Make Your Own Christmas Ornament Wreath

Did you know that you can take a wreath form, some ornaments, ribbon, beads and a glue gun, and make a gorgeous holiday wreath? You can! It’s easy, too. It takes a little time, but in the end, it’s SO worth it.

I used to be crafty. All the time! Then I had kids, and all that goes along with them got in the way. Not that that’s a bad thing! I love my kids. But I got out of the habit of making things for myself, and into the habit of usually buying stuff already made.

A few weeks ago, all of that changed. I actually felt like grabbing a glue gun and making something. Something pretty, kind of funky…and my mind ended up thinking about ornament wreaths. Ooooh yeah.

I’ve wanted to make one of these for a few years now (but didn’t feel like it!), and I finally decided to just take the plunge. I hit a couple of stores, bought my supplies, and then…and then…had to wait. I hate waiting when I get an idea in my head! But I was so busy at the end of last week, that I couldn’t get to this until Friday night, and then finishing it up Saturday afternoon. So, yeah--my guess is this wreath took me about 2-2 1/2 hours in all. Not too bad, I think!

My husband teased me when he saw all of my bags of craft stuff. He said “So, how long are these bags going to sit here? You gonna make something we can finally use next Christmas?” Funny. I made both wreaths that I planned on making, and only have a few more decorations to hang in the windows. So he can suck on that, haha!

Let’s get to it. Here’s what you need, or what I used for mine:

1. A wreath form. The foam ones were squared off on the edges, and I didn’t really like them, but you can use one if you like. I decided to go with a straw one, center diameter 12 inches. Take the plastic wrap off, but don’t remove the thread that’s wrapped around it! $4.99 (Also, it was a lot cheaper than the foam one!)
2. Wide ribbon (I went with silver). You need a good amount. I picked up a large 90 foot roll at Hobby Lobby that was 50% off--it cost $5.00, normally $10. It’s more than enough.
3. A boatload of ornaments. Seriously. Buy more than you think you’ll need. If you have extra, you can always toss them in a pretty glass vase or bowl for extra decorating. I bought a large container with 45 shatterproof larger ornaments, 2 boxes of 8 count larger ornaments, and 4 cylinders of smaller ones--20 count in each one. $37.00 total.
4. A string of silver beaded garland. I have no clue how long this was, sorry. Oh, and you can use any color you like, but shiny is best! (Make sure they’re not just loose beads on the string, because you’ll be cutting it up.) $2.00
5. Not necessary, but instead of the traditional bow, I picked up a funky little glittery-curly-bow-type silver ornament. $2.00
6. A glue gun and plenty of glue sticks.

-Begin by wrapping the ribbon all the way around your unwrapped wreath form. Glue one end of the ribbon the the wreath, and spiral it all the way around once, snipping and gluing the other end when you’ve wrapped the whole thing. You shouldn’t see any of the wreath form when you’re done.

-Cut a length of ribbon and make a hanger. Figure out how long you want it to be, then loop it around the wreath, securely gluing the two ends of the ribbon together to form your loop hanger.

-Start with the large ornaments, and glue them around the inside and outside edges of the wreath form. When you’ve done that, glue some on to the top of the wreath. You’re not going to put any on the back of the wreath.

-Fill in the gaps and spaces with the smaller ornaments. Don’t worry if you have some small spaces showing through, just do your best.

-Now, take the beaded garland, and without being measurey or technical, just snip it into lengths about 5-6 inches. (First make sure they’re not loose stringed beads, or you’ll have a mess!) Glue the ends of each cut piece together to form little loops, like teeny bracelets. Look over the wreath from different angles, and with the glue gun, add some glue to the closest ornaments so you can stick the beaded loops into the gaps. I just draped them into the gaps and added a bit more glue if needed to make them stick. It’s not as hard as it sounds, really. Just maybe harder to explain.

-If you’re adding a “bow” or fun ornament to the wreath, glue it into place now wherever you want it.

-That’s it! You’re done! Easy, right? Now hang it up!

Back of the wreath and close up of ribbon wrapped wreath:

• I ended up using every single ornament. I could have even used a few more!
• When I started, I looked at my table full of ornaments and thought, “Wow, I may even have enough to make another, smaller wreath!” Ha! Not even close. As I worked on it, I began to think, “Whoa. I think I’m going to need more ornaments!” I kept going, though, and like I said, had just enough.
• During the process, my daughter came in and said, “I don’t think that’s going to fit between the two doors, mom. Did you even think of checking?” She offered to go measure, and sure enough, that smartass was right. SO, this is currently hanging on my dining room wall. Still gorgeous, no matter where it is!
• Don’t be afraid to make this. If you’re worried that you’re not crafty, you’re fine! It’s not hard--it’s just a matter of gluing ornaments on and filling in the gaps. And hey, you only have to make it once! This thing isn’t extremely fragile. Just don’t go tossing it around like a shiny, bulby frisbee!

Here’s a close up of the “bow” ornament:

And here, you can get a better idea of how the beads fill in the gaps: