Every year I make some Christmas wreaths using my damaged and tarnished ornaments. This year I had three tinsel wreath forms in storage, and that's what I used as a starting point. You could try this easy wreath project with a faux evergreen base, or a heavily flocked greenery base. But if you really want extra sparkle, a tinsel wreath base is recommended. I can't for the life of me remember where I bought these sparkly wreath forms, though! I've checked JoAnn Fabrics and Michael's, and they don't have them. Does anyone know where I can get more of these beauties? They are simple wired tinsel on a circular wire form:
I don't think a real tutorial is necessary for this project for you to give it a try. Basically, I start with the largest ornaments, hot glue them in a satisfying arrangement on the wreath, then add some medium size ornaments, and finally some small ones. I have also added some glittered snowflakes and poinsettias as filler.
First up is my monochromatic silver version:
I like to include some different shapes here and there, like bells or the little lantern shape below:
I had one red tinsel wreath form that I used for this multi-color version. After I took these pictures I actually hauled the wreaths back to my workshop and added even more ornaments. The more "ornies" the better! They are now for sale in my antique mall booths:
A closeup of one of the glittered snowflakes that I tucked in here and there:
One more example using silver base with multicolor ornaments:
As you can see in the picture below, I like to arrange my Christmas ornaments so that the tops show. That's my personal preference, but I've seen many of these wreaths where the tops of the ornaments are hidden. Which way do you prefer?
I purchased this florist's decoration from my friend Sharon. It was made in Japan, probably in the 1950's, and was intended to be attached to a greenery wreath. I love the delicate papier-mache bells and the lush metallic ribbon:
The bells each have pearls inside! Even with some cracking here and there, these bells are gorgeous:
So after I finished my three tinsel-based wreaths and admired my papier-mache bells, I still had more tarnished ornaments I wanted to use up. I found a fluted baking pan and decided to make a "wreath" of sorts with it. I've seen this idea in a magazine somewhere, maybe a couple years ago. I saved the image of a baking pan full of ornies in my head, always wanting to give it a try. Well, today was the day! I'll even try to walk you through the steps....
Step one is using an awl to pierce two holes in the pan so a ribbon, wire, or string can be strung through for a hanger. I used simple twine (not shown):
Step two, select a few larger ornaments as the anchors. To make sure the ornaments made a solid attachment to the fluted pan, I added some E-6000 glue to the bulbs I used in the bottom of the pan. I've heard hot glue isn't always permanent, and I didn't want to take any chances:
Next I glued some medium ornaments here and there, closing in the larger gaps:
I kept working along with my smaller ornaments and lots of hot glue, filling in the gaps. Finally, when I was satisfied, I ended up with this:
If you look closely, you can see where I added some gold glitter glue to cover up the evidence of the hot glue between the ornaments.
I'm calling this wreath the "Metallic Fruit Cake"! What do you think of it?
Now if you liked the Metallic Fruit Cake, you might like my last little creation. I happened upon the most charming pair of old wool mittens at the antique mall. They reminded me of Santa's mittens. With some imagination, I thought they would make a cool door decoration. All I did to make it was to arrange the mittens the way I wanted them, then sewed them together. I added some vintage ribbon and a button, and a loop to hang it with.
As I was taking pictures of my mitten door decoration, I noticed the cool vintage ribbon that says "Merry Christmas" was attached upside down. Rats! Since I was suffering from wreath fatigue, I decided not to replace the ribbon. So now, the Santa's Mittens Door Decoration is hanging on our front door. If I ever get around to changing the ribbon, I'll put it in the antique mall for sale.
It was fun using some unexpected finds for door decor. I've seen pairs of ice skates that look really great for a winter themed decoration. What unexpected items do you have around your home that could be made into something fabulous? I'd love to see what you come up with!
Mitzi
