The perks of making a project multiple times is that you tend to learn from mistakes.. That’s exactly what happened when I decided to make another oyster wreath for our house in time for the holidays.  The supplies are basically the same from the first oyster wreath project, but the results are a little different.

Lesson 1: Prep the backing

First, spray paint the wreath backing to the color of your choice.  I did mine a silvery color which would blend in with the oysters, and match most of my stuff.  This saves you from painting the sides, and around the oysters later (like I went back to do last time..).

Lesson 2: Fatter wreath

I liked the width of the first wreath, but since the wreath is a little bigger than most (18″ versus a 12″ backing), I decided I wanted mine to be a little wider and cut down on the empty space in the middle.  Instead of just having one row of shells on the wreath backing, I made mine about 2 shells wide.  Since part of the shells go over the backing, glueing the shells down securely is key — I really don’t think you can have too much liquid cement!

Lesson 3: Bigger shells

The original wreath used several medium to small shells, which were then topped with smaller shells.  Since I knew to look for flatter shells this time around, I also looked for bigger shells to use for the foundation, and then smaller shells to layer on top of.  The foundation shells really need to be flat to glue onto the wreath, while the others can have more abnormal shapes.

Lesson 4: Loop to hang from

I’m sure there was no issue hanging the original wreath at the party, but you never know with shells since they can easily break and are heavy.  I decided to make a loop on the back of my wreath, using hot glue and twine wrapped around a few times, to make it easier to hang.  It’s not pretty, but it’s functional.

 Lesson 5: Embellish

I left the first wreath plain since Maggie finished it off with a bow, but this time any embellishments were up to me.  Since I wanted to use this during Christmas, and other times throughout the year, I added a simple natural bow (with some sparkles since I was feeling crazy) at the bottom that wasn’t too seasonal, and jazzed it up with spanish moss and a starfish.  Plus I attached the bow with some wire, so it’s easy to change if I want.

I also painted a quick sign to hang on it during Christmas.  Look familiar?  I love this quote for a beachy Christmas touch and used it on last year’s wreath too.

The finished product is much different from the first one I made, but hey.. practice makes perfect.

I think we can all agree my Christmas wreaths are getting better…