Gorgeous Jingle Bell Wreath
Isn't this a gorgeous DIY Jingle Bell Wreath? Imagine how beautiful it will look when the lights from the Christmas tree, which will be located on the opposite side of the room, are reflecting on the silver bells! I have been wanting a set of these for three years now! While browsing through the aisles at Hobby Lobby, I found jingle bells on sale for half-price! Five packages of 32mm silver jingle bells, 28 in each package, made their way into my cart.
Yesterday, I started thinking about this wreath and how it was going to be put together. I watched a Martha Stewart video. She used 16 gauge wire. I did not have 16 gauge wire, but I did have a couple of wire coat hangers.
First I untwisted the hook and tried to cut the hanger. My little cutters would not cut through the wire. Dave has been cleaning up and organizing his tools. Let me tell you since he has done that, I cannot find a tool to save my soul! All day yesterday, he was putting up his tree stand in some woods south of here and didn't get back til late.
This morning, I asked him to get the needle nose pliers and cut the hanger for me. Yes, I could have cut it myself but he was here with pliers in hand!
After cutting the wire, the end was shaped into an eye hook on one end, as shown in the picture.
Next, shape the hanger into a circle. You need to bend the angles out of the hanger before stringing any jingle bells on it! It won't be a perfect circle, but shape it the best you can.
Then, start stringing the bells on the wire. They will twist around close together and the eye hook made earlier will hold them on the wire.
The coat hanger made a twelve-inch diameter wreath with the bells on it. I used two of the packages of bells and eight from another package to make each of the wreaths.
After threading the bells on the wire, using the needle nose pliers, form a hook on the end of the wire. Hook that end through the eye hook made earlier.
This is how the wreath should look at this point.
Now, all that is needed is a bow! I chose a red satin wired ribbon to make the bow. I formed the loops of the bow, tied another length of ribbon around the center of the loops and then tied it to the wreath where the hook and eye were. Next, I brought the loose ribbon tails to the front, underneath the bow. The great thing about the wired ribbon is that it can be shaped and adjusted!
This wreath is going to be hung in front of a mirror. I hammered a nail into the drywall slightly above the mirror and angled it. Using another length of the ribbon, I wrapped it around the knot of the bow and the wreath, tied a knot, brought the ends together, and decided how long I wanted the ribbon to hang. Then I tied an over handknot at that point, slipped it over the nail, trimmed the tails to about four inches, and tucked them behind the frame of the mirror.
As I was putting away the leftover red ribbon I spied this silver snowflake ribbon and made a smaller bow to top the red bow. I can't decide which I like best! What do you think?
After Thanksgiving, both wreaths will be displayed on the mirrors flanking the fireplace. I can't wait! Oh, my gosh! I love this gorgeous jingle bell wreath!
