Deck your halls with these ingenious embellishments made from everyday supplies
Set a sprightly tone indoors with this high-impact wreath crafted from a sweet seasonal favorite: peppermint candies.
Materials
• White or red duct tape
• 14″ Styrofoam wreath form
• 24″ piece of high-gauge floral wire
• Pencil
• 5–6 bags peppermint candies (like Star Brites Peppermints, $2.99 per bag; Brachs.com)
• Hot-glue gun and glue sticks
• 3 yards ribbon (optional)
• Tape (optional)
Directions
1. Wrap duct tape around wreath form to cover it entirely (to hide the wreath form and protect it from melting when you apply hot glue).
2. Fold floral wire in half, wrap around wreath and tie in a knot, leaving a loop to hang the wreath.
3. Lightly pencil a line onto the middle of the front of the wreath form to create a guide for your first row of candies.
4. Unwrap a piece of candy. Apply a dime-size amount of glue to the wreath form, on one side of the pencil line. Press the edge of the candy into the glue at a 45-degree angle; hold in place until fully dry (about 1 minute).
5. Working in batches, unwrap 10–15 candies (do not stack unwrapped candies as they will stick to each other), then apply a 6″ line of glue to the wreath form, following the pencil line. Press candies into glue one at a time, one in front of the other, until the row goes all the way around.
6. Repeat steps 4 and 5, with every other row starting in the opposite direction, until the wreath is covered (we made 6 rows of candies). Let dry.
7. For decorative ribbon: Before hanging, loop ribbon through top of wreath. Hang as you would normally, with the ribbon between the floral wire and the nail. Pull ribbon ends to top of door frame; secure with tape. Let ends hang down, trimming if necessary.
Note: This wreath is quite heavy, so be sure to hang from a sturdy nail. For indoor use only.
A few more Wreath Ideas:
Once the final batch of Christmas cookies comes out of the oven, clean off the cookie cutters for a charming decoration. Or better yet, pick up a cheap set, so you can keep baking cookies all season long.
The vintage Christmas lights stashed away in your attic may no longer work, but this wreath is proof that they are still full of Christmas cheer.
Because your kids don’t really appreciate your gift wrapping skills anyway. Turn your bow stash into a colorful wreath that you can use year after year.
Pick your favorite Christmas classic — “Let It Snow,” perhaps — and wrap the sheet music (music lyrics work too!) around a plain base.
If his collection of patterned ties is getting out of control, have fun with it in the form of a wreath. Added bonus if you can grab a few holiday-themed ties.
Instead of splurging on a fresh evergreen wreath year after year, just wrap shimmery tinsel around a foam wreath and call it a day.
Go for an unexpected look this year with ice skates lined in fur. Spruce up the design with pom-poms and silver ornaments.
