Ring around the rosie

My second attempt at craft blogging. I can already tell that this is going to be a time-suck, so we'll see how long I sustain it. I commend those who can!

Anyway, I saw this on Pinterest at the beginning of fall and have been obsessed with folding leaves ever since. My second obsession has been Halloween wreaths, and I made more than I had doors. A natural (pun intended) next step was to make a wreath out of the leaf flowers.

Since I'm new to this, I have no photos other than the finished product. The flower tutorial is here, and has plenty of lovely photos. They are very easy to make and are so pretty.

So I made a ton of these roses, and pinned them to a Target Dollar Spot styrofoam wreath. (Snatch some up if you can, as $1 is a bargain. Only problem is that they only come in orange, yellow, and purple, but that was perfect for this project.) I pinned a circle of larger-sized ones first, tucking the stems underneath as I went. (I did not cut the stems till the end.) Then I pinned a row of smaller ones around the center, but facing the opposite direction. And finally did the same around the outer edge, also in the opposite direction. Only then did I cut any stem stragglers, just to clean up the back. I pinned a ribbon to the back for hanging.

It took about an hour to make, probably 2 hours total if you count my initial attempts to tape the flowers to the wreath (floral tape doesn't stick well to $1 Target Styrofoam wreaths) and having to collect more leaves. You need a lot more than you'd think. I think I should spray it with something to preserve the leaves, but i'm not sure what to use. Ideas?