Tools and materials About 12 evergreen branches, each 2 to 3 feet in length, which will be cut into smaller pieces. Try to use a variety of greens, if possible. If you can’t collect them yourself, greens can be purchased from florists or nurseries. A 12- to 14-inch wreath form, which should be available at craft stores. The simple metal circular form has clamps every few inches that are hammered shut to hold greenery. Green floral wire. About 4 yards of holiday ribbon. Two pine cones. A hammer. Pruning shears. First, make a bow 1. Cut a little more than a foot of green floral wire and set aside. 2. Pinch the ribbon about a foot up from one end. Squeeze the ribbon between your thumb and index finger at that 1-foot point to make a pleat. 3. Make a loop on the top and meet at the same point; pinch to pleat. 4. Make a loop on the bottom (like a figure-eight; about the same size as the first loop) and meet at the same point; pinch to pleat. You should be holding all loops together with one hand. 5. Make another loop on the top that’s slightly larger than the first set; pinch to pleat. Continue this figure-eight looping pattern until you’ve made a total of six loops. 6. Wrap the green wire very tightly around the point where you’ve been pinching the loops together (at the middle of the figure-eight). 7. Once the wire is secured, you can arrange your loops into a bow and cut the other end of the ribbon to match the original foot-long tail. If this doesn’t work, craft stores have a variety of bows to purchase, or may be willing to help. Making the wreath 1. Start by cutting any long offshoots (8 to 14 inches) from the main stems. Try not to cut off pieces that are too small, as they won’t stay in the clamps of the wreath form. Then, cut the main stems into sections of about 8 to 14 inches in length. 2. Take a pretty good handful of greens to place in the first clamp of the wreath. (About five to six cut pieces). If using different varieties of evergreens, layer so that the denser varieties are on the bottom and lighter pieces on top, to provide contrast. 3. Place the handful of greenery into a clamp on the wreath form so that it rests in one clamp, but make sure the ends of the stems extend into the next clamp a few inches to the right. The bushy part of the greens should point to the left and the stems should point to the right, so they rest in the next clamp. 4. Use a hammer to bend the clamp over the branches and hammer the clamp closed until the branches are held snugly. 5. Take another handful of greenery and repeat the process in the clamp directly to the right until you come full circle and reach the final clamp. (The bushy part of the second handful of greenery, for example, should cover the stems of the first and so on.) You can turn the wreath form as you work. 6. When you have one clamp left, lift the greenery that’s secured in your first clamp and tuck the stems of the last section of greenery under it. You’ll want to use just a few pieces of greenery for the final clamp. 7. Once your wreath is assembled, turn it over and trim any stems that may poke out along the back. 8. Submerge the wreath in water overnight to let it soak up moisture. The wreath should last several weeks. 9. Locate the skimpiest section of your wreath and fasten the bow there with green floral wire. 10. Wrap pieces of green wire around the tops of the pine cones and attach them wherever you desire, to finish off the wreath. You could also add a variety of other trimmings, such as holly or small ornaments.