Last year around the holidays I noticed a Restoration Hardware wreath that looked like it was made of gold-dipped laurel leaves. They were actually brass, and I loved how they bristled from the wreath, looking so full and well organized. I can't remember how much it cost last year (it's not available online anymore), but it was the kind of thing I wanted to challenge myself to make rather than purchase.
It seemed a good idea to try it out now, while my wife Kristie is tolerating a bit of early holiday decorating (she, like most people who work in retail, tires of Christmas pretty quickly). I know Halloween is still in the rearview mirror, but with about two weeks left until our first baby's due date, I want to get in the holiday spirit now – before we're sleep-deprived and probably more than a bit distracted! And I'm happy to report the wreath turned out much more lovely than I'd anticipated, even though the leaves are made of paper, not metal.
I used:
- An 18" craft ring
- Three sheets of 12" x 12" metallic cardstock paper (I chose silver, but gold or copper would also be beautiful – or a combination!)
- A hot glue gun
- Scissors
I folded a spare envelope in half, sketched a laurel leaf on the fold (about 4" long), and cut it out to use as a template.
Then I traced it onto the back of the cardstock, trying to squeeze in as many leaves per sheet as I could.
After carefully cutting them all out, I folded each leaf longwise, and gently opened it a bit. (The fold makes all the difference.)
From there, I glued each leaf to the craft ring with a dab of hot glue at the bottom (wider) end of the leaf. It was easy to slip into a pattern that started to look a bit Grecian, so I tried to be thoughtful about the placement of the leaves, making the wreath a little random and more full.
I'd bought five or six sheets of cardstock, but only needed three sheets' worth of leaves to make the wreath full and pretty.
I'm really pleased with the results; it's so simple. Kristie likes it too, and it's not terribly Christmas-y, right? I also put out a tiny white pre-lit Christmas tree on our front porch, along with two sparkly silver bottle brush trees from Target's $1 section. I surprised myself a little bit with the silver – I usually prefer gold – but I like how together, with the bright colors already on our porch, the decorations look light, maybe less traditional.
Let me know if you try this project! It doesn't take long or cost much, but is very satisfying (my favorite kind of DIY).
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