So these are the big thing in the party planning world and I had to make one. Well my little cousin is like a second child to me and he has a Birthday come up so perfect. I'll make Garret one. If all goes well I'll make Kaitlyn one. I have to say he loved it! These wreath are easy enough to make but can be pricey depending on how you make it and the amount of balloons you use! I used the biggest straw wreath 18" bought at Hobby Lobby $4.99 but used 40% coupon. Best price on balloons was Wal-mart a big pack 12" balloons for 72ct $4.50 I used 2 bags plus about 10 extra balloons I had laying around. Pat Catan's best price for the u shaped wreath pins you need over 200 for $2.38. Curly ribbon I have like every color on a spool but only used the colors that coordinate with my balloon colors. I also used some cheap thin cotton ribbon to cover the straw wreath with before adding any balloons to give it a finished look all the way around and hide any spaces. I highly recommend this. Now on the ribbon do not use wire edge ribbon and remember that a metal u shaped wreath pin has to be able to go through the ribbon easily and cleanly. Then a scrap thin board (can use cardboard) covered with scrapbooking paper and used my cricut to cut the letter's needed to complete. Then hot glue on last. Love how it turned out. I will say that not covering the hole wreath with balloons and adding the curly ribbon made it different from what I have seen and I liked it! FYI the bigger the wreath and more balloons used it does make the wreath heavy. Nice thing is this wreath can be stored in a cool dry place and used year after year! Make one with just balloons and curly ribbon and hang for any one's Birthday in your family! This can start a tradition in your family!! On my curly ribbon I cut about 10 pieces at 15 inches long & stapled them to a small piece of paper in the center of the curly ribbon and then curled away. Not crafty they sell the curly ribbon the same way for gifts at the dollar store! Why a straw wreath? Simple answer if you are not a regular crafter then you do not realize how expensive styrofoam is these days! Plus I would wonder the stability of styrofoam!! Last I used the same pins here and there when placing your ribbon to keep it in place or hot glue just do not get carried away because you'll need to stick a balloon there later with a pin and the pins will not go through hot glue same with the curly ribbon! I used about 2 curly ribbon packs per side of orande, yellow, green, red and blue.
