...and more ornaments!

I thought I would show you some close ups of that ornament wreath I made for Suzanne for Christmas this year.  I took some photos as I was creating it so you could see how I do it.  It's my own method, based upon guessing, really, as to how it's done.

Suzanne's was the third one I've made.  The first was a gift to Angela a few years ago, and the second is one I made for my own home.  This is the first one I've ever made with more pastel/light colors than traditional Christmas brights.

I start with a plain straw wreath; they are substantial in weight and seem to make a good base for the wreaths.  I wrap vintage silver tinsel around and around the wreath until it's well covered.

Then I just go to town hot gluing an assortment of bulbs onto the wreath.  It's pretty time consuming, as you need to hold the bulbs steady while the glue dries before adding another.  Above, you can see that I propped the wreath on a vase so that I could see it at a better angle as I was adding the bulbs.

In addition to the glass bulbs, I like to add other vintage doo dads.  Above, I made a little flower burst by layering a tart tin, a glass reflector cover, and a tiny silver ball.

I just keep going, adding this that and the other thing as I build up the wreath.  I try to balance color, size, etc.

As I finished, I took a lot of close ups of different sections of the wreath:

That gold star at the top is a vintage liquor bottle decoration that I found on Suzanne and my first trip together to Kansas!

As a final touch, I added glitter to the candy cane pick at the bottom of the wreath.  You can also add ribbon, but I personally like the way it looks without.

I think the most special part of this wreath is that many of the elements I used in addition to ornaments were vintage pieces that Suzanne had given to me -- because she knows I like to craft with them.  What a joy to give her back a wreath with some of those pieces!