Right before Christmas, Rich and I were in a store called Family Dollar and they had big boxes of red and gold plastic ornaments in different shapes and finishes. They were 75% off, so I got them, as well as two Ho Ho Ho ornaments, and was on my way. Before going home, we stopped at Dollar Tree and bought another tube of red and gold small ornaments and the wreath frame I needed. If you have Christmas (non-glass) ornaments you’re sick of, this is a great way to give them new life. Since you probably can’t find clearance ornaments now, going through the things you’ve recently stored, might be the answer, although I was just at a thrift store and saw a great big container of ornaments similar to the ones I used on this wreath.
I had a smaller foam wreath frame to make a wreath for my great nephew, Finn’s, bedroom door, so using very old Stampin’ Up grosgrain ribbon and hot glue, I covered the small wreath with the red and off white ribbon. I didn’t show wrapping the ribbon as I’ve done several videos showing this system and here’s one you can follow in detail. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ax5oMWPwRE Once the wreath was wrapped, it was simply a matter of gluing the HoHoHo to it and it was finished. I really thought it turned out cute.
I apologize in advance for not having a photo of the finished ornament wreath, as I gave it to my girlfriend as soon as it was finished and then smacked myself on the head when I realized I hadn’t photographed it, but didn’t want to ask her to….but these things happen, you know me.
To make the ornament wreath, you definitely need a mix of colors, textures and sizes, which is why, if you have a ton of old plastic ornaments you’re tired of using on a tree, you can make a really pretty wreath with them. THEY MUST BE PLASTIC...that’s so important, as you don’t want to have any mishap that would mean having a bunch of very thin glass shattered all over your doorstep. I liked having some with glitter, some super shiny, some with a distinct embossing on them. It was also important to have what I’ll call “fillers.” You’ll find small gaps when making this wreath, and for me, using my stash came in really handy here. I had a bunch of small red and gold metal bells and those were so easy to jam in small holes where you could still see the wreath form.
I didn’t mention this earlier, but when we got the wreath from Dollar Tree, Rich lightly tossed it into my craft room and it broke…and then when we tried to glue it to hold in place, it broke in another spot, so I probably should have covered it with ribbon to hide those flaws, but decided the ornaments would cover the front and I wasn’t worried about what the back looked like, but in retrospect, probably should have thought that through..Oh well..
You will need a lot of hot glue sticks and even more ornaments. Lay your wreath flat on your working surface.. I covered mine with kid’s drawing paper from Dollar Tree, as I knew there would be glitter and hot glue covering it before I was done and wanted an easy way to clean up. Here’s the drawing pad link: https://www.dollartree.com/scribble-pads-9×12/819351 They’ve changed the size and design, so you can use newspaper instead.
Start on the outside of the wreath and use your largest balls (it will be easier for me to call them balls than ornaments so that’s what I’ll call them going forward.) Hot glue the hanging part of the ball to the top or side of the foam wreath, depending on the ball’s size. I found large balls worked best glued to the upper part of the curve, while the slightly smaller ones glued best to the side of the wreath.
Don’t worry if you end up having a spot where you can’t put a ball or if it messes up your pattern of colors, leave a gap and that’s where we’ll put the bow. Next for the very inside of the wreath, glue smaller balls here. Then you’ll glue a variety of sizes on the top, then it’s a matter of filling holes, making sure there isn’t one spot on the side of the wreath that’s missing the dimension of an additional ball. Just keep finding spots to fill and glue the balls together. The very top layer should be your smallest balls and bells.
Once you’re happy with the shape and coverage of balls on your wreath, it’s time for your bow. I bought gold and red wire trimmed ribbon and then immediately lost it. (When you aren’t walking, you lose things the minute you hand them off to be put away,) I hate the bow I ended up with, and plan on replacing it once I find my wired ribbon. You’ll need a pipe cleaner or floral wire, about 1 ft long. I made a loop of ribbon about 6-8″ long and made a lot of loops of ribbon. The more loops, the better the bow. Once you have enough loops to make a full bow, cut the end and using your wire or pipe cleaner, tie it around the center of your loop and make it as tight as possible. You’ll want the center to be scrunched. Then either twist the wire or tie it leaving the excess wire in place. To make the bow full, take the center most loop and pull the first one upward, the second one down, doing both the same, until you’re done. You’ll push one side of the leftover wire through the wreath and the other side of wire through the other side of the foam and then twist it tight in the back, then snip it off or hide it. I made another loop of ribbon and glued it to the back of the top of the wreath and the wreath was finished.
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