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Tutorial Tuesday #13 - Ornament Wreaths


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Today I wanted to share with you some ideas for making wreaths using glass ornaments. This is such a fun project and a great way to use ornaments found on clearance, at thrift stores and at yard and rummage sales. I tend to collect ornaments as I find them throughout the year then add just a few key ornaments that completes the story I'm trying to tell.

Supplies: You'll need lots of round glass ornaments in various sizes. It's best to keep with just a few colors then add a couple of interesting ornaments to help with your theme. You'll need a glue gun with lots of glue sticks, a Styrofoam ring in any size and some wire or ribbon to make a hanger for the back. Remember that your wreath will end up bigger than the Styrofoam because of the ornaments that extend beyond the edges of the wreath.

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To Get Started: Lay out your ornaments to get an idea of placement and colors. I start by gluing ornaments around the outside of the Styrofoam ring and some smaller ones toward the inside. Once I have a general idea of placement I remove the metal caps from the tops of the ornaments and apply hot glue to the part of the glass ornament where the metal cap was removed. While the glue is hot, carefully press it into the Styrofoam, holding it for a few seconds until it begins to cool and set. The heat from the glue should melt a hole into the ring. You may need to poke a small hole into the Styrofoam first if your Styrofoam isn't melting. This will vary depending on the type of ring you are using. Continue layering ornaments, filling in gaps and placing key ornaments around the top of the wreath. You will notice on my wreaths that the part of the ornament where I removed the metal cap doesn't show. Only the decorative novelty ornaments have their caps left on and those are mostly placed on the tops of the wreaths. 

Where to Shop for Novelty Ornaments: I've found that Micheal's has the best selection of novelty ornaments and you can pick them up just before and after Christmas for 50%-70% off or at a discount anytime with their coupon. World Market and Hobby Lobby are also good places to look as well as Home Goods during certain holidays. Hobby Lobby has Christmas out about seven or eight months out of the year and they also have a good selection of plain ornaments in bulk by color. 

On the Valentine wreath below I knew I wanted reds, pinks and whites with just a touch of black. The red, pink and white ornaments were purchased after Christmas on clearance and the blacks were on super sale after Halloween. I just added a couple of inexpensive Hobby Lobby heart ornaments and the champagne and cake ornaments from Michael's added a romantic feel.

This wreath started with a glittery heart shaped wreath purchased at Hobby Lobby instead of a circle. You can see a bit of the red heart showing in the photo below.

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I was going for a French patisserie look with this next one. I was lucky to find a croissant, Eiffel Tower, macaroon and other bakery related ornaments on clearance at Michael's just before Christmas.

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On each of your wreaths you'll want to keep the colors somewhat related. On this one I knew I wanted soft muted tones in blush and soft whites and creams. I felt fortunate to find french themed ornaments in the colors I wanted. Because the Eiffel Tower and large cake had a bit of gold on them I worked some gold throughout the entire wreath. You just need to be a bit flexible with the final color scheme since your selection of novelty ornaments will probably be limited.  Although the large cake ornament was probably intended as a wedding cake I felt like it worked here. The same for the smaller birthday cake. You may need to think slightly outside the box when selecting ornaments. 

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I thought it would be fun to insert some floral moss for an added touch of spring in this Easter wreath.

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Again the ornaments were all purchased at a discount except for the three bunnies and carrot. By selecting pastel colors these Christmas ornaments suddenly took on a very springy look.

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Notice I pulled colors from the bunny into the round ornaments that I selected. The carrot was kind of an odd ball but I thought the bunny needed a carrot. 😉

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I ended up wiring a green wispy wreath behind this wreath for an even bigger, bolder look.

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This Halloween wreath is slightly smaller than the wreaths above. I already had many of the tiny ornaments for this one and I wrapped the Styrofoam wreath with a vintage tinsel garland before gluing on the ornaments. You can see the garland peaking out through the spaces between the ornaments and I like the texture and sparkle that it adds. You could do this same wrapping technique for any of these wreaths.

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Well, as you can see, you can make these wreaths for any holiday or occasion. I think they would be fun in school or team colors, for the front door for a bridal or baby shower, for the Fourth of July and of course for Christmas or New Years. The only limitation is your imagination and your luck in finding the perfect ornaments. 

Happy hunting! 

Encourage one another,

Suzanne

 

 

 

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