inexpensive raffia. You can then sprinkle candy eggs on top of this. You could pin a few punched birds to the topiary. Or you can follow the directions in my Easter Bunting project tutorial to create these shabby fabric bunnies to place around the base.

And wreaths aren't just for doors! I have mine set atop my antique pie safe. My topiary has found a home in the center of our dining room table. My finished projects coordinate perfectly with our darker farmhouse style decor.

However, if you have a brighter decor in your home, these projects will work nicely there, too.

This technique is simple enough that it is a great one to share with children. They'll no doubt be proud to have created something that you set out front and center as part of your home decor.