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DIY Holiday Wreaths…

Wreaths are a great way to decorate any time of year and true to my #nofuss Mom sensibilities, I love that they are easy to make and budget-friendly. Clearly, I’m not a gal that thinks that wreaths are only for the holidays. My dollar-store Halloween wreath was a favorite that I can’t wait to hang for years to come. Wreaths are great because you can look like a DIY crafting superstar without breaking a sweat. I can pretend that I’m brimming with MSG (Martha Stewart Gene).

Create a theme, tell a story, shadowbox with favorite ornaments from your family. Wreaths make excellent gifts. Have a friend or family member that is dog crazy?! Make them a wreath loaded with ornaments paying tribute to their favorite canine friends. Word of advice: do not get too creative in dog town, as I know somebody who took picture frames and hot glued bone shaped dog treats to the edge of the frame, which was incredibly cute, but her dog thought they were delicious and knocked down an entire bookshelf trying to get her edible bounty 😉

Right now, is the perfect time to get your holiday wreath goodies because many stores have already marked down their gear 50%-75% off. Michaels is a great place to source all your crafting needs and if you go to their site or get on their mailing list you can get great discounts.

What you’ll need:

Wire cutters

Green Floral wire

Battery operated led lights

Low temp glue gun (optional)

Wreath

Ornaments & Ribbon

Step 1: Create a workspace and lay out all your tools and craft items. This is seemingly common sense, but I’m as guilty as the next crafter for not having everything within arm’s reach which always bites you in the rear later.

Step 2: Fluff wreath and figure out which is top/bottom. Check the back as there is usually a pre-defined loop or hook for hanging. You can also add floral wire to where you want to hang.

Step 3: Take floral wire and make a couple loops around the battery pack of the light. Then attach battery pack the back of the wreath, feeding the lights through to the front of the wreath. Next lay the lights on top of wreath to measure spacing before you start working them into the wreath.

Step 4: Place ornaments (and any items you want to attach) on the wreath. Take a picture as this will be your “blueprint” to refer to as you build your wreath.

Step 5: Floral wire or glue gun (low temperature) items to the wreath. If I had all the time in the world I would opt to floral wire most items to my wreaths, however that is not always possible. There are times when glue gun is the better choice. Do be careful when using glue guns about melting things (including the wreaths themselves!! Low temperature is always your safest bet when using a glue gun on wreaths. Slow and steady wins the race. If using a glue gun make sure you have something protective under your workspace. The glue tends to drip through. Also, make sure to let wreath dry for at least an hour before attempting to hang,

All my wreaths and decorating items were on sale, which made my total cost per wreath around $20 which is less than half the price of ones that you buy online or in the store.