This post was most recently updated on April 8th, 2018
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I love farmhouse decor. Which makes complete sense, since I live in, you know, a farmhouse. I think the shabby, chippy style adds so much warmth and character to any space. Now, there are tons of beautiful farmhouse wreaths available on the market – but they are very EXPENSIVE! Which is why this gorgeous, elegant, diy farmhouse wreath was something I just HAD to do! It’s easy to make and looks like it came from a pricey boutique. But it’s so completely affordable because it all starts with flowers made from inexpensive coffee filters.
I saw a picture – just a picture – on Pinterest. A wreath covered with barely there, blush pink, fluffy, gorgeous cabbage roses … made from coffee filters. It looked like every farmhouse wreath dream I’d ever had come to life. I was immediately obsessed.
Give Yourself Plenty of Time
I’m not going to lie to you – this project ended up taking quite a bit more time than I had imagined. But in the end, I was so very pleased with the results. So just know, going into this – it’s going to take a bit of work. Honestly, I’ve seen wreaths similar to this on Etsy for $30 to $60, and I didn’t even spend $8 on mine! Woot!
What you’ll need for your own DIY Farmhouse Wreath:
- Wreath form (I mine from Dollar Tree, but you could also cut one out of cardboard.)
- Coffee filters (You’ll use 8 filters per flower. I used 384 filters to make 48 flowers.)
- Chenille Stems
- Paper Scissors
- Food Coloring, Water Color or Acrylic Paint – Your Color Choice
- Heavy Duty Scissors or Wire Cutters
- Hot Glue Gun & Glue Sticks (lots of glue sticks)
- (Optional) Burlap or other Ribbon for covering the wreath form
Alternate Methods:
You can either cut the filters into your desired shape first, then dye them; or dye them first and then cut them. I chose to cut first and dye later, but next time I think would dye the filters first. It seems like that would have made the process a little more efficient and less time consuming.
Dye the Coffee Filters
Step 1:
Stack 2-4 filters together, fold in half, in half again, and in half again. With sharp paper scissors, cut the top of the filters into an ‘ice cream cone’ shape to form the ‘petals’.
Step 2:
Next, fill a glass or metal bowl about half full of water. Add food coloring, water color paint, or acrylic paint to achieve desired shade. Make sure coloring is well dissolved in water to avoid streaking – unless that’s your intent. The filters will appear slightly darker once they’ve dried.
Step 3:
Submerge filters in batches of approx. 10 at a time into colored water and let soak for a minute, up to several minutes, depending on how dark you want them to be. Remove filters and squeeze excess water out.*
*If you’re using bright colors of paint or food color, you may want to wear kitchen gloves for this part. And don’t be afraid to give the filters a good squeeze to remove the water – they’re pretty sturdy.
Step 4:
Place damp coffee filters on a cookie sheet in stacks of 5-10 and place in a 250° oven for 10 to 15 minutes until dry. Time may vary, depending on how wet the filters are. Just keep an eye on them so they don’t burn and turn them if necessary to make sure they are dry. If you don’t want to use your oven, lay the filters out on a flat surface and let air dry overnight. I was impatient so I used the oven and it worked beautifully.
Assemble the Flowers
Using my heavy duty scissors, I cut each chenille stem into 4 pieces, each approximately 3 inches long. I gently poked one end of the ‘stem’ into the center of the coffee filter and secured it by applying a generous amount of hot glue at the top of the stem, then pinching the filter around the stem. This makes the center of the flower.
Next, I pushed the bottom of the stem into the center of another filter, then applied a thin ring of glue in a circle about 1/2″ from the stem. Then, I pushed the filter up to meet the bottom of the previous filter and pressed it together. This secures the filters together and makes a sturdy flower, but also gives lots of movement to the petals so the flower is fluffy. I continued this process for a total of 8 filters per flower.
To give the finished wreath some variety, I also made some smaller flowers using only 5 filters. I used the same process as for the larger flowers.
Making the DIY Farmhouse Wreath
Once I had all my flowers glued together, it was time to assemble the wreath. My original thought had been to just glue the flowers onto my wreath form. I felt like they’d be close enough together so that the green form wouldn’t show on the front or sides. Then on further thought, I decided to wrap some dollar store burlap ribbon around the form so it would look nice from the back, too.
This is an optional step, but I’m glad I did it. I secured the beginning and end pieces of the ribbon with hot glue and the result was nice and secure.
Next, I started positioning the flowers onto the wreath and using the hot glue to secure them where I wanted. Rather than leave a longer stem, I found that trimming the stem to about 1 inch worked better. So I started at one point, then worked on each side of that point, evenly gluing the flowers around the wreath until I reached the point where I had the wreath filled in completely.
After a bit of fluffing and squooshing, it was perfect! I attached a 4″ length of pipe cleaner to the back with hot glue to make a hanger. But you could also hang this from a longer piece of beautiful ribbon and it would be lovely.
Oh. My. Gosh.
I am so very much in love with this wreath. I love the color – the perfect pink color. I love the shabby farmhouse look. I love that it’s perfect for Valentine’s Day, but also for spring and Easter. You know what? I would (and probably will) leave this wreath up year round. I love that it was fun (if a bit time consuming) to make. And I love that it only cost me around $6.00 for the entire project. Yeah, I really, really love that.
So Many Ideas!
Using the coffee filters was really inspiring, too. Since finishing the wreath, I’ve been thinking about the different ways I can cut, and color the filters to make different types of flowers to use in other projects. I’m thinking an hydrangea and peony wreath for summer – maybe some sunflowers for fall. Or, adding longer stems with leaves. It seems like the leaves could be made from coffee filters in a similar manner as the flowers. Or maybe getting fake stems from the dollar store and putting them in a vase? Wouldn’t that look beautiful?
Total Craft Satisfaction
I sincerely love to craft and I have to say, this was one of my favorite projects I’ve ever done. It turned out exactly as I had pictured it in my head – which, if you’re a crafter or diy’er, you know doesn’t always happen.
Did this project inspire you to try your hand at using coffee filter flowers around your house? If so, I’d love to see pictures of your creativity, so please share in the comments!
Love & Blessings,
That Farm Mama
