wreath how-to
Wednesday, October 14, 2009 at 7:00AM In our latest catalog, our creative stylists DIY’d a holiday wreath using ornaments from our bins—the result is a stunning, brightly colored and festive wreath to welcome guests. Since we often get questions about details in our photography, such as requests for paint colors used, we anticipated that a lot of you would want to know how it was made.
Supplies:
1. Strong stiff wire that can be bent into a ring. We used aluminum wire gauge 20, about 55” long—due to the scale of the products in the shot, our wreath was rather large, about 28” in diameter. A wire hanger is also a simple way to go.
2. Ornaments. We used a total of 81 ornaments. For a smaller version, we’re guessing you could make a 14” wreath with about a third of the ornaments depending on how full you wanted it.
3. Strong tape to fasten the ends of the wire ring together or, pliers to twist the ends of the wire ring together.
4. Ribbon to hang the wreath.
Directions:
1. String one ornament at a time onto the wire ring, alternating colors, using smaller ones to fill in the gaps.
2. When the ring is completely covered in ornaments, fasten the ends together.
3. Use a ribbon to cover the spot where the ends are fastened together, and hang!
Tip: best not to go too large in diameter as the wreath could become too heavy and stretch out.
Thanks to curtis, art director, CB2 catalog, for this submission.
Reader Comments (35)
Where did you get your ornaments from?
[...] party with our friends to make the wreath that is pictured above. Isn’t it cool? Check it CB2’s blog for directions on how to make the wreath, [...]
I used a macrame hoop. They are inexpensive and come in several sizes. Cut the seam open with a hacksaw and string the ornaments.
[...] following Thanksgiving putting up their Christmas decorations together, and while reading the cb2 Blog this project jumped [...]
Amy asked how to keep the ornaments from spinning around.
I haven't made this yet but am planning to attempt it. I noticed this:
The wreath on the back of the magazine shows the ornaments all the way around the wire whereas the one in the how-to photos is made lying on the table so the back is flat. When you pick it up, it propbably does spin all around and get mis-shapen.
Maybe if you form the wire and then hang one side of the wire by the ribbon (or have someone hold it) while you thread the ornaments on the opposite end of the wire it will come out full and perfect!!!
Suggestions on where to buy the 20 gauge wire? I've looked for thicker wire in the past for other projects, but came up empty handed. I love this project by the way =0) thanks for posting!
Shanna-
I got the 20 gauge wire at a hardware store (tried floral wire but was not strong enough). Would recommend 18-gauge wire, though- it's a little thicker, so the ornaments don't cause it to droop.
My problem with this project is that the ornaments keep sliding down the wire and bunching up and they don't seem to "stay" the way they do in the picture. Not sure what to do with this... I needed waaaay more than I thought I would to cover the circumference of the wreath, and then when I made into a circle, they were all bunched together. Hard to describe, but it sure didn't look like the picture!
I did see another method that recommended hot gluing the "caps" to the ornaments so they don't pop off. If anyone has any more suggestions, I would love them!
Ok, an update... I just finished this. I had bought 20-gauge aluminum wire, and there is no way it will support these ornaments! I ended up finding a wire coat hanger, which worked much better. It took about 60 ornaments to fill, though... eliminating the possibility of an inexpensive gift idea for about 10 people! Total, this wreath cost about $30- $35, including the glue gun I used to secure the tops to the wreath, the ribbon, the ornaments, and the 20-gauge aluminum wire I purchased that didn't work.
Doesn't the wire pop out of the ornament?
If only more people could read this..