You’re stuck at home, bored, frazzled, and probably eating too much…. aren’t we all?  Here’s an idea to keep you occupied that’s likely free because you already have the materials inside your home, which is nice since most of us can’t leave.  I saw a version of the paper wreath at a high-end home decorating boutique.  It was versatile both for holiday and year-round use. The price tag was ridiculous, so I decided to make my own.  Join me, get up off the sofa…. Let’s get going! And be sure to check back for more DIY Quarantine Ideas!  You can see a visual how to HERE or HERE.

Materials:

Old Book(s)
Wire Hanger
Cardboard Ring or Styrofoam Ring
Glue (maybe)
It is very simple to make and takes about an hour or so.  The size ring is up to you depending on the size wreath you’d like to make.  I’ll give you two techniques but the wire hanger and old book version is a little easier and FREE – plus I think I liked it better anyway.  I made the original wreath for my house using the roll and glue method.  If I had it to do over again, I’d use the hanger and scrunching method.

How To:

Again, I’m giving you two methods.  The first uses a wire hanger and an old book.  Disassemble the book and open the pages.  Open up the wire hanger and create a round frame for the wreath.

Scrunch each book page as though you’re going to throw the page away.

Then un-scrunch and fold into an S shape.

Fold the S shape paper over the wire hanger.  Hold the paper against the hanger at the fold and twist until the paper is twisted around the hanger at the fold.  Do this carefully (slowly) or the paper will rip and tear off completely.

Repeat this over and over until you’ve gone around the wire with the paper.  Push the twists tightly together at the base every so often and they will stay in place. The wreath is pretty – mashing on the paper and fluffing it here and there helps to finish the look.

Method 2:

The next method is my original method.  First tear pages from the books.  Roll one page at a time into a loose cone shape.  The wreath is not meant to be perfect, so make all different sizes and widths of cones.

Mash down the small end completely flat with your fingers.  Apply a quarter size dab of glue to the cone and inch or so from the end of the paper.
Allowing a bit of the edge of the paper to hang over the inside edge of the Styrofoam ring, affix the glue edge to the ring.  Repeat this process 1000 times.  I’m just joking, but it may feel like it.  Closely place each new paper cone around the edge of the ring, overlapping each piece just a little.

Keep going until the wreath starts to take shape on the ring.  You will want to gently press the paper down because it starts getting full quickly.  Once you have completed the first layer, again press the paper down lightly.

Now you are ready for your second layer.  Repeat the exact same process as above.  With each layer, trim 1/2 to 1 inch of the length of the paper so the cones get shorter as you reach the center layer.

Remember to gently mash down the layers as you go.  It will get tricky to reach the center of the wreath to affix the paper edge if you don’t.  You can fluff the layers once they are completed.

Once you have completed all the layers your wreath will look like this.

I added some miscellaneous paper curls throughout the wreath for fullness and more texture.  Mashing down the entire wreath to make it look less perfect is a good idea if you want that particular look.  You may trim any stray edges or paper that are too long for symmetry.  I sprayed the entire wreath heavily with Lysol spray and left it in the sun for the afternoon.  My old books smelled like mold so I used Lysol spray on the pages.  The spray turned the pages a deeper caramel/yellow color which was perfect for the room where I hang my wreath.  The wreath gets lots of compliments and no one knows how easy and inexpensive it is to make.  Be sure to visit tomorrow for some more DIY Quarantine Ideas!