DIY Christmas Doily Wreath

My home is starting to look more Christmasy and I'm getting that warm and fuzzy holiday feeling. Last night I finally made a successful batch of Fleur de Sel caramels (thank you amazing digital candy thermometer) and brainstormed a great gift for Nick so some of the holiday stress is starting to lift.

I kept the Christmas decorating in our home pretty simple this year but I was able to find the time to squeeze in one crafty project. The idea for this wreath comes from Martha Stewart, however, is it just me or are they step by step instructions on that website never 100% clear? Here are my quick and dirty instructions so that you will also be able to make this lovely wreath.

Materials:

one 16" and one 12" wire wreath form (I scaled down Martha's 30" version)

24 gauge floral wire

2 strands of battery operated LED twinkle lights - 40 bulbs in total

low temp hot glue gun

white ribbon

doilylike paper bouquet holders known as "Biedermeiermanschetten" found at germanplaza.com, you will need the following sizes:

6.4" will need 3 - 5

4.8" will need 11

3.2" will need 22 - 24

Instructions:

-Attach the two wire forms at 8 points along the frames with the floral wire

-You may want to spray paint the frame white so that it doesn't show though the final product but I was lazy and skipped this step.

-Wrap the frame with the two strands of lights. Attach the battery packs for the lights to the back of the frame with floral wire.

-Begin arranging the paper bouquet holders around the frame, starting with the larger sizes first. Insert a light bulb into the center of each bouquet holder.

-Once all of the bouquet holders are arranged, use small dots of hot glue to secure them to the frame and to the adjacent bouquet holders. 

-You may notice that once every bulb has a doily attached to it your wreath will look a bit lopsided and there are gaps that need to be filled. Use any remaining 3.2" bouquet holder to fill in the gaps.

-Attach a piece of white ribbon to the top of the frame so that you can hang your lovely wreath.

I attempted to take a picture of the wreath at night when it was lit up but I was unsuccessful. You'll just have to trust me that it is really cute. I love how the doilies are arranged a bit random and haphazard though I'm sure Martha's was a perfectly arranged circle.

I just spotted this simple wreath on Sweet Paul that you could create using a wreath form and old family photos. If you don't want to use your originals photographs you can make photo copies on heavy weight paper and glue them to the frame.

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