DIY Outdoor Window Wreaths

When we bought our home five years ago we found 11 Christmas wreaths in the basement.  We’ve hung them on each of our front windows for the past few years but I should have replaced the bows years ago.  I had planned to buy ribbon on clearance after Christmas and then totally forgot but luckily I was able to score ribbon for 70% off last week at Michaels.  Yesterday I updated and hung my wreaths and they look so great!  Here is a full tutorial for my DIY outdoor window wreaths.

Materials

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Plain green wreath

2.5″ Wired ribbon (~10′ per bow)

Scissors

Floral Wire

Fishing Line

Lollipop sticks

Directions – DIY outdoor window wreaths

Step 1 – Make a bow

Start by making a loop at the end of the ribbon and hold it tightly between your thumb and another finger.  This loop will be the center of the bow so size it appropriately.

Next, twist the ribbon on one side of the center loop so that the finished side of the ribbon is facing you.

Then, loop the ribbon to meet the bottom of the center loop.

Twist the ribbon and make a loop on the other side of the center loop.

Continue this process until you have 4 loops on each side of the center loop.  I like to make each loop a little larger than the previous one on each side.

Next you’ll want to loop the ribbon around for the bow tails.

Once you have determined how much ribbon you want for the tails cut it off as shown below.

Wrap that end piece under the bow with about an inch extending past your fingers.

Use floral wire to tightly cinch the bow together.

Twist the wire together on the underside of the bow.

Fluff the bow to your liking.

Pull the tail loop tight and then cut it at the bottom with scissors to create two tails.

Step 2 – Attach the bow to the wreath

Use floral wire to attach the bow to the wreath.  You can place the bow wherever you would like.  I decided to go with the top.

Step 3 – Trim the bow tails

Use scissors to trim the bow tails to the desired length after you have attached the bow to the wreath.  You can do a straight cut, an angle or a V cut as shown below.  Just fold the ribbon in half and cut from the outside (wired end) in on an upward angle.

Below you can see the V cut vs a straight cut.

Step 4 – Hang your wreaths

I made 11 bows.  One for each of my 11 window wreaths.

To hang them, I use heavy duty fishing line tied to lollipop sticks.  We have double hung windows so I just lower the top portion of the window, drop the wreath onto the outside of the window and then close the window being sure to keep the lollipop sticks on the inside of the house.

This is what it looks like on the back of the wreath.

And this is what it looks like on the inside of our windows.  You can barely notice it and it’s cool how the wreaths look like they are floating on the window.

They look great at night too!  I bought these great solar candlesticks on amazon last year and place them on each window sill.  They take two AA batteries each and the batteries lasted the entire season last year (day after Thanksgiving to new years day).

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I love having these window wreaths to hang for the holidays.  It’s so much easier than hanging Christmas lights and my home looks festive during the day and at night!

Looking for more Christmas Craft Ideas?  Check out my other Christmas posts.

• Candy Cane Sign
• DIY Christmas Centerpiece
• Puffin Christmas Card download 
• Llama Christmas Card download