Well, nine days till Christmas! Are y’all ready? I’m just now decorating…we got our tree up this weekend and I completed a few Christmas crafts to share throughout the week. Then this weekend I’ll have my Christmas house tour – Domestic Imperfection style.
Let’s kick this week off with Christmas craft number one, a classic jingle bell wreath.
Materials –
Instructions –
Alright, so here is how I made the wreath. First, start with your form –
What the heck kind of wreath form is that, you ask? Well….it’s an old soaker hose and some Gorilla tape.
Allow me to explain.
I started out by trying to make the wreath by stringing the bells onto an old wire hanger….
But that way left a lot of gaps and wasn’t nearly as beefy as I wanted. So, attempt two was an actual wreath form…
…but I quickly realized that I didn’t have nearly enough bells to cover a big form like that. Plus the bells are on the pricey side, so there was no way I was buying more.
After those didn’t work I was kind of at a loss, so I searched the house and garage and found a box of soaker hoses that Adam got from a neighbor. We’re never going to use them…at least not as hoses. They make for a great small wreath forms though!
To glue the bells to the hose I added hot glue just above the loop part of the bell and glued then on at an angle, like so…
This way your wreath lays flat against the wall and it saves you from using a million bells.
Then you just glue, and glue, and glue some more.
Lastly, I added a ridiculously large red velvet bow. You can skip the bow completely or do a small one or whatever, but when it comes to Christmas decor and bows it’s go big or go home, in my opinion.
And there you have it, a festive jingle bell wreath!
Big Lots had little packages of big jingle bells this year. You’d probably need two or three for this project but it could be a money saver. Some of the bells were glitterized. I’m not sure if I hated it or loved it.
Good to know, I always forget about Big Lots. I do the same thing as you…I’ll see something and think “man, that thing is hideous. I think I love it.”
Oh I love a wreath! No decorating for us this year… we moved house on Friday, so apart from being totally buggered, I’m not entirely sure where the decorations are. All we have is the advent calendar I made a month ago and a homemade wreath from a friend. The gifts are in a corner on the floor! I’ll enjoy living vicariously through you :)
Great use for a soaker hose! I’ll bet the hot glue sticks really well to its rough surface. This gives me all kinds of ideas.
It does work great if you 1) wash it first and 2) don’t spray paint it. I may have made a few soaker hose wreath forms before I got it right ;)
This project is super cute. I love jingle bells. You spelt jingle wrong on your text in the photo. Don’t worry I’ve got your back. It’s probably just some domestic imperfection charm. I make errors all the time that I don’t see and then go back later and swear someone switched my writing. When I am telling you about one, there is probably an error in this comment that I can’t currently see :)
Oh gosh, haha, I totally did. That’s what happens when my husband isn’t around to proofread my post for me! Thanks for having my back :)
That’s awesome! And a good way to make a wreath form. I love how it looks against the birch wall – gorgeous!
That soaker hose is a bit of pure genius. You’re sort of the MacGuyver of the decorating world…”Quick, I’ve got twenty minutes to make a jingle bell wreath before the kids wake up…I’ll just take a big of this soaker hose and a glue gun…” And…voila! Very nice, indeed.
So cute! My kids would adore this! They’re all about things that make loud noises! :)
What a pretty wreath and would make a lovely gift. Well done!
Love this!! Ashley, so cleaver, and turned out Beautiful!! I have been wanting to make one of these myself for some time, I’m such a procrastinator…looking forward to your next crafty Christmas decor and tour! :)
Ashley, that’s gorgeous. I think the bow is perfect. (Plus, everything’s bigger in Texas!) I’m glad I’m not the only one who scours my garage like searching for prey mid-project. It’s typically much cheaper, and I’ll do a whole lot before I pile up the kids in the car and haul off to a store for something. Looking forward to seeing the Christmas Tour of your home!
Prey, lol…that’s such a great description. I did go after that soaker hose with a bread knife!
Love it! And if you hung it on a door it would make it sound like Christmas every time someone opened or closed it :)