Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Opening Day Wreath

"We're all behind our baseball team... Go Get em' Detroit Tigers... Go get em' Tigers!"






I bet the women of 1968 wished they had this baseball wreath to hang up on their door! 

I wish I could say that this idea is all mine but it isn't.  The idea stemmed from a baseball wreath that I saw on this Tutorial :  Baseball Wreath at Oops I craft My Pants  She used kiddie party favor baseballs that were hot glued to a wreath.

Not only was the wreath a phenomenal idea but she made some great "game day ticket" invites and the list of baseball-ness goes on.

 I thought it would be super awesome to have something like it on our door for opening day and well depending how awesome the Tigers do this year maybe the whole darn season!!   Opening Day is a national holiday at our home it is the only day that my husband can manage to get off work early.  ;)  

Keith asked me what I was doing tonight and started to peek into the garage.  I told him that he will either think that what I am doing is totally awesome or completely sacrilegious!  Sacrilegious because I had plans to mix soft and hard balls together and well the part where I drill holes through baseballs that still have some life left.

Supplies:
  • For this specific wreath you will need 4 baseballs and 8 softballs.  (baseballs only -14)
  • 1/4 inch drill bit that makes holes
  • Electric drill
  • pliers
  • elbow grease
  • 2+ feet of heavy gauged wire or a coat hanger
  • Ribbon or other decorative items
Project time: (45 minutes)


I picked these beauties up at Play It  Again Sports for $1.50/each.  You can buy a bag of new hardballs (12 for $19) there but I didn't like the logos and I kind of like the old look/feel to this.  Drill a hole in each baseball until 1/4 drill bit comes all the way through.  The leather gets a little stinky just to warn you.  Make sure you remove all lose clothing because you are leaning on the drill and pressing down to get the bit to go all the way through the baseball.  I also placed a small 1x2 under the ball while drilling to protect the work bench area.




Measure your metal wire and or bend your coat hanger into a circle.  If you are using a coat hanger, you will want to make sure the end that is being used to "thread" the baseballs is smooth and you have removed the wrinkled or ridged section of wiring.  The baseballs are pretty stubborn during the initial threading period.





Thread the baseballs on the wire.  You will need a little bit of elbow grease and I found it easier to use pliers to hold the wire once threaded to further pull it through the baseball.   For this wreath, I made a pattern of 1 hardball, 2 softballs, repeat.

 After all of the baseballs are threaded, use the pliers to bend the heavy gauged wire downward to create a P.


Remove any excess wire on the other end and thread  the other end of the wire through and begin bending to form a knot.  You want to make sure that this keeps together tightly because the weight of your newly created wreath will hang from this pressure point.

 Add embellishments, hang on your front door and go cheer on your favorite team!



This blog will visit the following parties

36 comments:

  1. Cute! Since I have a house full of boys this wreath idea is one they will like. Thanks for the tutorial. Found you from HoH party.

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    1. Suzanne - thanks for stopping by! I hope you give making it a try! Someone mentioned that they could do this with their son's "game balls" - that sounded like a good idea and probably better than raiding the local Play It Again Sports! If you decide to make it, let me now how it turned out!

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  2. Ok, well, I don't agree with the Tigers part, hehe, but I looove the wreath!! My boys would love it! Go Yanks, btw :)

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    1. Lyuba - There is a Yanks fan in every crowd! Thanks for taking a peek!

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    2. Yeah. What she said. Except... Go Royals!

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  3. Cute idea! There aren't many crafts the guys can appreciate but I think this is def one of them. : D
    Thank you so much for linking this up! I truly appreciate your participation in "Cowgirl Up!" and I hope you'll join us again next week.
    Hugs,
    ♥Linsey

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    1. Linsey - Thank you for stopping by! I agree with you this wreath has all of the necessary items... baseball and power tools!

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  4. Stopping by from Momnivore's Dilemma blog hop. This is great!!! http://craftyandcookingmomma.blogspot.com/

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  5. Super cute. I LOVE this idea. Now that's a hardcore baseball fan if I've ever seen one. Go Bo Sox's!!

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  6. Girl! This is super cool and I think you have such talent. I am also fairly new to blogging and know how hard it is to balance it with family and life, and in your case, community!
    I want to award you with the Liebster Award! Come check my blog- Swirlygirl Dreams & Decor- where I referred to your awesomeness!
    Sheila

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    1. I popped by real quick but I'll be back over tomorrow to take a look at yor blog. Thanks for stopping by!

