Ok, so you may remember this project over at House of Hepworth’s around Halloween. It was all over the blogosphere, I know I saw it at least three times. And rightfully so, it’s super cute! I kinda wanted to make one too, but I thought ‘everyone’s doing it…’ and I wanted something new. So I stashed the idea in my mental filing cabinet, unsure of whether it would stay filed or not. My mental filing system isn’t always reliable. Lol.
Well, I was fulfilling an order and needed a bigger picture frame. I wasn’t really thrilled with the idea of running to Walmart two Saturdays before Christmas. That place is a zoo when it’s not Christmas time. I thought ‘well, I’ll go check the thrift store that is literally a block away before I drive the 10 minutes to Walmart’. I was rather thrilled when I found a 10×13″ frame in good shape with a $2 sticker on it. Then I noticed a shiny piece of dryer hose…. and I thought about the pumpkin. But, it’s Christmas time, no one’s gonna wanna make pumpkins! I wrapped the ends together and held it up and BAM! Inspiration struck like lightning! Then I noticed the $.25 sticker and I quick like a bunny added it to my picture frame. That ended up being all I got. And, with my military discount, my total was $1.60. He didn’t even charge me for the dryer hose. Sweet! That is the reason I love that thrift store chain so much, I always leave in a much better mood than when I get there. Even when I go in happy. And what little money I do spend (it’s always less than the sticker price) goes to a good cause.
Here is what the inspiration fairies delivered!:
It’s a little plain, but I was going for simple. When I actually have somewhere to display it, I will probably spruce it up some more. The part that got me really excited: I spent maybe a quarter on this project. I did have to buy green spray paint and the little ornament balls and the presents were in the dollar section at Target.
Here’s the how-to:
1) Take your vent hose and decide how big you want your wreath. I didn’t do any cutting on mine, as was already pretty short. If you buy the hose new, though, you will need to trim it down.
2) Spray paint your the hose. I only did one coat, partly because it was really cold outside and partly because I kinda like the silvery glint that shines through. Let it dry completely.
3) Pull the two ends together to make your circle. I used hot glue to secure it. It dries the fastest. Who wants to sit there and hold it while the glue dries, right?
4) I then glued three red ball ornaments together in the shape of holly berries. They are pretty small, smaller than the little ones at the Dollar Tree. I found them in our Target dollar section and have seen them still there in past few days.
5) Glue those styrofoam, foil-wrapped squares on top where ever you would like them placed (those I did get at the Dollar Tree).
6) Wrap a ribbon around the wreath and ht glue the end to where the ribbon meets back up. You can glue the ribbon to the wreath if you want. I tied a half Windsor knot at the top and then secured it with hot glue to hold it in place. Guess it was worth learning how to tie and tie. =]
