Ornament Wreath From New and Vintage Ornaments

This vintage inspired ornament wreath is easy to make from thrifted and dollar store shatterproof ball ornaments but you can use any ornaments to craft this Christmas wreath. I'm sharing my best tips to create a sturdy wreath that will look great for years!
 
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Do you have a favorite childhood Christmas memory?

I remember being sent to bed early on Christmas Eve so that Santa could come down the chimney (aka so mom and dad could fill our stockings)! I'd lay in bed with my ear primed to all the noises and as soon as I heard my parents go to bed, I'd creep out of my bedroom, tippy-toe down the stairs and open my stocking, find all the packages that had my name and shake a few to try to imagine what amazing treasures they contained!

All my gifts should have been filled with coal, for as naughty as I was! I don't think my parents ever found out about my nightly Christmas Eve excursions and I certainly wasn't about to tattle on myself!

I love remembering Christmases past, surrounded by family and cousins and mountains of gifts. Amazing smells coming from the kitchen. Knowing my mom and nana and aunts were making all my very favorite foods!

I'm sure you have similar memories that you treasure.

Today I'm sharing a pastel ornament ball wreath that is inspired by those vintage memories that are near to my heart. I found several vintage satin ornaments years ago, and I'm combining those with some dollar store shatterproof ornaments to create a charming ornament wreath that you'll be able to enjoy for many Christmases to come!

How to Make an Ornament Ball Wreath

I love a budget-friendly homemade wreath at Christmas! Last year I made a red ticking stripe wreath from fabric for $10 and it's so cute! Another popular wreath that is so cheap to make is my coffee filter wreath.  That wreath cost just $5 to make! This berry monogram wreath was a fun way to upcycle a wooden letter!

Several years ago I tried making an ornament wreath on a wire base...where I used a coat hanger that I opened up and formed into a circle. It turned out cute, but the ornaments didn't hang properly and the wreath didn't store well at all. The ornaments bunched up, many of the good ones falling to the back, and I ended up packing that sweet wreath away where it sat for years.

This week I pulled it out from its dusty bin and decided to remake it. Look how sad it is. You'd never know how many ornaments are actually on it because most of them are at the back! I dismantled it, carefully separated the ornaments by sizes and decided to try again...on a foam wreath base this time.


Supplies Needed



Can you believe that all the ornaments you see above were on that sad looking wreath?! I purchased a tube of matching ornaments in blush and silver from the Dollar Tree just in case I needed a few extras, and I'm glad I did because I used every one!

Step 1 - Make a hanger

The very first step when you're making an ornament wreath on a foam base is to create your hanger. You'll need some way to hang the wreath, and it's much easier to tie a ribbon on before you start attaching all the ornaments! Just make sure that your knot is at the very top of the wreath. You could also use wire or even cording to create a hanging loop.

tie ribbon at top of wreath form

Designer tip: I would also suggest wrapping the foam base in ribbon. I didn't do this and there are a few spots where the green base is visible. It bugs me, even though no one else will probably ever notice.

Heat up your glue gun and have lots of glue sticks handy!

Step 2 - Glue ornaments to wreath base

Start with the biggest ornament balls and glue them side by side with their hangers pointing down, all the way around the wreath. You'll need to hold the ornaments in place for a minute while the glue sets.


Here's how it looks from the back. You could remove the hangers from each ornament or leave them.


There will be lots of glue strings, but we'll deal with those at the end!

Now take your next biggest size ornament balls and glue a row, nesting them in between the bigger ornaments, as shown here. Continue doing this until the wreath base is covered.


Step 3 - Fill in gaps

In a perfect world, all the ornaments would fit like a dream, and you'd have no gaps. If nothing else, the last couple of years have proven to us that perfection is a pipe dream!

This is where your secret ninja ornaments come in...the tiny balls! They do an amazing job of filling in any gaps or odd looking spaces! So glue them on liberally. You can find small ornament balls at the dollar store, Walmart, Hobby Lobby and Amazon.


Do you see the spot I missed?

I have one tiny ornament left and will be gluing it into place to cover up that green foam that's showing.

Tips for Success

  1. Covering your wreath base in ribbon will mean you can get away with less ornaments.
  2. You'll need more ornaments that you think! So shop accordingly.
  3. Trying to do a pattern will just frustrate you! Instead, purchase ornaments that complement one another.
  4. Lightweight ornaments are KEY! Your wreath will weigh a ton (and be harder to hang up) if you use glass ornaments.


FAQ for a DIY Ornament Wreath

How much does it cost to make an ornament wreath?
It all depends on the ornaments you use. If you already have ornaments, then you're not going to be spending much at all! Even if you need to purchase all the supplies, if you shop at a discount store you should be able to make this wreath for under $20!


How many ornaments will I need to make an ornament wreath?
That will depend on many factors, such as the size of your wreath base, the size of your ornaments, the type of wreath base you use. It's very hard to guess, but my suggestion is to buy more ornaments than you think you'll need, and buy a variety of sizes! The dollar store is great for lightweight ornaments in varying sizes. At a bare minimum, I would suggest buying 8-10 tubes of ornaments from the dollar store as a starting point.

How do you attach ornaments to a wreath?
As I said at the beginning of this post, you can string them onto a wire wreath form (like a coat hanger), but I didn't have success with that. I recommend using a foam base and lots of hot glue!

How do you hang an ornament wreath?
Remember the ribbon I tied onto the wreath before adding any ornaments? It's super easy now to tie the ribbon around a door hanger or tie it onto a vintage window, etc. When you add that ribbon at the beginning, make sure that it's long enough (at least 12" on either side) so you have room for a bow and the tails. You can see how I hung my ornament wreath from the knob of my cabinet.

How do I get rid of all the glue strings?
That's easy! Use a heat gun or a hair dryer to melt the glue strings. Keep it moving over the wreath and watch the strings disappear!



You can see the rest of this room here. It's decorated with charming, nostalgic Christmas items and it turned out so fun! This pastel ornament ball wreath was the perfect finishing touch to the other holiday decorations I used in this space!

Pin it to remember!


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Comments

  1. What a pretty wreath and I have boxes of old ornaments just waiting to shine this Christmas. Thank you for the tip on making glue strings disappear!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sounds like you have some ornament wreaths in your crafting future :) Have fun!

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  2. Hi honey! It’s Aunty Norma. I LOVE your Christmas DIY’s!!!!!!!!! I’m hoping I’ll be able to find some time to do one of them with my grand daughters!!!! Love you so much!!! XOXO MERRY CHRISTMAS ❤️

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much, how fun to see you here browsing my site! That would be wonderful and I'd love to know what DIY you do together! Love to you and the family ❤️❤️ Merry Christmas!

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