Making and decorating wreaths can be frustrating and stressful. But with a little imagination, creativity, and a glue gun you can make a plain wreath come to life.
How many plain wreaths do you have packed away in boxes? A good time of the year to purchase the wire wreaths is during an after Christmas sale. I'm referring to the wreaths that have wire throughout and are covered with green garland. This type of wreath is easier to decorate because of the flexibility of the garland that is wrapped around the wire. With a little imagination and some ingenious ideas, your wreaths can come to life.
Before decorating wreaths, I would recommend that you purchase a glue gun, plenty of glue sticks, and bows of various colors. If you have some older wreaths that the ornaments or decorations on the wreath are worn out, carefully remove the decorations. If the wreath is in fairly good condition, it can be reused.
IDEA - Christmas ball ornaments
If you have some plain wreaths, you can begin using your imagination and creativity. Christmas ball ornaments make a beautiful addition to a wreath. The gold and red ball or red and green ball ornaments will brighten up the wreath and put Christmas in the air.
Let's use one of the plain wreaths and begin putting ornaments on it. Find a flat surface where you can work in which the glue will not harm the area. If you have a basement or a work table this would be a good place to put together your wreaths. Place the Christmas ball ornaments on the wreath before using the glue gun. I would suggest that when placing these ornaments on the wreath, you position them to hide the area that the hook attaches. Or pull this piece out and be sure that you face this section down into the wreath. You definitely do not want this exposed.
Once the ball ornaments have been placed, with your glue gun put a small amount of glue on the end that is going into the wreath. Press gently, but firmly, on the ornament to make sure it stays in place. Repeat this process for each ball ornament.
You might want to think about purchasing red bows of various sizes. The medium size red bows are definitely a must for using on wreaths. Most bows of this nature will have gold piping around the center of the bow that extends to the back. Weave this gold piping from the back of the bow into the top of the wreath. It is a good idea to weave this through the wiring on the back of the wreath. Make sure the knot you tie is in the back of the wreath. As with the hook on the ornaments, you do not want the knot exposed. Your wreath will look professionally done.
IDEA - Christmas instruments (various colors)
I'm sure you have noticed the Christmas instruments (drums, guitars, violins, etc.) hanging on Christmas trees in stores during the season. If you are lucky, you can find these and other Christmas items on sale after the holidays. If so, I recommend purchasing any type of average sized ornaments for using on your wreaths.
Always remember to place the ornaments on the wreath before using the glue gun. Once they are glued on, it is very difficult to remove them. Cut the string off of each instrument ornament before placing on the wreath. It is not very attractive to see the string hanging out from the back of the wreath. Be sure you are consistent in the placement of the ornaments. Once instruments have been placed on the wreath, glue each one in place. When using bows on the wreath, make sure the bow you select isn't too large for the wreath. This will make everything seem off balance and not very pleasing to the eye.
IDEA - Christmas fruit (sparkling or plain)
The gold or colored sparkling fruit makes a gorgeous Christmas wreath. On a medium sized plain wreath, do a layout of about four, possible five, pieces of fruit. If you use the darker colored fruit (purple, dark green, etc.), you may find it difficult to notice them in the wreath. I would recommend laying the fruit on its side so that the stem is pointing upward or sideways depending on the position of the fruit. If you were thinking about adding a medium bow, I would suggest that you leave an open space on the wreath. If not, the bow may very well hide the fruit. Once you have positioned the fruit on the wreath, glue them on.
If you positioned the fruit correctly, there should be empty areas between the fruit. By placing small bunches of red berries in these areas, the wreath will come to life. You may want to choose to not glue the berries on the wreath. If this is the case, make sure they are pushed firmly in the wreath. Now is the time to add the bow on the area that you planned before gluing on the fruit.
IDEA - Window Wreaths
Have you every contemplated how people hang wreaths on the windows of their home? All you need is the green plain wire medium wreaths and a roll of red velvet ribbon, or whatever color you like. The wreath should already have a bow attached to it. Cut one piece of ribbon from the roll and put through the wiring at the top of the wreath. Be sure there is a knot at the end of the ribbon or at the length that you want the wreath to hang. Pull through wiring so that you are holding both ends. If you want to hang the wreaths at the top of your window, pull window down and put wreath through opening. Now, here is the tricky part. The ribbon that you inserted should be on the inside of the window. Making sure the wreath is in position at the very top of the window, gently close the window. Do not let go of the ribbon until the window is closed and locked.
