Hi Friends! Happy New Year! It’s Suzanne, Rebecca’s mama, happy to be back with you on the Patterned Paper Plate. Now that the holiday season is winding down and all the reds and greens are being put away, I wanted to make something for our front door that was a little more neutral in color and that would work through Valentine’s Day. You know that we love recycled/repurposed crafts here on the PPP and I have officially put myself into a no-spend January (maybe even February and March!) when it comes to crafting supplies, so when we received a large box padded with packing paper, I knew I had the raw materials for a fun DIY wreath. First, I traced two concentric circles onto the body of the box to begin making my wreath form. Using a craft knife, I cut out both the inner and outer circles and then traced and cut out another circular piece. I placed the two circles together and traced the inner circle onto the second piece so that the inner circles would line up exactly. After cutting out the second inner circle I glued the two circles together using my favorite paper glue, being certain that I placed the corrugations of one-piece opposite to the corrugations in the other to make my wreath form very sturdy. Using the craft knife I gave a trim here and there to ensure that the two sides matched perfectly. Thinking ahead about how I was going to decorate the wreath, I cut a few more small pieces of the box and carefully removed the top layer of paper to expose the corrugation underneath. It was very easy to remove the top layer of paper on this box but a good technique to use if the paper is a bit more resistant to being pulled apart is to lay a warm and damp paper towel onto one side of your corrugated cardboard piece. The warmth and moisture will activate the glue holding the corrugated cardboard together and allow you to pull up one layer of paper very easily. This is something that needs to be done quickly so that the moisture does not release the corrugated piece of paper as well. Since my intention for this wreath was to decorate for Valentine's Day, I decided to paint one piece of this exposed corrugated cardboard white and a second piece red. Again, applying paint needs to be done quickly and with a light hand because we do not want the moisture of the paint to release the corrugated cardboard from its backing layer. Chalk paint, because it is thick and can cover most surfaces in just one coat, is an ideal paint to use for an application like this. While the paint was drying on my pieces, it was time to figure out how to cover my newly created wreath form. I took the packing paper and cut it into long strips approximately 1 1/2 inches wide. I then began to crumple and twist the paper strips gently to make a raffia/jute type of paper yarn. My plan was to use these long strips wrapped around the base wreath form to cover it completely. You'll need to do this crumple/twisting job somewhat gently so that you do not tear the strips apart completely. Once I had a pile of paper yarn, I fired up my glue gun and began wrapping my wreath form. I made sure to begin and end each strip on the back side of the wreath. I also made sure that the paper yarn showing on the front of the wreath was tucked in tight as it was being wrapped and that no edges were visible. I used packing paper for this step, but you could also use thin brown paper grocery bags. The paper that you use should be thin enough to easily manipulate but also strong enough to withstand the crumpling and twisting. My first try with Trader Joe’s bags was unsuccessful because the bags are so darn sturdy! After having crumpled and twisted what felt like miles of paper yarn, my wreath form was completely covered. To make a hanger, I made a loop of the paper yarn and glued it to the back of the wreath. Because this is simply corrugated cardboard and paper it is relatively light, so this small hanger was sufficient. I decided that given the natural and imperfect nature of this wreath, the hearts I would use to decorate it should be wonky and a bit grubby. To make them, I turned my painted corrugated cardboard pieces over and drew on some elongated and asymmetrical heart shapes and tried to use the same craft knife to cut them out. Unfortunately, the knife really tore up the exposed corrugation, so I pivoted to regular scissors to much success. After the hearts were cut out, I used a bit of antiquing wax to knock down the brightness of the color. I made a small grouping of three hearts on the lower left-hand side of the wreath, using more bits of corrugated cardboard to glue the hearts on at various depths. As a finishing touch I added some jute bows to the hearts to add some dimension. Was this a tedious project? It was! I am pleased with the resulting wreath though, and I like the very natural and raw look of it. My first craft project of the year is in the books and my total yearly craft expenditures is still at $0. Thank you to my mother for the crafty project! - Rebecca
P.S. Today's photo on the homepage is from Pexels user Ylanite Koppens: www.pexels.com/photo/mini-red-hearts-wallpaper-776635/
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AuthorI am a 28-year-old crafter from New Hampshire! Archives
January 2025
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