A gazillion or so years ago I made one of those coat hanger ornament wreaths just like everyone else on the planet. While it was certainly pretty enough, it didn’t make it to a second season. Why? I ignored the advice to use unbreakable ornaments. So if you hear nothing else, hear this: use unbreakable ornaments when you’re making an ornament wreath!
Fast forward to a couple of years ago when I was inspired by my love of vintage Shiny Brite ornaments to attempt a second ornament wreath. True Shiny Brite ornaments-both the vintage ones and newer versions-are very fragile. Keeping that in mind, I used them as color inspiration for picking out my unbreakable ornaments. I try not to make the same mistake twice!
Of course, that didn’t mean I couldn’t run into a few new issues. Learn from me, people…
To make your own vintage-ish Christmas Ornament Wreath, you’ll need:
- Unbreakable Ornaments (look for pastel colors and silver ornaments in a variety of sizes)
- Straw Wreath Form
- Tinsel Garland
- Greening Pins (look for them in the floral department)
I like this wreath so much better than the hanger-style wreaths because it looks much fuller. Of course, to make it, you’ll need a lot of tinsel. In the case of my wreath, it took three 12′ lengths of tinsel garland. It’s also the reason it took me three years to finally finish this wreath. I bought two garlands, started my wreath, realized I’d need three and…they were sold out. It took me that long to find the same exact garland in stock again. There’s a lesson here. Buy all of the garlands you might need before you get started!
I left the plastic on my straw wreath form to keep it from shedding while I was working. To make your own wreath, start by pinning one end of your tinsel garland to the back of the wreath form and wrap it around, fully covering the surface as you go. Push a pin through the garland every few wraps to keep things secure.
Once your wreath is fully covered in tinsel, start to add your ornaments. Add three ornaments to a pin and then push it into the wreath. Continue doing this all the way around the wreath. Pay a little attention as you’re adding ornaments to make sure you’re not adding too much of the same color in the same place, but for the most part just add the ornaments randomly.
Once your wreath is fully covered in ornaments, it’s ready to hang! You can also mix things up using different colors to match your personal style and decor. Get creative!
Click on the photo below to save to Pinterest. 
