How to Make a Beaded Fall Wreath

A beaded wreath that can be used for any season, simply by switching out the interchangeable DIY design swags that you create, like this Fall foliage and pumpkins design! Perfect for those with limited storage space.

Fall wreath with natural pumpkins and foliage

Have you ever seen something and been blow away by its brilliance? This interchangeable DIY wreath was something that blew me away!

I first saw it on The Shabby Creek Cottage's Instagram page. Gina came up with this idea and I love it! Watch her video and then come back here and I'll show you how I changed things up a little bit to make this wreath my own and decorated it for fall.

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Wow, right? If you watched that video, I'm sure you're as inspired as I am. Beaded wreaths have been HOT for a couple years now and I'm excited to show you step by step how I created a fall swag for my four-season beaded wreath. And best of all, how I did it for about $30, which, if you have ever shopped for wreaths, is super cheap for a gorgeous handcrafted wreath.

How to make a four-season beaded Fall wreath

You can now buy beaded wreaths at the craft store, but I had the supplies at home to make my own. This is a great way to save money if you're on a budget, and still get that high-end look.

I started with a wood embroidery hoop that I found at the thrift store for $1.50. I also had a large stash of wood beads from last Christmas (I made these ornaments and this farmhouse Christmas sign).

I buy my wood beads in bulk on Amazon, so I had a lot leftover for this project. I simply hot glued the beads, end to end (matching the holes so they'd be hidden), along the rim of the hoop. I left a space at the bottom to attach the DIY swag. You can see the video of how I did this on my YouTube channel HERE.

So far, I've only made a Fall swag, and that's what I'm showing you how to do today. But, I've got ideas brewing for the rest of the swags and I'll share those as I make them.

This is a great time to remind you to follow me on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and Pinterest, and subscribe to my blog so you don't miss anything!

Let's make a beautiful Fall swag for our beaded wreath! Set aside the beaded wreath for now, we'll get to that after we create our DIY swag design.

Step One: prep the foam

Cut a foam wreath base in half, and then half again (a serrated knife is best for this). Make sure you buy one that is the same size as your beaded wreath. For instance, my embroidery hoop that I'm using as a wreath base is 14" so I purchased a 14" foam wreath. You'll be left with 4 equal pieces but we'll only need one for today's fall swag.

Cut three 16" lengths of jute and wrap one around each end and the middle of the foam piece, knotting tightly. Secure with hot glue. You'll be left with some dangly bits (that is what will secure the design swag to the beaded wreath, so don't cut them too short like somebody I know did - insert face smack).

cut a foam wreath in fours and tie with jute

Step Two: prep the floral stems

I bought nearly all my floral picks from Hobby Lobby and everything was on sale. Even so, I'm frugal and tried not to spend too much BUT if you want a nice, full wreath, you will need to buy quite a lot of stuff. My suggestion is to combine dollar store florals with craft store ones to get a full looking wreath that is still budget friendly.

*Tips when purchasing stems -

inexpensive florals like eucalyptus are a great base and because they're full, will take up a lot of square footage and fill in space; also remember you don't need long picks as you'll be cutting them up into smaller pieces (the shorter picks are usually much cheaper at the craft store so purchase those)
look for accent pieces that add a little more drama and aren't all alike (see my wreath for details)
find something for the middle that really draws the eye (like the florals in Gina's wreath, and the pumpkins in mine)
buy items with multiple branches that you can snip off; remember that you'll be decorating two sides so make sure you buy equal amounts

Use wire cutters to snip all your floral picks apart into smaller pieces.

Step Three: build the floral swag

Making a wreath can be fairly personal. You buy what you like and put it together how it looks good to your eye. The following tips are my suggestions and what I did. You don't have to follow this plan exactly.

add stems to foam wreath base, using glue and wire as needed

I started by inserting the base florals into the ends of the foam piece, and then I built on that, adding pieces that overlapped. I had to use hot glue and craft wire to hold the stems in place when I couldn't poke the ends into the foam.

I just built on it gradually, making sure both sides looked balanced. My center design (the woven pumpkins) were hot glued into place and then I tucked a few more items around them to both disguise the green foam base and to make it look nice and full.

Step Four: tie the swag to the wreath base

Finally, you want to tie the decorative swag using the three pieces of jute to the beaded wreath. In my case, I tied it in the open section without beads. I didn't knot the jute, but tied bows so that I could easily remove the swag and switch it out for another one.