Sunday, November 15, 2009

Wreath Havoc (Monkey Goggles)

Around a week before Halloween, when the Christmas decorations began to show up in stores, I saw some really cool feathered wreaths and thought they would be a great addition to my “I-kinda-hate-Christmas-but-kinda-love-silver-glittery-things” decor. The price tags on the wreaths were kinda high, though — between $60 and $90. Yipes.

So I got to thinking: Why couldn’t I just get a Styrofoam ring and some feather boas from the Sassy Gay Party Store and make my own wreaths? A little hot glue and some straight pins and voila! Easy-peasy, and cheap!

But why stop there? There are all kinds of wreaths that can be made from common household objects and a few craft-store supplies.

If you want to point out the rampant commercialism of the season with a wreath that looks like it’s made from $50 bills, you can totally do that! You may want to do your own research on this, but I’m pretty sure it’s okay to photocopy money as long as you make it significantly larger or smaller than its original size, printed on one side only. And whatever you do, do not try to pass it off as currency. So with that in mind, why not run off a couple sheets of Franklins, affix them to a mesh wreath form, hot glue on some additional bling (use red rhinestones if you wanna have some traditional holiday cheer all up in there), and there you go! Just don’t spend it all in one place.

Or, if you are wanting a truly White Christmas, you can take a white Styrofoam wreath form and wrap it in strands of pearls — real or fake, your choice — and be done. A light dusting of pearlescent glitter would make it even more fabulous. Or better – mirror balls! Peel the mirrors off the mirror balls and glue them to a wreath. Use silver and white glitter to fill in any gaps. Glitter fixes everything, you see.

Thinking about feeding the birds? Edible wreaths are pretty easy to make from popcorn (wrap strung popcorn around a twig wreath form) or peanut butter and seeds (and a circle of corrugated cardboard as the base). With a little gelatin and a bundt pan, you can make the birdseed wreath to end all birdseed wreaths.

Oh, and you know those hubcaps that just seem to appear on the side of the road? Find one, hose it off, and attach some pine tree air fresheners. Then go play Santa and hang it on the wall of your local gas station bathroom for a wonderful, seasonal treat that will most certainly be appreciated by all.
Antlers? Old plates? Strings of buttons? A tire and some spraypaint? You can make a wreath from pretty much anything.

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