christmas ornament wreath

Remember my early obsession with creating a white Christmas?? Well I couldn't wait any longer and made this wreath today!

 

I've never made anything like this before and was surprised to find it really wasn't too difficult.

To make this wreath I used:
an 18 inch evergreen wreath from Michael's
about 80 large and medium sized metallic and white bulb ornaments
about 50 mini sized metallic bulb ornaments
high-heat glue gun and lots of glue
and my favorite Christmas music playing in the background!

 

To get started, I simply removed the hardware from all the bulbs and set them all out within arm's reach. Then I flipped the wreath over so the back side was facing up and began gluing medium ornaments around the inner edge of the wreath. Once the inner edge was covered, I did the same to the outer edge of the wreath with the large bulbs. Since I was working from the backside, I made sure the openings to the bulbs were facing me.


 
After a short break to make sure the glue had set, I flipped the wreath over and began gluing bulbs in a random pattern. I made sure the bulbs were sitting as close to one another as possible and I covered visible gaps with the mini ornaments.

 

Once the whole wreath was covered, I let the glue set again. Then I simply threaded thick gold ribbon through the metal frame of the wreath and tied the top of the ribbon in a bow. Now it's ready to hang on a mirror or door!

 

 
 
A few lessons learned and ideas...
- First, I needed WAY more bulbs then I had initially guessed. I recommend buying more than you think you need and returning leftovers if there are any.
- The evergreen wreath provided a lot of "surfaces" to glue the ornaments onto. I'm not confident it would work as well, but you could attempt this using a styrofoam, tinsel, or wooden wreath. 
- I chose to keep my wreath green but next time would consider spray-painting it beforehand to match my ornaments.
- This wreath could be done on a budget by purchasing cheap ornaments (such as from a dollar store) or even by using those old ornaments that are just taking up space in your basement.
- And lastly, this wreath would look fabulous on a front door, made with shatterproof ornaments.
 
My new wreath is now hanging on the mirror above our sofa in the living room. I love it so much, I don't think I can bear to take it down. I guess my hubby will just have to deal with the early Christmas decoration!