Wednesday, December 16, 2015

Christmas Wreath Mishap

Another holiday, another wreath! 

I had been collecting expired bulbs from our Christmas lights with a goal to add them to a wreath. This was the year that I had enough of them. This Cheapskate Tip involves trash (expired bulbs) and ribbon. That's it!
Wrap ribbon around wreath, pinning the beginning and end into the wreath itself. I was partial to the curly ribbon at the end so I let it hang at the bottom.
Here, I individually wrapped floral wire around the thread of the bulb and created a hook formation of the wire and poked it into the ribbon and wreath, doing so all around the outer edge of the wreath. Of course, the dog must supervise this effort!
Closeup
Hooking in the bulbs
This takes a while...
Completed effort; bird's eye view
I then wrapped a string of tiny LED lights around the wreath and hung the wreath to see how it would look, and to add finishing touches. Notice a bulb missing here?...
...Not all ideas are fruitful, and this is okay! Lesson learned...back to the drawing board.
Instead, I pulled all of the bulbs and twisted the wire together so that they formed a large bunch. 
I also decided to take the remaining ribbon and loop it three times at the bottom to create the look of gift wrap.
Wrap the bulb cluster wire around the bottom. They are not going anywhere this time!
I used a pillow ornament to cover the LED battery pack hanging in the middle of the wreath. This ornament was given to me years ago by a co-worker. I'm still perplexed by its message to this day, but I love it because of its double-meaning!
I added a bit more flair above the bulb cluster--red glitter foliage, purchased last year on clearance at a craft store. These little pieces are great for gift wrap too.
This festive little wreath took longer than anticipated, but hey...not all ideas can be fruitful. Mishaps force us to learn. Mishaps are great opportunities to laugh at yourself. Sometimes even, a better idea can evolve after a mishap. 

Hoping that your holidays are wonderful, mishaps and all!