Crochet Cyster's Crafts: Ornaments Wreath

After trying this wreath on my own with minimal instruction (see original post here), I decided to write my own up. This way none of you will end up like me with a huge wreath sitting on your table for days and frustration building to the point where you almost throw the whole thing out in the trash! It is partly my fault, I admit. I should have thought it through to the end when I started. But I just figured I would pick it up and hang it on the wall. I never realized it would crack and bend and ornaments would pop off when I tried to pick it up let alone hang it. So now you won’t have to worry about that! You can use these instructions or modify them for your needs.

Supplies:

§ - 2 foam pool noodles, check pool stores they carry them year round
§ - Duct tape
§ - Depending on the size, 100-200 shatter proof ornaments without hooks (if you buy them new the hooks come in a bag inside so you don’t have to take them off
§ - Hot glue gun and sticks
§ - 1/8” ply wood for mounting in the size that you want your wreath to be. Mine was 36”x36”. (I hear a hula hoop will work too if you put it in before putting the ornaments on)
§ - Marker to mark the plywood
§ - Saw to cut the plywood
§ - Bread knife to cut the noodle
§ - Electric screw gun to drill holes into the plywood and mount the hanging hardware
§ - Wall hanging materials – I used frame wire and triangle hooks
§ - Wire to mount the noodles to the mounting board if you use Elmer’s glue
§ - Elmer’s glue or silicone caulking

Before you start, decide where the wreath is going to hang. This will give you an idea of how large it can/cannot be.

Instructions:

Take the end of each pool noodle and duct tape them together.

Form a circle with the noodles and cut the ends down until you get it to the size you want. Remember, depending on the size of the ornaments, to add about 6-9” to each side for the ornaments.

Duct tape the ends together to form a ring. Be liberal with the tape, you don’t want this popping apart on the wall!

Now that you have the basic size of your wreath, lay it out on the plywood. Make an outline around the noodle adding a few inches for overlay so the ornaments can rest on the back too. Do this on the outside and inside. Cut out your wreath shape.

If you are using a hula hoop, slice either one end of the hoop and slide it into the foam, or slice the whole back of the noodle and put the hula hoop in. Then tape up the back of the noodle. I have not it done this way so I am not sure just how sturdy the wreath will be. So this is at your own risk J

Once you have the plywood cut, lay your wreath down on it to make sure it lines up. Make any adjustments needed

Make markings on the backing with a marker where you want to drill holes to put the wire through. Make one mark on each side of the noodle all the way around the wreath. I did not do this step since we used silicone but if you are using Elmer’s glue it might not be a bad idea to do this if you are worried the glue won’t hold.

Now you want to glue the noodle to the backing. Take your Elmer’s glue and liberally put it on the backing all the way around between the holes you just made.

Press your noodle onto the backing and let set. This may take a few hours or longer. It doesn’t need to be completely set but enough that you can pick it up and turn it over and the noddle won’t fall off.

Now cut strips of the wire about 10” long. You will need as many as the sets of holes you that made. Feed these through the holes from the front to the back so that the wire lies on top of the noodle.

Flip the wreath over and pull the wires taught, not too much or you might slice the noodle! Tie the end together and then tape down with duct tape. You don’t want the wires scratching your walls.

Decide where you will put your wall mounting pieces and attach them to the back. It helps to be sure of where you will be hanging it before doing this. I knew I needed a small amount of wire on the back so it didn’t hang down far.

Flip the wreath back over. Now you can start putting the ornaments on!

Lay out the design you want on the outside before gluing down. This way you can rearrange anyway you need to. Once you have the ornaments in a way you like start gluing! Be liberal.

Work on the outside, then the inside. Once those are finished you can then put ornaments on the top. Fill in the gaps with smaller ornaments. I also used cranberry sticks with leaves and some silver glitter branches to add some decoration to it. You can add whatever else you want to make it yours! I chose not to add battery lights but you can.