Introduction: Whimsical Ornament Wreath

About: Multi faceted artist, petrol head, vinyl wrapping all the things. There is always room for Improvement and always something else you can learn.
I love Christmas. Plain and simple, but I have never really LOVED a majority of the decorations that coincide with the holiday (big bulky LED lights, tacky garland that my cat loves to eat) you get the picture.. When I saw these quirky wreaths made of ornaments, I had to make one.
It was surprisingly easy to make, literally anyone can do it, so I'm going to show you how.
This is my first instructable, so bear with me.

Step 1: Gathering Your Supplies

This project involves a lot of stuff you probably have already laying around your house, if you don't, all of it can be found at your local dollar store.

YOU WILL NEED:
-Some sort of wreath form (I used the circular wood looking thing pictured) you can use whatever, foam etc.

-Hot glue gun & hot glue sticks

-Scissors

-Scotch tape will make this easier

-Something to hang the wreath , they carry the over the door hanging pieces at my dollar store. I just made my own strap type piece.

-Any paint and a brush. Paint that matches the ornaments you've selected will work the best.

-Needle nose or jewelry pliers. You'll only really need these if you're using tiny ornaments, they are easier to hold when applying the glue. (Which can be VERY hot)

-Ornaments, you can use mini ones, big ones... I just grabbed a box of 99 mini ball ornaments from my local drug store. These can be found at your dollar store as well

-Small accent items such as bells, to fill in the empty space

You can make your own little filler pieces, I just painted some small wooden cubes with glitter craft paint , I didn't end up using them on this wreath but they are being put to use on the one I'm currently making.

If you choose to make your own hanging piece like I did you will need:
-Ribbon of some sort

-2 key rings

This project is very versatile, you can use larger ornaments (I'm currently trying to make one using big ones) mini ones, LED lights, glitter, garland, candy canes, ribbon, wine corks, pom poms, sequins, clothespins, glass crystals.. WHATEVER you want. It's your wreath make it the way you want it. :)


Step 2: Preparing the Wreath & Ornaments

This step is optional, I am a perfectionist and I feel the need to take everything over-the-top when I'm crafting.
I painted my wreath a metallic silvery colour mixed with iridescent medium to give it sparkle. I did this so if there is any wreath showing through the ornaments it's a matching color.

I also popped the metal top off of all the ornaments so they would sit better on the wreath. This piece is just used to hang ornaments on the tree, you can pop them off by twisting or using the pliers.

You can leave the tops on if you'd like.
If you really want to make adding the ornaments an easy task , you can take it another step further by breaking the part of the ornament that you popped the metal top pieces off of (as pictured)

Step 3: DIY Hanger Strap

I personally don't like the over the door wreath hangers, they aren't exactly pretty. To substitute for those, I just took my ribbon, cut 3 equal lengths, tied the end of all three pieces to one key ring tightly. I then loosely braided the three pieces leaving enough un-braided ribbon at the bottom to tie around the second key ring. I reinforced the knots on the key rings with a dab of hot glue to ensure they don't come undone.

Step 4: Attaching the Strap

I used key rings that were large enough to kind of slip around part of the ornament , this will help it hang on to the wreath.
To secure it place some hot glue around in between the key ring and ornament . I did this and once it hardened I used the heat from the glue gun to clean up the edge .
You can paint the back of the ornament and key ring to have it match the rest. I just used the color I painted the wreath with.

Step 5: Now for the Fun Part

The easiest way to start is to place ornaments around the inside of the wreath. The ornaments I got came in 9 colours, I tried to evenly disperse them around the wreath.
Continue to glue the ornaments until you're happy with the way that it looks.
It will save you some trouble, time and money to not put any ornaments on the back of the wreath, this will also help it sit flush where you hang it. You do however want to place 2 ornaments across from each other that sit slightly closer to the back if make your own hanging strap. You'll see why in the next few steps.

Step 6: Almost Done

Keep going until you're happy.
It will keep looking better and better.

My this is what my wreath looked like before I added the bells.

Step 7: Finishing the Wreath

I dabbed some hot glue around where there was bigger gaps between ornaments, I filled these spots with some tiny jingle bells. I thought this would add to the Christmas feel.

Make sure all the ornaments are secure, and you're done.
Hang it up and show everyone your Christmas spirit!

Step 8: Other Inspiration

You don't have to be limited to Christmas with this project, you could make one for Easter, Halloween, Valentine's Day.
Instead of Christmas ornaments you could just improvise using hearts, small pumpkins, Easter eggs, you could even just use ornaments, in the colors of the holiday you're trying to achieve.

The possibilities are endless.