Sunday, November 8, 2009

Frugal Dollar Tree Wreath

Last night, I found a tutorial for a gorgeous Christmas ornament wreath here. Isn't that wreath just gorgeous? Today was such a lovely day, it was leaf raking day, so I went to Walmart for leaf bags- conveniently located right next to Dollar Tree.

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Christmas Ornament Wreath
You'll Need:

50 Christmas Bulbs- I would recommend getting Shatter Proof. I found these 5/$1 in coordinating colors at Dollar Tree
12+ small Christmas bulbs- again, I would recommend getting Shatter Proof. These were 12 or 15 for $1 for plain, or 8/$1 in glitter finish at Dollar Tree. I bought 12, but probably could have used a few more.
1 Wire Hanger
1 Glue Gun
1 Spool of Ribbon
Pipe Cleaners

Total Cost: $13, not counting on hand items. I had to buy 11 total packs of ornaments, 1 spool of ribbon, and a package of wire hangers (I've gutted my own closets for these in the past, and knew I was out, but on the plus side, I do have a lot more now). I had the glue gun & pipe cleaners on hand.


  1. First off, you will want to shape the hanger into a circle. Once that's done, untwist the hook, so you can string the ornaments on them.
  2. Start by sorting your ornaments into piles, and then add them one at a time to the wreath in whatever order you want, adding in small ones every now and then, to help fill in the games that show.
  3. Once they are strung on, give the wreath a good shake- some of the ornaments don't stay in their hanger, and will need to be glued back on.
  4. When you are satisfied that the wreath is full enough, twist the top shut again. I used needle nose pliers to make sure it was shut tight.
  5. Arrange the bulbs, and if you would like, glue them together. In spots where my bulbs wanted to spin to the other side, I glued them in place against each other.
  6. Add a bow to the top. I also added ribbon trails, and wrapped them around the hanger to keep it in the places I wanted. I used gold glitter pipe cleaners to attach the ribbon to the hanger (use whatever you have on hand- I happened to have that already)
  7. Use an over the door wreath hanger to hang it on your door!
I choose colors that were more of a harvest theme- orange, gold, burgundy, olive, etc. This way, I can use the wreath for both Thanksgiving and Christmas!

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10 comments:

Jessie L. said...

Gorgeous! I love the colors you used, and that ribbon is a beautiful touch to the finished product.

Expressions by Heather said...

Thank you! I already got an "order" from my mom to make her one ;)

Gwen said...

I love this so much that I just showed Art and said that we were making one of these!

I am also loving the new look of the blog. Did you do it yourself? I really want to make a button for mine, but I am so photoshop challenged.

Expressions by Heather said...

Hi Gwen! This wreath was just so easy, yet looks like something you would find in an expensive little shop.

I got the background and the blank banner for the new look over at http://www.thecutestblogontheblock.com

I dug through my fonts, and found one I liked, and added it to the banner, then I chopped a blank banner down to make the button link.

If you'd like, I can do some for you- just show me what you want!

michelle@somedaycrafts said...

I saw this back when I went through your site. Gorgeous colors. I made one over Thanksgiving and was a few ornaments too short. I need to go back to the dollar store and get more. thanks for linking up at somedaycrafts.blogspot.com

Erin A said...

I'm making one of these now too! Got most of my ornaments at Dollar Tree as well, they are beautiful this year! Great tutorial, thanks! :)

Rhonda Moon said...

very cute

Rhonda Moon said...

very cute

Jenny @ Paint and Pillows said...

So cute! I need to make a new wreath for next year (mine's falling apart after only 2 years!) and this one is really pretty and looks very durable! Thanks for the awesome idea!

Expressions by Heather said...

I was surprised at how well it lasted. I put this one up well before Thanksgiving, outside, in the tempremental Michigan weather. It's withstood high winds, banging against the door (from the wind- I put it on a non-used door), rain, snow, and ice for about 2 months, and not a single bulb has popped off!