The Shabby Creek Cottage

Hundreds of ideas for creative ways to eat, make & decorate!

Make it: Pebble & Faux Succulent Wreath

Wreaths are my arch nemesis. Seriously. Well, unless they’re made from book pages. Or maybe barbed wire.  Other than that, I’m kinda a wreck when it comes to making wreaths. I know that pretty much every other DIY homemakin’ kinda mama on earth would beat me in a Bobby Flay style wreath throw down. It’s all good, I have other strengths {like knowing every word to Ice Ice Baby or making the world’s best fruit tea.}
Back to the point, I’m a horrible wreath maker. So, when my friend +Angie Holden asked me to participate in a wreath challenge, I was like, “Hecks yeah!” because when your BFF asks you to do something fun, you go for it, right? Then I remembered my whole wreath affliction. Ack! After a LOT of brainstorming, including too many “what-ifs” and “would it be possibles” I finally figured it all out.
And, my friends, it is with baited breath that I offer you my Pebble & Faux Succulent Wreath.
How to make a pebble and faux succulent wreath


Since I’m all about confessions today, I’m also going to give it up and let you know that I’m a plant killer. Yep, I have two black thumbs and eight black fingers to boot. I’m pretty sure that at some point in time I’ve killed a plastic plant or two. And, just for the record, I kinda hate 99.9% of all fake plants I’ve ever seen.

Then, the decorating heavens parted and I found a 3 pack of pretty succulents on clearance on Target after Christmas for $2. I bought two sets. And they rock. {haha, I made a punny.} I used them on my winter mantle which was up until just this week, but they were too pretty to hide away in a cabinet, so I decided to give them a second life on my wreath.

Speaking of wreath…. let’s make it, m’kay?

How to make a pebble and faux succulent wreath

First you need a wreath form. I used one from Styrofoam Crafts that was sent to me for this project. The larger, the better (mine is a 16 inch.) You need the bumpy, rough texture to hold the grout later, and the flat back works great for this project. However, it is kind of boxy, and you need to round it a bit with a serrated knife to round it up a bit for this wreath project.

After you have the form shaped and ready, it’s time to rock on. I used smooth pebbles from the dollar store, and it took 5 bags for this project. Hot glue them on, fitting them together as best you can. It takes quite a while to cover it, but rock out the whole front of the wreath.

How to make a pebble and faux succulent wreath

After you have the whole wreath rocked, put some cut up straws (or something) in a few of the places kind of close together where you want the faux succulents to go. Next, grout it up. I used pre-mixed grout in white, slathering it on with my hands because honestly it was the easiest way to get it in all the nooks and crannies of the rocks.

Now you’ll need to channel all the patience you can muster to clean all the excess grout off of the rocks – and it takes a while. I used a sponge to clean it all off, just like tile. It takes a long time, but it’s totally worth it. Once all clean, let the grout dry for about 48 hours. The tub says 24, but mine needed longer due to the size of the spaces between the rocks. When it’s all dry, put your succulents in place, then hang it up!

How to make a pebble and faux succulent wreath

If you look very carefully you can see the screw that the wreath is hanging from on the inside of the top rim. I tried a few different ways, but this way works the best, so I went with it.

Last, just enjoy your Pebble & Faux Succulent Wreath – you’ve earned it! It’s a lot of work, but totally worth it for a wreath that will last a long, long time.

*Styrofoam Crafts sent me the wreath form for this project, all words, ideas and opinions are my own*

 

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Comments

  3. OMG!!! Girl! You ROCK! (had to say it….cuz I loved your ‘punny’…that was hilarious and I’ll prolly copy you on it ((as I have so many other things)) ). You can NEVER say you can’t make a wreath again! This is awesome, brilliant and if I can’t make one in the next few days I’ll explode!!! Best NEW idea I’ve seen in a while!!! Oooooh, I’m so stoked to try this! THANK YOU, BRILLIANT MIND!!!! Dona

    Reply

  10. Quick question: Do you remove the straws when you’re done, or use them to hang up the plants? Could you hot-glue the plants in place? This is so beautiful and unique, I can’t wait to try this!

    Reply

  11. This is totally cool.Are the succulents live or fake? I’m thinking with enough room around the roots you can keep live succulents.

    Reply

  12. Love this idea! When the snow melts my box of rocks is coming out and becoming a wreath, just have to find the succulents. At first I thought yours were real, they look so good. Thanks soooo much for the inspiration I love rocks and succulents. Can’t wait to get started on this, thank you!

    Reply

    • It should be fine on a fence Brenda, it’s not super heavy but more so than a regular wreath 🙂

      Reply

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