Paper Holiday Wreath

A here with a cheap DIY alternative to the traditional evergreen wreath.  This one is made entirely out of paper and staples, making it light weight enough to hang with a suction cup hook.  To make your own, you will need:

• Leftover frozen pizza box (or other lightweight cardboard)
• Five sheets of 12x12 scrapbook paper, or wrapping paper
• Scissors
• Pencil
• Stapler and staples
• Ribbon for hanging

This project begins a lot like the Tea Wreath I posted several days ago.  Step one is to make a cardboard ring that will act as the backing for the wreath.  The size of this ring is entirely up to you.  Mine is approximately 15" in diameter with about a 3" ring width.  I chose these sizes because that made the perfect sized wreath for my door...no I didn't.  I chose the size because I traced a couple plates I had in my kitchen. 

As a bonus hint, try not to demolish the center of your wreath as you are cutting it out.  The circle you cut out of the center can be used to make your leaf template!  I drew my template freehand, but measured from tip to tip to make sure the leaves would be approximately 5" long.  This gives plenty of room for overlapping.  Then I used the template to cut as many leaves out of each 12x12 sheet as I could.  I also cut off the bottom tip of each leaf so that I could tell the difference between the bottom and the top.

I chose four different maroon papers and one gold paper to give the wreath some dimension and let the gold spice it up a little bit.  One of the great things about this wreath is I can make new ones with whatever colors I want for any season.  It's so cheap (and a great excuse to get rid of holiday scrapbook papers I've been hoarding for years).

Now comes the tricky part.  Each leaf should be curled around the pencil to give it dimension.  Then the bottom (the tip you cut off) should be folded in on each corner a little and stapled through the cardboard backing.  I recommend mixing your patterns and layering the wreath as you go.  It's not rocket science, and the wreath won't be symmetrical, so don't worry your head about that.  Here's a shot of what mine looked like partway through.

Continue like this around the entirety of the cardboard backing, tucking the last handful of leaves underneath the first ones you stapled down.  This will give the wreath an "infinity" look (and will cover up your handiwork).

At this point I realized that Cat had not been nearly interested enough in my project.  How is it possible that he hadn't batted all of my carefully cut out leaves around the house?  Mystery solved!  In searching for a good hanging ribbon, I found someone asleep in my craft drawer!

After carefully removing him from my supplies, I found a long scrap of ribbon and stapled it to the cardboard backing.  The wreath is light enough that just a staple or two should hold it.  Then I hung the wreath using a suction cup hook.  With a glass door, it's often hard to find good ways to hang heavier things, so this wreath is definitely something I'm going to keep in my repertoire for the future.

As this is an infinitely customizable project, I'd love to see your variations!  Please post them below.