Nature Wreaths

My boys have been little nature scavengers lately. They've turned our kitchen windowsills into a natural museum, including a jar full of chicken feathers (our neighbor's lost a chicken to a bobcat).

Mateo, my eldest, came back with several big bunches of some scraggly looking plant. Apparently it hangs all over the Oak trees around here. He jumped and climbed and received several scratches and scrapes to obtain his prized bundles. That's the kind of kid he is. 💖 I asked my neighbor about the plant (she is quite knowledgeable about all things natural and country out here). She told me that the plant is called Usnea, is non-toxic, and even has herbal uses.

Mateo's hard earned bundles bulging out of a bowl on the windowsill were begging to be used in art class. The plant is quite dry and scratchy and sticks to itself wonderfully, so I decided we would make wreaths.

I made a prototype first. I cut the center out of a sturdy paper plate with an exacto knife type of tool. I used a hole punch to make two holes on top to loop a ribbon through, and there you go, I had myself a frame to build on.

I took small sections of the plant and wrapped it around the plate gently pushing the plant into itself to stick it together. I overlapped each layer a little for good stick and good coverage. This is a totally great plant to work with.



















At this stage I was ready to bring in the boys. I prepared their plates, they picked ribbons, and we got to wrapping. This is a good floor activity. The plant is messy and a quick vacuum at the end of our project was all that was needed to clean up.

Mateo loved making his wreath. Ezra was a slightly different story. You know you've missed the mark just a bit when your youngest asks you if you can do his for him. 😜 After some more instruction, and hands on help, Ezra got his done too and was very proud of his wreath.

Here's my finished wreath on the door. Pardon my fingers. I had to steady the wreath to get the shot - windy day.