Sharing is caring!
As many of you may or may not know tomorrow is May Day. It is the traditional celebration of Spring in the Northern Hemisphere. It is also the International Worker’s Day in celebration of workers and the working classes, which is celebrated in September in North America.
But today we are going to talk the flowery kind of May Day. Here in Greece, Tradition dictates that we go out into the fields and pick flowers. We then make a wreath and hang it on our doors.
Last year shared my May Day wreath. That happens to be my favorite wreath ever! I knew that there was no way to try and top myself so this year I gave myself a new challenge. I wanted to incorporate something into the wreath that we all have at home. And help the earth while I was at it.
I’ll be sharing with you how to make May Day Wreaths with recycled materials.
The idea behind this custom is that we get ourselves out of the cities and towns and go out into nature. This gives us an opportunity to relax and enjoy the surrounding greenery. Of course no proper Greek festival is without food, so we also bring along a picnic blanket and lots of food. Maybe too much. “wink”
Materials Used
- branches or vines from nature
- wildflowers
- a piece of wire, or a wire hanger
- a mesh bag,
- a ribbon
This year I went to the farm a few days early to gather some vines.
The How – To
Take a piece of wire and shape it into a circle. My wire was very thin so I wrapped it around itself to make it a bit thicker. But if you use a wire hanger I’m sure it will be fine.
Take the vines or branches, whichever you have and wrap those around the wire.
I just kept wrapping until it became a thick wreath.
And here is where I show you my secret material. We all have these mesh plastic bags that the potatoes or onions are packaged in. I took one and cut it into two pieces, removing the ends where the clips were.
Beginning at the top, you can wrap each piece of the plastic mesh until the two meet at the bottom. And then tuck them behind.
And now for the fun part. Just add flowers. I had found these lovely yellow daises on the side of the road and bought them home. I simply tucked them into the mesh and the vines.
Aren’t they just full of life and vibrancy? Of course you can use whatever flowers you want. Or go out to your garden and pick some flowers.
The last step is to add an embellishment of some sort. Of course this is optional. I chose a red ribbon with embroidery. It was in my stash so why not. I love the way it complements the plastic mesh and at the same time makes a nice contrast to the yellow flowers.
Disclosure: The items below are affiliate links and link to Amazon.com. If you purchase any of these products through the links, I receive a small commission, that way I can continue to provide you with lovely content. There is no extra charge to you for purchasing through my affiliate links.
The tradition is that we go out to the country side and collect wildflowers. Now who am I to break with tradition? I love what nature has to offer.
Of course this beauty will dry up after a few days. You can see what it looks like after 3 days by scrolling up to the first photo. But I think of it as a work in progress, so I’ll be adding some more yellow flowers as they come my way and make it a bit fuller.
We certainly don’t need to have May Day as an official holiday to celebrate the beauty of Spring and the bounty of Mother Nature.
I hope you have all enjoyed my simple tutorial of a May Day Wreath made with recycled materials.
This wreath will cost you nothing to make. No running to the dollar store or anywhere. Let’s all look to mother nature to give us her beauty and we can give back by reusing items such as that mesh bag.
What recycled item will you add to your wreath?
If you’d like to see more of my wreaths click here.
If you like what you see, share it with your friends, or save it on Pinterest. Above is a Pinterest worthy image!
If you really like what you see subscribe to my blog and get my adventures twice a week in your mailbox. The form is on the sidebar and your e-mail will never be shared with a third party.
More wreaths:
Maria
Wednesday 2nd of May 2018
Love all your wreaths they all have a shabby chicness to them. Maria
Mary
Wednesday 2nd of May 2018
Maria as long as I can reuse items and not send them to the garbage bin, I am happy!
Michelle Leslie
Monday 1st of May 2017
How beautiful is that Mary. Wow, I think it's the perfect way to celebrate Spring and Mother Nature. Hope you have a wonderful, relaxing, nature filled May day my friend. Don't eat to much ;-)
Mary
Tuesday 2nd of May 2017
Michelle, we ate at home and went to the country in the afternoon, it is already too hot to function here. We get that sleepy feeling at about 2 pm and cannot go outside. But otherwise we had a great time and took lots of pictures.
Marissa_Travel Greece, Travel Europe blog
Monday 1st of May 2017
Love it! The wildflowers of Greece are so beautiful -- combination of red, yellow and purple. I look forward to it every year and love the wreath May Day tradition here.
Mary
Tuesday 2nd of May 2017
Marissa it is the best time of the year for me. Before it gets sweltering hot and we are dragging. And the aroma from all the blooming flowers is incredible.
Debrashoppeno5
Monday 1st of May 2017
This may be the prettiest wreath to date. I like how you took the natural elements and created the wreath. The red ribbon with the yellow flowers is so pretty.
Mary
Tuesday 2nd of May 2017
Thank you Debra, I am really liking that contrast with those strong colors.
Kim
Monday 1st of May 2017
Just lovely, Mary!! Happy May Day! :)
Mary
Tuesday 2nd of May 2017
Thank you Kim! I hope you also had a lovely May Day!