Paper Wreath

Hi Everyone!  I hope this finds you all happy and enjoying this beautiful Tuesday in October!

Today I have a paper wreath to share with you.  I have seen these wreaths all over the internet and thought they were so very pretty!  When friends of mine moved into their new house, I thought it would make the perfect housewarming gift.

This was so fun and easy to make!  From start to finish, I worked on it about four hours.  I'm sure I would have been done sooner, but there was a learning curve, since I taught myself how to construct it during the process.

To begin with, I used a large dinner plate as my template to draw and cut two circles from a flattened, cardboard box.  I set one of them aside for later and then took my double-sided paper, inked the edges for a bit of definition, and began rolling my cones.  I used my hot glue gun for this project, gluing each cone at the point to hold the cone closed and then gluing them down to the cardboard circle.  The project actually went very quickly once I got the hang of making the cones.

I did a few layers of cones, rolling some of them differently than others, turning some to the back and others forward as I did each layer.  If you look closely you can see that they are different.

Hopefully you can see the difference in the cones in this photo.

For the center of the wreath, I used a saucer as my template and cut another circle from my flattened, cardboard box.  Then I cut a scalloped circle from cream cardstock with my Cricut Expression and my Ribbons and Rosettes Cartridge (Pg. 55).  After inking the edges and gluing it in place, I added the black floral rosette from the same cartridge (Pg. 29).  You can't see it from the photo, but after scoring and folding the rosette, I sprayed it with gold Glimmer Mist for just a hint of shimmer when the light hits it just right. 

Then came the circle in the center cut from the same cartridge (Pg. 21).  After lightly inking around the edges, I applied the pretty flourish to the top.  I just love this flourish.  I found it on Pg. 34 of the Elegant Cakes Cartridge and cut it twice, once from cream cardstock and once from black velvet cardstock (I know, right? The velvet really added a decadent touch!).  I didn't use the shadow feature but, rather, offset them ever so slightly.  The pretty monogram is from the same cartridge.  I did use the shadow feature for that element.

For the back of the wreath, I used my remaining large cardboard circle and covered it with cream cardstock.  I then inked the edges and added regular picture hanging hardware with brads.  Then I secured the back to the front with hot glue (and lots of it, lol!).  Here is a closeup...

Wrapping twine from one eyelet to another several times ensures that the wreath can be securely hung from a nail.  Then I added black ribbon tied in a pretty bow at the center top for another option in hanging.  To finish it off, I added my logo stamp on the back.  (The frame surrounding it is from the Lacy Labels Cartridge, Bliss.)

I hope you enjoyed my project for today.

Come back and visit again soon!

Merilee

Recipe:
Specialty Paper and Cardstock:  Recollections
Ribbon:  Offray
Ink:  Tim Holtz Distress Ink
Cricut Cartridges:  Ribbons and Rosettes, Elegant Cakes, Lacy Labels
Tools:  Cricut Expression, Glue Gun, Scotch ATG gun, Fiskars Paper Cutter, Tim Holtz Distress Ink Tool