I used the idea of a book for my header since this challenge is going to be a journal of my life over the years.
I hope you enjoy viewing these pages of my life as they unfold. I know I will...

Thursday, December 8, 2011

Candy Wreaths

I've never had any cute ways to decorate my kitchen at Christmas. This year, I decided to make something to dress up my cabinets in a little bit of yummy, minty cheer using these Christmas classics.


What you need for one wreath: 9" Styrofoam wreaths, 1 1/2 bags of mint candies, glue gun, clear spray enamel, ribbon, and command hooks.

Step 1) Unwrap all those little buggers. If you are smart you can bribe the little people that live in your house with a few to eat if they unwrap them for you. I made 6 of these wreaths so there were 9 bags of candy to unwrap! Separate the broken ones from the good ones (you will use the broken ones later).

Step 2 - Glue them on! Put the glue on the upper center of the candy since they hang off the wreath a little.


I always started with the top row of candies and went in a circle. If there is a gap once you complete your circle, no worries, the ribbon will cover it.

Start the second row in the same place as you started the first so all your gaps will be in the same place.

Then do the outer edge and the inside edge. It only requires one row of candies. Remember, always start your rows at the same place so your gaps are at the same place. Sometimes you get lucky and they line up perfectly.

Since you don't really see the back I use all those broken ones and just glue them in a zig-zag pattern to fill in the back.

When you are done you will see lots of what I call "glue spider webs" all over. They are super easy to get rid of. Just use a blow dryer on it and they all magically melt away!

Step 3 - I took them out to my garage and sprayed a clear coat of enamel on them to not only protect them, but make it so they aren't sticky.

Step 4 - cut ribbon to the length you want it to hang, string it through the center of your wreath and glue it into place on the back or bottom inside. Then tie a knot at the end. I got command hooks and hung them on the back side of my cabinets upside down and hung the knotted edge of the ribbon on it. I then got some "crafty tack" and put it on the back side of the wreath so it would stick to the cabinet and not swing around and break when we opened and closed the cabinets.

Here's how they look hung...

You can add bows to the tops of the wreaths but I like them simple. These are super fragile so you need to be careful with them. I had one wreath break in half at the bottom but just glued it back together and you can't tell.

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