Introduction: Autumn Wreath

About: I'm a restless vegan biologist who just love to cook, crochet and painting all day and all night! I love making gifts for my family and friends and I'm continuously looking for inspiration. DIY is one of my pa…

I love Autumn... It's my favorite season! I love the colors, I love the weather, I love those rainy days where you sit next to the window sipping a hot tea and maybe reading a good book..

Well, maybe I'm romantic but I love to recycle too...!!! So, this Instructable started to recycle toilet paper rolls... Yes, toilet paper rolls...! I've been collecting them because I always had in mind to do something with them, and finally I found a project I really liked! What is better than a wreath on your door to celebrate Fall?

Step 1: Supplies

This is a very cheap project too, as most of the supplies are really easy to gather! And guess what, there is a fun part where you have to collect some fallen red leaves! I did it when I was walking my dog, so me and Sugar (my little monster =^.^=) had a great time in countryside!

You'll need:

  • White glue
  • Liquid glue
  • Hot glue gun
  • Toilet paper rolls (I used 9 rolls to make a 24cm diameter, if you want a bigger wreath use more)
  • Leaves
  • Some walnut shells or whatever you like to decor your wreath that remind you of Autumn (I used wulnut shells, chestnuts, acorns)
  • Some flowers if you want
  • Red ribbon for hanging
  • Some hairspray (try to use eco-friendly..! ^_^ )

First thing you have to do is to dry the leaves or they will turn in a moldy mess! Don't forget that there are microorganisms on the leaves that decompose them and moisture helps this process. So, I made a makeshift press tool in which I placed the leaves between papers ( I used printer paper but newspapers work as well) and then all papers between two cardboards and two pieces of plywood, I placed clamps and let dry for 5-6 days. If your leaves are not dry untill then, leave them some days more. When dry, you can spray some hairspray to add some brightness, moreover with the hairspray the leaves are less likely to fragment.

Step 2: Making the Support Base and Gluing the Leaves

1. Make some incisions at the one end of the toilet paper roll to ease the process of joining the rolls. To prevent the rolls from disassembling, secure ends with staples

2. Once you make the paper wreath, it's time to glue the leaves. First, apply some liquid glue on the rolls for the first layer of leaves. Don't be too much precise, it doesn't matter because you need to make 2-3 layers.

3. Using a brush, apply white glue on the leaves. This will make the leaves hard and won't break apart. Continue to do this on both sides untill you got the desiderate thickness of layers.

4. With a hot glue gun apply all the other decorations like walnuts, acorns, chestnuts, flowers. Remember to place a ribbon where you want and don't glue anything there.

You're done! Hang up the wreath on your door and admire your work...!!!