Hey! Want to make a totally gorgeous vintage Christmas ball wreath? Of course you do, they look awesome! Read on fellow crafty, Christmas lover...
You will need:
-1 foam wreath form. I used a 16 inch one which is rather large but I had a lot of ornaments to use. A form with a smaller diameter would look just as lovely too. I found mine here.
-a whole lot of tinsel garland. Basically enough to tightly wrap around the wreath once.
-wire to make a hanger with.
-a hi temp (<--- important) glue gun and lots of glue sticks
-scissors
-a borderline hoarder amount of vintage Christmas balls and assorted old ornaments. In the end I think I ended up using approximately 40 plain coloured balls, 30 snazzy balls, and 25 mini balls. Keep an eye out in vintage/thrift stores and Christmas markets around the holidays for old ornaments. eBay and Etsy are excellent resources as well. Look for vintage ornies during the summer or other non holiday seasons rather then the months leading up to Christmas in order to get the best deals.
-sweet xmas jams to set the mood. May I suggest A Charlie Brown Christmas or Merry Christmas: Bing Crosby.
-enough rum toddys, spiked egg nog, big ol' mugs of scotch, etc. to get a good base buzz going. Trust me, it will make all the difference when you inevitably burn your fingers on scalding hot glue.
Start by gluing one end of the garland to the wreath and wrap tightly all along the length of it. Make sure to secure the tinsel to the styrofoam with blobs of glue at various points along the way.
Once the wreath form is fully entombed in tinsel grab some wire and make a little hanger. Just wrap it around the wreath a bunch of times and form the two ends into a loop. Make sure to position the loop/hanger at the back of the wreath as opposed to sticking out the top.
Line up plain balls, alternating by colour, on the inside and outside of your wreath. Once you like the look of everything start gluing them to the tinsel and to the sides of their neighbors as you go. Make sure to hold the balls for a second or two to let the glue dry and remember to point the tops downwards to the inside.
After that it's just a matter of filling it all in with your snazziest balls and ornaments. I glued down the disembodied Santa head, reindeer and elf before gluing the balls around them. Fill in small gaps or awkward spaces with your littlest balls.
And there you have it! Instant family heirloom. Hang it on the wall or on a door that doesn't get too much use, pour yourself another glass of rum and egg nog and stand back and admire your work.
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