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
§ - 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.
Once
you have it all decorated, let sit before picking it up, for at least 24 hours. Once set, slowly lift it to make sure nothing
falls off.
