How to Make Pretty Paper Wreaths

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You'll Need:

• Cardboard
• Crafts knife
• Dyed book pages
• Hot-glue gun
• Hot-glue sticks
• Adhesive dots or foam spacers
• Adhesive hanger or ribbon

To Make the Wreath:

1. Make cardboard wreath form by tracing two 9-inch round circles with a 3-inch holes in the center; cut out. Cover cardboard form with dyed pages.
2. Cut strips of dyed pages between 1⁄2 and 1 inch wide and at varied lengths for mismatched strips.
3. Starting on the outer edge of one of the wreath forms, unevenly place random strips with 1–2 inches of overhang around edge; secure with hot glue. Continue around the outside of the wreath, leaving space between strips.
4. Stick adhesive dots on top of the wreath form with paper strips. Place second wreath form on top and press to secure. Hot-glue paper strips around second wreath form, filling in the spaces from the first layer. For the final layer, add paper strips to the wreath form using adhesive dots to raise and give dimension to the wreath. Continue until wreath form is covered.
5. When finished, hang with an adhesive hanger or a loop of ribbon.

You'll Need:

• Cardboard
• Crafts knife
• Dyed book pages
• 12x12-inch scrapbook paper in desired color scheme
• Permanent glue stick
• Hot-glue gun
• Hot-glue sticks
• Adhesive hanger or ribbon

To Make the Wreath:

1. Make cardboard wreath form by tracing a 12-inch round circle with a 3-inch hole in the center; cut out. Cover cardboard form with dyed pages.
2. Cut 12×12 scrapbook paper diagonally from corner to corner to create four equal-size triangles.
3. Cover one side of each triangle with a dyed book page and glue page to triangle with permanent glue stick or spray adhesive; trim book page to fit triangle. Repeat until you have 15–20 triangles.
4. Wrap triangles to create cones with printed pages on the outside. When wrapped, scrapbook paper points should make a V shape; secure cones with hot glue. (Depending on how tightly cones are rolled, you might fit more or less cones onto wreath form.)
5. Place cones around form to create desired layout.
6. Once the layout is determined, clip 1/4 to 1⁄2 inch off the small end of one of the cones. Place cone onto the form with cone slightly overhanging the outer and inner edges, and secure with hot glue. For next cone, line up with outer edge of first cone, marking inner tip and cutting to line up, and secure with hot glue. Repeat process with additional cones around wreath until finished.
7. When finished, hang with an adhesive hanger or a loop of ribbon.

You'll Need:

• Cardboard
• Crafts knife
• Dyed book pages
• Permanent glue stick
• Hot-glue gun
• Hot-glue sticks
• Adhesive hanger or ribbon

To Make the Wreath:

1. Make cardboard wreath form by tracing a 9-inch round circle with a 3-inch hole in the center; cut out. Cover cardboard form with dyed pages.
2. Depending on book page size, cut 60–75 rectangles from dyed book pages varying in size from 4×2 inches to 5×4 inches -- these do not need to be exact; a variety of sizes works well for this wreath.
3. Tightly roll pages into cones. Glue each cone shut with a permanent glue stick. Hold until secured; set aside.
4. Starting with longest cone pieces, hot-glue cones with 2–3 inches of larger cone edge extending past form, working around the entire outer edge and varying colors. Repeat with smaller-size cones, gradually working inward on the wreath until cardboard form is covered.
5. When finished, hang with an adhesive hanger or a loop of ribbon.

Color combinations: PURPLE WREATH Light bath: 4 tsp. violet powdered Rit dye + 2 cups hot water Dark bath: 2 tsp. violet powdered Rit dye + 2 tsp. purple powdered Rit dye + 2 cups hot water

DARK BLUE WREATH Light bath: 4 tsp. denim powdered Rit dye + 2 cups water Dark bath: 2 tsp. denim powdered Rit dye + 2 tsp. purple powdered Rit dye + 2 cups water

TEAL WREATH Light bath: 4 tsp. teal powdered Rit dye + 2 cups hot water Dark bath: 2 tsp. teal powdered Rit dye + 2 tsp. denim powdered Rit dye + 2 cups hot water

You'll Need:

• Old book pages (for best results, use thick paper)
• Crafts knife
• Powdered Rit dye in desired colors (see color combinations above)
• 2 glass jars
• 2 shallow pans
• Hot water
• Ironing cloths
• Iron

To Dye:

1. Cover work area with tarp or layered newspaper.
2. Cut pages from book along the inside seam with crafts knife; set aside.
3. Prepare two dye baths in glass jars using desired colors and dye instructions. Note: More dye can be used to create a more intense color.
4. Pour dye mixtures into two shallow pans. An additional 2–3 cups of hot water can be added to bath if needed to increase water depth.
5. Place a few book pages into each of the dye baths and completely submerge. Remove when desired color is achieved. Vary the length of time the pages are submerged to get a variety of shades.
6. Rinse dyed pages under cool water, then place pages on paper towels and blot excess liquid. Hang or lay pages out to dry. For faster drying time, place a few pages at a time in a microwave on top of paper towels. Microwave on high for 1 minute.
7. Place pages between ironing cloths and iron for a few seconds until pages are smooth.