Seasonal wreath with felt flower

I wanted to make a wreath for my front door that would be appropriate have on my door for the long winter months here in Canada, exceptions being December and February.  My vision was some frosty blues and steel greys that would complement the colours of the winter season; unless of course a Chinook roles through...
What I love about this craft is that you can suit it to every holiday or theme you'd like by varying the colours you choose, style of flowers and other possible embellishments added.  I also liked that I could wrap the yarn, which took quite a while, while I was watching a movie.  Really, it was a win-win situation: I was being productive while watching tv, and also keeping my hands busy with something other than eating, which cuts down on my nighttime snacking habit.  Perfect!  

SUPPLIES:
-Styrofoam wreath
-Skein* of yarn in rockin' colours
-Felt (you can grab a pack of multi-coloured sheets at the dollarstore)
-Ribbon
-Glue gun with extra sticks
-Sewing pins (matching or contrasting colours) or fancy hat pins
-toothpicks

*Generally speaking, a skein is an oblong-shaped, center-pull bundle of yarn.  Most yarn is packaged this way.

Step 1:
Work those coupons!!!  Over approximately a two week period, use the coupon from your weekly Michael's flyer to purchase your Styrofoam wreath and skein of yarn.  Seriously, I'm not willing to spend $20 on a silly foam hoop, so I was definitely willing to plan ahead.  I had the other items already on hand, so it was just about grabbing the coupon before it went into the recycling bin and getting to Michael's while I was out. 

OR

Just buy your materials and not worry about the cost.

Step 2:
Using either a bead of hot glue or a piece of double-sided tape, attach the end of your yarn to the wreath and start wrapping.  It may feel awkward at first, but find a rhythm that works for you and go for it.  For my wreath, I wanted to make sure everything was nice and snug, so I would tighten everything by running my hand over the yarn after every 20 wraps or so, ensuring there were no "windows" peeking through.  I will warn you that it can cause some sore wrists the next day, so make sure to alternate which hand tightens.  This part will take the longest, especially if you've bought one of the larger-sized hoops.  How many of the Twilight movies could you get through...?

Step 3:
Create your flowers.  For this example, I created a chrysanthemum-style flower by:
A)

For this circle, I used a soup can

After cutting the fabric into squares, cut them into triangles

Using a round object, trace a circle onto the felt, then cut out the circle.  This will make the base of your flower.  Depending on the radius of the circle, cut strips of felt into squares.  Then take each square and cut them in half, from corner to corner, making 2 triangles for every square.  These triangles will form the individual petals of the flower.  Larger circles need larger petals, and vise versa.  Just be aware that the smaller you go, the trickier it is.
EX:
For the medium, light blue flower, I traced the bottom of a soup can for the circle.  I then cut 1" wide strips of felt.  Once I had 2-3 long strips, I would then cut each strip into 1"x1" squares.  Once all the squares were made, I then cut each square into a triangle but cutting from corner to corner.
B)

carefully fold one edge...

... then the other into the bead of glue

With your gluegun, place a bead of glue on the center of the triangle, opposite from the right-angle, or "peak", of the triangle.  Using either your fingers or a toothpick, carefully fold each of the corners into the center of the triangle, into the glue.  Press down firmly to ensure contact.  Repeat for all of the triangles.
C)

laying down a ribbon of glue, add the first layer of petals

BEFORE glueing the individual petals, place them along the circumference of your circle, making sure that they're equidistant apart.  Once you're satisfied with the arrangement, remove 4-5 petals at a time, carefully apply a thin layer of glue to the edge, then reaffix the petals into position.  Repeat until you have the entire outer ring completed.
D)

keep layering the petals

Repeat step "C", making sure to lay out the spacing before applying the glue.  It's a good idea to stagger the petals, alternating the tips of the petals, as much as you can to avoid uniformity.  Working from the outside of the flower, in, until you have only a small opening left.
E) 

Add the final 2-3 petals

For the final center section, you can either just fill in the last circle with 3 petals as I did, or you could take 2 petals and lay them down, straight edges touching, on top of all the others.

Step 4:
To attach your flowers, you can use sewing pins or hat pins, pushed through the center of the flower to create a stamen, or permanently attach it with glue.  Personally, I like the option of using a pin because you can play around with where you place it on the wreath, as well as you can change the flowers up when you feel like it.  

Step 5:
Take a piece of ribbon, ~24" long.  Fold in half.  Pass the folded section into and around the hoop.  Feed the two end sections through the ribbon loop and pull tight.  Create a square knot ~2" away from the wreath with the ribbon.  With the two ends, make a pretty bow.  You can now hang your wreath on the door and enjoy looking at it every time you welcome visitors to your home.

The finished product!

One of my favourite parts of making this wreath wasn't even the wreath itself!  I'd started the flowers late at night and wanted to finish them the next morning.  Miss E decided she wanted to be involved in what I was doing, so for the construction of the final flower, she sat on my lap and "helped"  I would create 3 petals at a time, and she would help me "count" each new petal.  And when I would caution her about not touching the glue gun or glue on the felt, she would chirp back "hot, hot".  It was our wreath, and she was excited to see it hung up. 

Let me know how it goes or if you have any questions!  Good luck
-s