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
This year I went to the farm a few days early to gather some vines. The How - ToTake 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.
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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.
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46 Comments
Aw, what a clever recycle Mary! Your wreath looks so pretty and just screams SPRING! Unfortunately my potatoes are in a brown mesh bag...not my favourite colour for spring, but hey, for Fall maybe? I hope you enjoy your May day and have a wonderful time picking more flowers!
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Mary
5/2/2017 01:56:25 pm
Aww, Katrin brown is not so spring like. I think I also saw some of them that were holding apples. And of course we have a ton of them at the farm in yellow for the lemons. I hope your May Day was enjoyable!
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5/1/2017 03:35:56 am
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 ;-)
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Mary
5/2/2017 03:23:27 pm
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.
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5/1/2017 05:07:55 am
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.
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Mary
5/2/2017 03:25:23 pm
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.
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5/1/2017 08:21:35 am
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.
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Mary
5/2/2017 03:26:11 pm
Thank you Debra, I am really liking that contrast with those strong colors.
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Mary
5/2/2017 03:27:50 pm
Thank you Kim! I hope you also had a lovely May Day!
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5/1/2017 09:48:29 am
Your May Day Wreath is beautiful, Mary! You captured the true meaning of Earth Day both with the pretty natural elements and use of recycled materials - love it. I'll never look at onion mesh the same way again after seeing this!
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Mary
5/2/2017 03:38:38 pm
Thank you Marie, it is not a great beauty or anything but it does have a deeper meaning. And of course I love those bright colors. Now off to find another mesh bag!
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5/1/2017 09:52:48 am
So clever Mary! You are so fortunate to have such beautiful flowers at your fingertips. Greece is such a gorgeous place, and your wreaths do it justice.
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Mary
5/2/2017 03:43:47 pm
Truth be told, Doreen I just grabbed some wildflowers I found in front of me. But there are gardens and streets that are full of beautiful flowers and the aroma is as if you are walking down paradise. This really is the best time of the year for me here. In the summer, because of the heat everything dries up , but now we have lush green colors
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5/1/2017 11:01:42 am
How pretty! I have some jasmine that needs to be pruned a bit. This would be a perfect way to use it! -Marci @ Stone Cottage Adventures
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Mary
5/2/2017 04:02:34 pm
Marci, Jasmine is my favorite flower. The aroma is just heavenly. It will certainly make a great wreath.
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Mary
5/2/2017 04:29:09 pm
Since the flowers are picked out in the farm I too like that feeling of freedom it has Lisa.
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Mary
5/2/2017 04:29:55 pm
Thank you Florence. It was a super easy wreath to make.
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5/2/2017 03:13:03 am
Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by!!
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Mary
5/2/2017 04:31:50 pm
Thank you Debbie! I hope you had a wonderful May Day!
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Mary
5/2/2017 04:32:52 pm
Thank you Beverly. I had spotted that mesh bag a while ago and was anxiously waiting to use it instead of having it end up in the landfill.
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This is splendid, Mary! I won't be making this on May Day, obviously, but when I get up north where we have loads of wild daisies in the summer, I think I'll add this to the cottage door. I'm surprised how well the mesh bag works -- it looks quite pretty and that's a wonderful tip!
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Mary
5/2/2017 04:34:35 pm
Jeanie I had seen this pretty one and could not bare to throw it out but was waiting for the perfect opportunity to use it somewhere. When I thought of the wreath this red color looked like the perfect contrast to the yellow flowers. Looking forward to your summer wreath!
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Such a great idea! I really like yours Spring wreath. Looks fantastic! Thank you for sharing.
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Mary
5/2/2017 06:09:12 pm
Happy Mad Day Magdalena. Thank you for visiting.
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What a lovely May day tradition, here in the UK way back in the day I think people did maypole dancing (we used to do that when I was at primary school but you don't see it so much these days - wow that makes me sound old!) Nowadays it's just a chance for a day off work for most people.
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Mary
5/3/2017 03:23:00 am
Thank you Julie, it was lovely, I went to the farm with the family and my daughter took a bunch of photos. Her photography is effortless while I have to work at it. Haha. But we had a great time. It is so important for us to try to stay close to nature.
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Mary
5/4/2017 09:18:18 am
Yes that netting was the secret ingredient Cindy! Hope you have a great weekend.
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5/4/2017 06:23:04 am
What a sweet tradition! I love your pretty wreath and the ones from prior years too. How festive your town must look when seeing all the fresh wreaths outside on everyone's door.
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Mary
5/4/2017 09:20:15 am
Wendi the streets smell like a flowershop all throughout spring. All the balconies are full of flowers (except mine) and even the streets have orange trees on the sidewalks with blossoms.
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5/4/2017 11:52:42 pm
Such a beautiful wreath Mary! I love how the yellow flowers pop against the green and that you have used recycled goodies to make it!! Pinned :-)
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Mary
5/5/2017 03:31:37 pm
I know you can relate to looking to revive or reuse old things Sam. Your blog is full of so many old things that you've reused. And although my mesh bag is not old is certainly deserves a little love. ;)
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Keri Roberts
5/5/2017 12:18:39 am
Mary, what an absolutely gorgeous wreath!! I love the combination of yellow and red! The mesh was a very clever move, nice. Your celebration of May Day sounds wonderful, I hope you enjoyed every minute my friend!! :)
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Mary
5/5/2017 03:33:04 pm
I did Keri, we went to the farm in the afternoon to avoid the noonday heat and it was wonderful. I even took a video which I'll be sharing soon.
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5/6/2017 01:57:32 am
Hi Mary, I love seeing the bright flowery wreaths people put on their doors. Strangely though it's not something we have ever done, probably due to my lack of craftiness (I don't care what my family says I am not crafty!... Maybe when it comes to sneaking a crafty chocolate or two!). Your wreath is so simple even someone like me could manage it.... I never really knew the story behind the wreath making, I thought it was simply because it was spring.
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Mary
5/6/2017 12:46:21 pm
Forget about being crafty Debbie, hehe you are too funny. I can definitely see getting crafty with the chocolate. I agree with you my wreath is so simple and that is what I aim for. No Styrofoam in my wreaths because it is bad for the earth. Simple and easy. Now go give it a try! And then post about it on the blog. :D
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Mary
5/7/2017 01:47:52 pm
Yes Maya we love doing this especially in such a country that is in full bloom by May the first.
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Amber Harrop
5/9/2017 05:51:49 pm
When we were kids we would go down to the woods and pick flowers for Mum on Mothers day this is like a really grown up version of that and I adore it
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Mary
5/11/2017 11:03:45 am
Yes that is so true Amber. I wish those kids of mine would do the same for me.
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5/10/2017 01:40:51 pm
I was so busy with work that I don't have a May Wreath yet! The cool thing is that now I can make one using your fabulous tutorial!
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Mary
5/11/2017 11:05:47 am
Katerina, it is good to be busy but not on May Day! Anyway the wreath can stay up for a long time. Καλο Μηνα!
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Welcome
I'm Mary and I recently moved to New York from beautiful Greece. I like to re-purpose and up-cycle anything that is old or looks like junk. Join me as we use our creativity to spark some life into old things. And do it frugally! You will also see lots of photography of my Greece and New York. Follow me
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