How to Make your own ornament ball wreath for the front door or as a holiday table centerpiece

A wreath on the front door makes a great first impression 

You can make a wreath for every season
or a wreath can become a centerpiece as a festive decoration

Below is a tutorial on how to make your own wreath
for ourselves or to give away as gifts that can be personlized
which are always the best gifts, in my opinion!

Starting with a white hanger or piece of wire, shape it into a circle the size that you desire

You can purchase wire from the hardware store
suggestion: use 14 or 18 guage wire 
(depending on how much ''bendability'' you prefer to work with)


Depending on the size of the wreath - cut the wire accordingly
The white hanger is great though as it is the right size
(as well as already having a "hook" if you wish to hang it from the wall or door)

Gather your ornaments and place an egg container
 (an egg container will hold the balls while gluing so they don't roll away and they are held into position with the stem/cap up)

Add hot glue on the tops of each ball to ensure the tops 
will stay on when they are attached to the wire (reinforcing the stem/cap attachment to the ball)

You'll need lots of glue sticks for this project!

You may use bead garland or the fluffy garland or a pretty ribbon as embellishment
this is where you can get really creative!

For visual interest, use different sized balls
You can either attach them directly to the wire by threading them (using the stem/cap of the ball)
or you can glue them to those that you have already attached to the wire directly
to fill in the gaps between balls

(note: the balls shown in the photo above are without the stem/cap) 

Place the ball onto the wire through the hole in the stem/cap

Pictured above, the larger balls are spaced out

When the wire is full of balls, you will need to make a hook at the back
 Use the hook part of the hanger and push the two ends together to create a circle or "hook" then wrap
and overlap each end around a bit and glue into place

You do not need a big hook if you are attaching to a nail on the wall
or to a hook on your door or no hook at all if you are creating a centerpiece

 Ensure that you hide the hook so that it does not protrude past the balls at the top of the wreath
Add garland on top of it to further hide it

After you have all the balls on the wire and have them spaced out (alternating on the sides of the wire)
you can add small balls in between to fill in the gaps


Check the fit and placement of each ball before gluing! 
You can pull them apart after gluing but the glue spot may take some of the paint off the ball

Place the glue where the balls are meeting in the gaps i.e. "drop" the glue in the space and push the balls together
Hold in place after you glue for a few minutes to ensure adhesion
before moving on to the next ball
 
Use as much glue as you can without it showing 
If you can see the glue, use some garland or another ball to hide it

After completion, handle the wreaths carefully as they are somewhat fragile
 
They are durable enough to go on the front door or use as a centerpiece
Also, when gifting - wrap them carefully!

In the photo above, after securing the balls
use the glittery garland behind the wreath to hide the wire (optional)

Use a small stick to push the garland from the back to the front in between the cracks
​ so you just see a little garland protruding to the front of the wreath

Additionally, another option is to use the beaded garland cut into lengths of approx. 8-10 beads
Place these loops in between the balls to fill the gaps 
You can also weave the garland in and around the balls 
securing with a dot of glue as you wrap around



Tips and Tricks

To add the garland loops - "drop" the glue in between the balls and using a stick,
push the bead garland loops into the gap

 Buy an ornament kit in a package including balls, stars, cones and garland 
(local tire store sells them for $10) Not only is it inexpensive but they are already matched

Turn your project around like a steering wheel as you add more items
so you can check 'symmetry'

The more you practice making them, the quicker you will be
 approximately 1 wreath in 2 hours

Place a plastic sheet or cardboard under
your craft station to avoid glue from
adhering to the work surface beneath it

Ornament ball style wreaths can be made in other colours 
For example, red and pink for valentines day 
or all pink for the wall of a girls room
(including their name with wooden letters from the craft store)

​Lots of ideas on the internet

Photo above is an example of a garland bead loop

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Photos of wreaths

The wreath in the photo above is made from an ornament ball kit that included stars and glittery snowflakes


TIP: while you are gluing, always hold the wreath up and turn it around (like a steering wheel) to look at the overall shape of ball placement to ensure that it is staying rounded and evenly spaced

Freely add more balls to create symmetry and fill gaps

For the wreath in the photo above, I borrowed some green balls from the brown ornament ball kit
to add an additional pop of colour and weaved the garland around the balls
​and around the outer edge of the wreath

A wreath can be used as a centerpiece

Add a festive candle to your wreath

A variety of colours add interest to the piece

Use snowflakes and pine cones to add height to your wreath

I enjoy giving these wreaths away as gifts
They are unique and can be colour matched to the recipients tastes or decor!
It's amazing what you can make with a glue gun and your imagination!
​
Be creative and enjoy!