Now that it’s March and Spring is upon us, I wanted to create a fresh flowery wreath for my front door. But, of course, I wanted my door décor to be unique…different…and upcycled. So I headed to Goodwill for some inspiration…and with handbags right by the front door, I was immediately struck with an idea. What if I used an old straw purse / tote bag as my “wreath” and filled it with silk flowers??

There were LOTS of options for me to choose from- in different shapes and sizes. I ended up selecting a square-bottomed tote that was in GREAT shape- and I liked the variable texture on the exterior.

Now I needed to figure out how to add flowers without having them fall over or bunching up in the corners of the bag. I needed a lightweight stabilizer that would keep the stems upright but moveable…and something that wouldn’t cause the tote to sag from the weight.

Environmentally-friendly packing peanuts to the rescue!

After filling my tote (about ¾ full) of packing peanuts, I headed to the craft store for some silk/fake flowers- tulips just scream “SPRING”, don’t they?

After playing around with the blossoms and stems, I ended up with this! Doesn’t it look like I just strolled through a fresh flower market, filling my tote as I went??

To hang it on my door, I hooked a loop of ribbon through a safety pin which I attached to the back of the tote. Since my door is red, I used red ribbon so it would blend in. Then, I hung it up, stepped back, and fell in l-o-v-e.

How gorgeous is that?? And all from a donated straw bag from Goodwill. I love being welcomed home by it every day…and all I can say is, “Welcome, Spring!”

Craft on!

Sadie