Ornament Wreath

I have seen this Christmas project all over blog world (Eddie Ross, Just a Girl) but just got around to doing it myself.  It was one of those projects that I read about and thought, omg, how easy is that?  Then after getting the supplies and getting  home, I thought, omg, what have I gotten myself into?  Heeeeelp!

Although I'm pretty happy with the end result, don't let those other blogs fool you.  This was no "five minute craft project."  Luckily I have an incredibly artsy husband (the sewing machine on our wedding registry was thanks to his asking) who helped me through it.  If you want to try this project for yourself, I recommend visiting one of the two sites above.  They give super specific instructions with pictures.  I intended to take pictures at every step, buuuut after the confusion and frustration set in, that went right out the window.  And for those of you who aren't super crafty, I'll give you the real scoop about how to survive this project!  See the confusion process here :)

After reading about the project online, I rushed to Hobby Lobby and the Dollar Store to snatch up ornaments on sale.  I was debating doing a silver and red color scheme or a brown and gold color scheme, but luckily Matt (aka: artsy husband) suggested using all four colors in one wreath.  A much better idea.  After I laid all these ornaments out, I had my omg moment.  I was looking at all this glittery globes thinking, what in the world have I done?!

Start by hot gluing the tops of the ornaments in place.  No matter how sturdy you sweeeear those little suckers are, they are not.  Glue them in place, but encircling the top the top with a gob or two of hot glue.  You won't see the tops of the ornaments once they're on the wreath, so don't worry if they look janky and messy.  Also, no one bothered to tell me to use PLASTIC ornaments.  Maybe everyone just assumed I'd figure that part out, but ahem, you know what they say about ass-u-me.  I was ready to stock up on glass ornaments when my husband talked some sense into me.  (Again, crafty sidekick needed for this project.)

To help the hot glue drying process, I got out my muffin tins and set them in there to dry.  I doubt my friend Katie had this in mind when she bought me the Crate and Barrel baking set for my bridal shower, but hey, use what you've got!  Depending on how hot your glue gun is, the ornaments should take about five or so minutes to dry.

Now here's where things got crazy for me.  I can't do the next several steps justice, so please, utilize the professional crafters instructions for these steps.  However, I do have a few more tips.  One, do not use a white hanger.  It shows through like crazy.  Go for a copper dry cleaning hanger or something like that.  Two, use several different sizes of ornaments.  This will help fill the in the gaps.  Three, if your wreath looks slightly lopsized at the end (our first attempt did) offset it with a bow around the 2 o'clock position.  Instant fix!

Now for our finished product...(I know you're just dying to see...)

Not bad huh?  This was our second wreath, which is now hanging on my parents' front door.  We also made one for Matt's sister for Christmas (which we celebrated over Thanksgiving.)  So what do you think?  Think you can give it a try?  Remember, grab a sidekick (preferrably a crafy one) to help you with this project.  Even if they're not crafty, they can at least lighten the mood when you have your own OMG moment.  And if all else fails, you have someone to abandon the project and grab a glass of wine with if this wreath project goes sour :)

All kidding aside, I think these wreaths look super cute and they also make great gifts for friends and family.  Just remember to give them early so your loved ones can enjoy them for the next couple of weeks!  Happy wreathing yall!