A Joy-Full Wreath: Fini!

So, you all read my first post about the wreath I was making for Joy, who entrusted me with some of her treasured vintage collection, right?  If not, click here to see it.

Well, here is the finished product:

And thanks to a serendipitous string of events including a friend who was traveling near to where she lives, Joy-Full is already safely at Joy’s house.  And she loves it!  Yay.

Remember this is where I started:

As you can see I was able to use a lot of what Joy sent me.  She wanted a Nativity-themed wreath.

Here is a look at the top half.  The first thing I placed was her angel because it seemed fitting to have her on top with the reflector directly beneath her, sort of like the Star.

You all have probably figured out by now that in most of my wreaths, I like to use a sort of “statement” piece that not only grabs your attention but sets the tone for the rest.  In this case, I got out one of my prized jumbo Poland teardrop ornaments and plopped it right there on the left below the “Star.”  The colors melded perfectly with the color scheme Joy’s ornaments dictated.

This is a view of the bottom half where the Nativity itself evolved.  This part was particularly  mentally and spatially challenging.  I enjoyed working to get it just so; it took quite me a lot of time and experimentation, especially with the placement of the Jewelbrite Wise Men and the “accessorizing” of them with some more color to keep them from fading out against the silver tinsel background.

This was about midway through.  I was little afraid that I had painted myself into a corner with the Wise Men at this point.  See how they just blend into the silver background?

At this stage, I had also used just about all of Joy’s ornaments that I could.  I was happy with the balance of the major pieces, especially how the topper complimented the jumbo Poland on the other side.  I also liked the subtle triangulation that went from the Nativity scene at the bottom to the angel and “Star” on the top.   It was time to flesh it out with stuff from my collection.

After thinking about it for a while, I decided to frame her wonderful West German Nativity ornament with trees, which somehow seemed fitting, and I also added a tiny gold angel to complete the scene.

Here’s a peek at the right side.  I used lots of bells throughout the wreath to compliment the theme.  I love the purple “church window” as well as the green Poland with the church painted on it.

Below are some other photos that show various details.  You can click on each picture to see it bigger.  Joy really does have some wonderful stuff!

It was a tremendous leap of faith for Joy to send me – a stranger – her treasures.

This is what she said about the finished product:

“TOTALLY GORGEOUS!!!   LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!!  

It is truly beautiful and exactly what I was looking for!!” 

I am so glad.  I love a happy ending.