When Martha Stewart was first on the scene, this was one of the first craft projects I watched her make. So, my sister and I tackled it, and it turned out great. As I was coming up with good ideas for kid craft projects for the blog, this one crossed my mind. But to personalize it on the kids' level, I added a twist.
Each of my three children had one ornament to personalize.They drew a picture, wrote their name on the ornament in permanent marker (supervised, of course!), or whatever they wanted to do to that one ornament.
So, for this project, here is the list of what you will need:
Kids Christmas Ball Ornament Wreath
Wreath Frame (9-12 inch diameter, a foam or willow straw frame is best)
Lots of ball ornaments (readily available at the dollar store or Target)
Glue gun (to be used by adults only)
Permanent markets (like a Sharpie, but the dollar store has good knock-offs)
I started by gluing the three personalized ornaments the kids completed. I spaced them evenly apart on the wreath.
Then, begin hot gluing the remaining ornaments. I began by gluing some of the large ornaments in a "zig zag" pattern around the top of the wreath (see photo below). The kids can participate, but I apply the glue, then they hold the ornaments in place. Then, continue gluing until the inner and outer sides are completely covered. Some of these side ornaments will be glued to the wreath form; as it begins to fill up, you will need to apply glue on the ornaments themselves and glue them together to fill the gaps.
If desired, you can hot glue a pre-tied bow at the bottom center of the wreath. You could even add a small ornament or sign in lieu of the ribbon.
Although strong, this wreath is very fragile, so handle with care. I recommend one of those wreath boxes to store it in. For hanging, use a metal wreath hanger that goes over the door. I even add a few glue dots behind the lower back portion of the wreath so it doesn't bang against the door.
