Naomi knows: How to make an ornament wreathTips on designing a festive holiday project
by Naomi Fujimoto
Published: November 1, 2012 Now that November is here, I'm gearing up for my holiday decorating. There's one project I've wanted to try for years: the ornament wreath. Googling "ornament wreath" brought up lots of options, but I thought I'd give my own set of instructions here, with some do's and don'ts I learned along the way.
Starting with: DO NOT use floral foam for the wreath base.
The solvents in spray paint will melt styrofoam. Oosh. If you do use styrofoam, paint it with an acrylic paint, or wrap it with ribbon. Or, if it's not a big deal to see a couple of white spots, just embellish it as is.
The wreath will "grow" as you decorate it. Using a 16-in. (41 cm) ring, I made a 20-in. (51 cm) wreath that's about 6 in. (15 cm) deep. If you can keep the wreath under 24 x 6 in. (61 x 15 cm), it will fit in one of those nifty plastic wreath boxes for storage.
Also consider where you'll be displaying your wreath. If it will be an indoor decoration, try vintage ornaments. If you'll be putting it on a door, go for shatterproof plastic ornaments, which can handle icy temperatures a bit better.
Supplies
• 16-in. (41 cm) foam ring
• 12–18 2¾-in. (7 cm) round shatterproof ornaments
• 30–50 2½-in. (6.4 cm) round shatterproof ornaments
• 50–70 2-in. (5 cm) round shatterproof ornaments
• 25–40 1¼-in. (3.2 cm) round shatterproof ornaments
• glue gun
• 20–30 4-in. (10 cm) glue sticks
• chainnose pliers
• scissors
• waxed paper
• toothpicks
• 15 yd. (13.72 m) ribbon, 1½ in. (3.8 cm) wide, or 3-oz. can spray paint
• 2–3 yd. (1.83–2.74 m) ribbon, 1½ in. (3.8 cm) wide
Foam ring, glue gun, and ribbon from Michaels. Ornaments from Kmart.
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Ornament wreath instructions | 1 / 6  |
Step 1: Buy extra supplies. The supplies will vary depending on the size of both the wreath base and the ornaments. If you have a specific palette in mind, you'll need more of some colors and will have extras of others left over. I prefer round ornaments, but if you use different shapes, it will be
easier to fill in gaps. And make sure to include some smaller
(1–1¼-in./2.5–3.2 cm) ornaments for the blank spots. (Save your receipts and return the packages you don't use.) Also, don't skimp on glue sticks. I used 19 4-in. (10 cm) glue sticks but could easily have opened a new pack.
TIP: For visual interest, use ornaments in different sizes and finishes. Try a combination of matte, shiny, frosted/glittery, and "etched" ornaments.
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