Wreath and ornaments — a quick note to anchor this piece for readers.
Wreath and ornaments: Quick notes
This year, not much has changed with our Christmas decor. Sometimes the tried-and-true wins, and it’s not the time to switch anything up. Our children tend to be sentimentalists, {don’t we all have a love for tradition?} and while I love creating each year, they also love some of the same things. This room has evolved a little, but they’ve definitely proclaimed it their favorite.
This time around, our larger iridescent baubles and this colorful bauble wreath added quite a bit of color. Today, I’m going to share a simple how-to! {These photos are a mixed bunch from the last two years, JIC you’re wondering why on earth they don’t match up!}
We adore all the fun that both brought into the space.
Want to make these? Here’s what you’ll need.
For the wreath:
• This wreath form came in a set, so they were more cost-efficient.
• These smaller ornaments – I ordered three boxes for this size wreath form.
• This paint
• Medicine syringes
• Glue gun + Glue
• Velvet ribbon {ribbon of any kind will do}
• Scissors – these are great for general crafting
• For the larger baubles, we used these ornaments.
This is the part where you do as I say, and not as I do… because you can skip the parts where I messed up with a gigantic learning curve.
Step One: Remove. For the small baubles, remove the silver tops of the ornaments. No funnels are needed. The opening was tiny, and this was taking forever. I’m showing you proof, in case you’re wondering. But when you’re doing this many… aintnobodygottimeforthat.
Step Two: Snip. My daughter {Emerson} was helping me, and she accidentally broke off the top of one of the ornaments. {Small baubles only since we’re discussing both sizes here.} I realized they would easily snip off with scissors and make a much bigger opening. I demonstrated this way for the camera, but be sure to face them down, preferably into a cardboard box when cutting, so that the end doesn’t go flying and ricochet into someone’s eye. Also, you’re not searching for pieces later.
See the larger opening here.
Step Three: Fill. Fill up your syringes with paint, and fill. {less is more here, and one syringe full should cover filling at least three ornaments. The smaller tip has enough room, and the syringe bit has enough force behind it so that you don’t have to wait for air bubbles, as I did with the funnel method.
Useful Tip: A helpful step that I can recommend, since you’re working with multiple colors, is filling up a large bowl with warm, soapy water. Divide your baubles into how many colors you think you’ll want of each so that you go through one color at a time. In between switching colors {let’s say you have three syringes, so you can do pink, turquoise, and red} place the emptied syringes into the soapy water to soak so that they can be cleaned off in between new cycles of color. {Your next batch.}
Step Four: Shake. Once the ornament is filled {I used about 1/3 of a syringe full with each small bauble} Cover with your finger and shake vigorously until it’s evenly spread. Side note but if you see stain remover in the background, it’s because I covered it with the silver part originally and then shook it—bad call. Paint everywhere. I don’t know why I was all aboard the struggle bus that day, but I was. Same with the large ones… make sure they’re covered with your hand.
Place them in a cardboard box to dry. I recommend at least 24 hours. If you have time, longer.
Useful Tip: These ornaments can take a hot minute to dry completely, and you will want them mostly dry before you place them on the wreath so that they do not leak. Shake out any excess paint after they’ve had a moment to dry. I’d also recommend redistributing the paint a little around the inside if it’s settled oddly. This part takes time. Be patient, because it pays.
Fun fact: I’ve now revisited this post from last year, and added fresh photos of the wreath again, one year later. Eagle-eyed viewers may notice that the wreaths look different. That’s because of the glue I used, which caused some of the baubles to pop off, and I had to readjust. It did hold up nicely though, when decorating this year after a few simple repairs.
Meanwhile, while these were drying, Emerson and I also took on the more oversized ornaments. Just open the top and squeeze in a little paint. Start with less; you can always add more.
Cover {make sure it’s covered well} + shake.
I love how that iridescent finish on the ornaments spreads the paint color in such a fun way.
I also love that it caught her face in the reflection.
She then realized what was happening and tried to hide in every subsequent photo that might show her reflection.
When you’re finished with these, let them dry. I recommend shaking out any excess with these as well, to speed up the drying time.
Step Five: Assembly. Because of all the other things we had going on, I let a few days pass before I assembled this wreath. I’m glad we had the drying time. I attached the ribbon first by wrapping it around the top of the wreath.
Then, to ensure I had enough, I used some Alien Tape for placement. I wasn’t sure what pattern I wanted, which gave me plenty of room to experiment. I just placed a little on the bottoms so I could move them around. {I removed them when it was time to actually glue.}
Before I started, though, I closed up the remaining holes with a dab of hot glue. I did not replace the silver parts, as I just wanted to add a bauble look to the wreath. You can glue them back if you prefer. I didn’t trust that they were completely dry and had visions of these things dribbling down my mantel the next day. So call it insurance. I felt like it was wise to be careful with these things.
And with each one, I started to place them as I went. I was able to be versatile with color and more for a fun pattern.
Just a dab of glue, placing as I went, and I was finished. I placed it at the top of our mirrorball mirror with a small dab of glue at the top of the frame where no one would see it. It’s a fun, colorful part of our mantel with a touch of that iridescent fun.
The larger ornaments were less labor-intensive, so we just replaced the tops when we were finished and hung them wherever we wanted.
You can spy some of them here amongst my usual pieces. I loved adding so much colorful fun this year!
Tada! As always, let us know if you make any of these. We’d love to hear. It’s an excellent project for the holidays. You can check out more details from our mantel here. Thanks so much for tuning in. Have an inspired day!
Wreath and ornaments comes up here to connect ideas for clarity.
