Mini wreath craft

     I got my newest copy of the Paper Source catalog the other day. I just love that company and they are based locally in Chicago! I have used their cards and envelopes before for bridal shower invitations that I'd made for a friend's wedding. I would have used them for my own wedding invitations had I not found a kit for $25 at le Target made by Gartner. I will warn you that it is much safer to order from the catalog. If you are lucky enough to live close to one of their locations, you can go see all of the colors of papers up close and personal. It's like eye candy.

     I love Paper Source because they also have cute little crafts kits and quirky gifts. On the cover was a paper and burlap wreath kit that comes with all the needed supplies for only $20. Which I think is a pretty good deal. However, knowing that I have leftover foam core from a school project I helped my little brother with, I thought it would be easy to make my own. Here's my inspiration:

Supplies needed:

foam core, or book board wreath forms

exacto knife or hot knife

several sheets of scrapbook paper

linen or burlap or fabric of your choice

modpodge

scissors

leaf pattern

double stick tape, scotch tape and/or hot glue gun

ribbon

     First, I prepped my foam core. In this tutorial, I am making a mini version to decorate my chalkboard I have hanging in my dining room. I started out cutting a big one for a future version to hang on my front door. I traced a big dinner plate onto the foam core and then a bowl in the middle to made the wreath shape. That's how I was left with the circle for my mini wreath. Bonus! 

       I didn't take a picture of this step but I used my hot knife to cut it out. I highly recommend getting one of these babies if you are planning on working with foam core. It cuts way nicer and easier than using just an exact knife. Just make sure to put some cardboard under your project so you don't mark up your table! I started by first tracing my line with the hot knife with just enough pressure to cut through the paper overlay of the foam core. Next, I retraced the line and it slid through the foam part like butta! Slow and steady will work the best. Beware, the melted foam core is kinda stinky so you may want to do it next to an open window or have a fan on. Lastly, I marked a line for the outer layer of leaves so that I could make sure they were even as I laid them down.

papers I chose from Michael's

     With my wreath forms cut and ready to go, my next step was cutting out the paper. I have a Silhouette Cameo so I thought it would be nice to let that little guy do some of the work for me. I downloaded a cut file for the leaves. This file actually contains a wreath form and banner. I have not cut fabric yet on my Silhouette so I don't have a fabric blade or fabric interfacing. To get around that for linen, I painted a nice, thick layer of modpodge on to the side that was not going to show. Then I traced a leaf onto the modpodged size (after drying) and hand cut them with fabric shears. If you do not have a Silhouette Cameo, then you can find some clip art online of a leaf and cut it out to use as a template. I have to say also that the particular glitter paper I chose was just way too thick, and it made a mess when I cut it on the Silhouette. If I could do it again, I would have just cut those by hand. I have other glitter paper I could have used that cuts nicely on the machine, but I really, really liked this paper. Its hard to tell but it is a mix of gold and silver sparkle. 

     Then I put a layer of double stick tape around the line I drew on the foam core. Then its as easy as starting to lay down the leaves. I played with the papers until I found a pattern I liked and kept that handy so I didn't get confused. See the upper right hand of the photo. The double stick came in handy after I laid them down as it wasn't permanent, so I could adjust the spacing of the leaves if needed. I used 30 leaves on the first layer! 

    For the second layer, I put the double stick tape right along the edge of the middle circle and repeated the pattern. No matter where you start, odds are you will have some of the same paper lining up from the first row to the next row. It's inevitable. I hated it, but in the long run you won't notice it much. Here's where you also want to start using your hot glue gun. I didn't until the end and the linen pieces don't stick well to each other. It was a mess...because the papers started sticking up with the third row (I'll show you in a minute).

     The last row I lined up as follows: I laid the leaves down so that just shy of middle of the leaf was on the edge of the inside circle. I bent one leaf and kept it as a template to try to make sure they were all level before I folded the bottoms around on of the inside of the leaf and taped them to the back with Scotch tape. That way you won't have multiple creases if you didn't line them up just perfect.

And here is where the leaves started standing up and pulling 

away from the tape so I reinforced them with the hot glue.

      I finished it off by tying some brown ribbon around the wreath to create the hanger. I had on hand from previous projects but I believe I had purchased it from Michaels. Ta-da! Maybe one day the big one will get done. 

     I was glad to have this little guy finished because there was glitter everywhere. I laughed because I recently came across a book on Amazon called The Tao of Martha: My Year of LIVING; Or, Why I'm Never Getting All That Glitter Off of the Dog. I thought to myself "how the heck do you get glitter on your dog?" Well, now I know...Glitter gets everywhere. Especially when a little pooch gets nosey and wants to be in my lap so she can see what I'm doing.