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  7. This was great! I know so many people who would love this too! Thanks for sharing your tutorial!

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  8. Found this through Made in a Day, and I have to say I love the creativity you've got going on! I thought I'd seen it all, wreath-wise, but this is super clever. I'm a baseball girl myself, so this is one wreath I can appreciate!

    www.makinglemonadeblog.com

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  9. Wow! This is awesome! I wish someone at this house played baseball just so I could make this! I don't suppose I could make one out of soccer balls? Lol! Thanks for sharing! :)

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    1. Lol - that is funny... they would end up deflated right?

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  10. This would be great for my husbands man cave!! :)

    I would love for you to share this at my Flaunt It Friday link party. There are also TWO amazing giveaways this week!

    http://www.dottedlinecrafts.com/2012/03/flaunt-it-friday.html

    Looking forward to more posts,
    Sarah@
    www.dottedlinecrafts.com

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  11. I shared this on my Facebook page! Thanks for linking up to the FFA party. I just love this wreath!

    Hannah

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  12. Oh my gosh I am so excited about this post! I was just thinking about how I would decorate my front window after Easter. BASEBALL! I have a little player and this wreath and other baseball stuff in the front window will be perfect. Thanks!

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    1. Leah - Thanks so much for popping by and for pinning this. My gosh - your pin has gone crazy! I think I have had 300+ visitors from your pin to my page. That is craziness. I am glad you like and if you make one, please let me know - post back and I'll go take a look. Your front window sounds awesome! I hope your little player's season goes great!

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  13. I knew the minute I saw the thumbnail of this that I wanted to feature it on this week's Motivated Monday at BeColorful so I linked it up today. Thanks so much for joining in the party.
    Have a great week.
    pam

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  14. This is really cute. Are you guys from Detroit? or Michigan? I moved to the area about 6 years ago. A friend of a friend did her whole wedding around the Tigers - had wedding pics taken outside the stadium, Tiger colors etc. - really awesome.

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    1. Karen - Thanks for stopping by! We grew up as "river rats" south of Detroit. I went to school at Western so love love K-zoo but spent my very early years in "God's Country" near Roscommon/West Branch area. So a little bit of all over but downriver is most considered home. Right now we are in Colorado. A Detroit Tigers wedding sounds awesome! That must have been fun!

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  15. Love this! Creative and so perfect for this time of year!

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  16. Thank you so much for being a part of the creative sharing at Rook No. 17! I hope we'll have the pleasure of your company and creativity at tomorrow's "A Little Birdie Told Me..."

    Warmest wishes,
    Jenn

    P.S. I'm spotlighting your post on my Facebook page today!

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  17. This is awesome! Stopping by from Blackberryvine!

    makingitfeellikehome.blogspot.com

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  18. Super Cute idea! And that Tigers Gnome is adorable! LOL Thanks for linking up at DIY Thrifty Thursday at www.thrifty101.blogspot.com You've been featured! Stop by this week and grab an "I was featured button". Hope to see you again!

    Michelle

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  19. how fun! I love it! I have got to find some old balls so I can make one of these for my brother in law!

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  20. This is such a cute idea. This is perfect for spring training season, or just for the baseball lover in the house. Great job!

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  21. This is great! Well done! :)
    http://dixie-n-dottie.blogspot.com/

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  22. What a great idea for a wreath! Thanks for linking up!
    Kim@madeinaday
    http://madeinaday.com

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  23. This is awesome! Love how non traditional this is for a wreath and just perfect for a houseful of sports fans! Hope you will share with my Pink Hippo party @ http://pinkapotamus.blogspot.com/2012/04/pink-hippo-party-74.html

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  24. This is awesome. My on will love it - because I must make him one! Thanks for inking up to Tickled Pink a couple of weeks ago...I am behind, but featuring this this weekend.

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  25. This is the cutest thing - my softball pitchers would love this!!

    And I happen to have a few gnomes in my yard that would love to nestle inside.
    Kelly

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  26. Excellent! I was browsing, trying to find some ideas for a coach's gift for my son's little league team. This is perfect and once I read that you are a Detroit Tiger fan and a native "Michigander" I knew this was it, the perfect "thank you" for our coach....though I now live in CA, my heart belongs to the lakes of my native state MI.
    Amy

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  27. I love this wreath! I found you through a web search for baseball wreath ideas. My little brother and his girlfriend love baseball! Their doormat is shaped like home plate and says home so a baseball wreath would fit in perfectly for them. I can't wait to make it for them, I know they'll both love it! Thanks ~ Cindy

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