Dollhouse Miniature Halloween Wreath

Watch the video here.

So this last week ended up being way more busy than normal and I was running behind on even figuring out what the tutorial for today was going to be. Then on one of my many trips to town I found myself at the local Joann's to pick up something for another project. I had a couple of minutes so I decided to walk around looking for inspiration.

All I knew going into the store was that I wanted to make something Halloween related since this is going up on October 2^nd. I wandered the aisles of Halloween goodies. I wasn't sure if I was looking for something to use to make the tutorial or if I was looking for inspiration, something to replicate in 1/12^th scale.

As I wandered I wasn't really coming up with any good ideas. Then I came around a corner and saw a display of Halloween themed wreathes on an end cap. One of them caught my eye. It was made of black feathers and was covered with ornaments in various shades of orange, gold and copper. It was beautiful!

So I stopped and took a good look at it, I even snapped a photo with my phone to remind me what it looked like.

When I got home I went through my supplies and dug out some things I wanted to try to use.

In the end I love the wreath I came up with.

Like I do for a lot of mini wreathes I started with a base of a key ring wrapped in a chenille stem. I of course used black this time. Then since I wanted to give the wreath a more airy and almost fluffy look (after all my inspiration was made of feathers) I added a fluffy chenille stem over the base. I didn't want to use just the fluffy kind because I didn't want the wreath to be too full and also sometimes you can see the key ring through those fluffy ones.

So I found the perfect mix was a solid base of two regular stems and one of the fluffy ones over that.

Now onto the beads. If you have beads that are the right color by all means use those. I didn't have any in the colors I wanted to use and I certainly didn't want to buy more beads. So I picked out some plain beads and used nail polish to color them. I love using nail polish for this job and I seem to collect that too.

This time I used all nail polishes from Avon but I am certain you can find similar colors in almost any brand. That is the brand I have the most of since is am an Avon representative.

The colors I used this time were:

Orange- Coral Beat

Copper- Lucky Penny

Gold - Metallic Fringe Topcoat in Fringed and Frayed (I think, but I also think this one is not currently available)

I wanted more small beads but I didn't want to try to color enough of them to cover the wreath so I dug out some of my tubes of Beads in a Bottle that is made by Tulip. I love this product because you can get the look of beads with a paint. It comes in several colors in sets of 3 tubes and is fairly inexpensive. Also the tubes last a long time. You just have to let it dry thoroughly before you touch whatever project you use it on. I let mine dry overnight.

Once you have your wreath finished you are going to want to hang it. How you hang will depend on several factors.

First is this going to be a temporary display or are you making a permanent Halloween display.

Second what is the surface you are hanging it on? How delicate is the surface?

If I was going to leave mine in place permanently I would use a good glue to attach it to the spot I wanted it to be. That is by far the easiest.

If I was going to just put my wreath up for the season and then want to change it I need to look closely at where I am hanging it.

If I was going to add this to a door I would probably use one of the temporary adhesives that are sold in the craft store.

My first choice and the one I usually try first is the stuff that is sold for putting up posters. I did try it for the my wreath for the photo and I couldn't get it to stick to the wreath.

My next choice and what I used was some of the foam dots sold with the card making supplies. Just be sure you are using the one that is is re-positionable and not the permanent one.

I am thinking that I want to figure out a way to add a small hook/ nail/ brad to the door of my dollhouse in the future for hanging wreathes. Then it would be easy to hang them and change them out. I have something similar on the front door of my real house and it makes decorating the door so much easier. I need to think about how I want to do this. Don't worry, if I do add something to the door I will film a tutorial as I do it.

So how did you like the wreath? Are you going to make one? If you do I would love to see what you come up with.