Wednesday, December 12, 2012

getting crafty: clothespin wreath card holder

This past Monday was our Moms Night Out for December... our first official Craft Night! We had craft kits available, & several ladies chose to make a super-cute clothespin wreath card holder.


If you couldn't make it to Craft Night & would like to make a clothespin wreath at home, here's the tutorial:

What you need:

  • wire clothes hanger
  • 36 wooden clothespins
  • 72 pony beads
  • duct tape
  • glue gun
  • 4 feet of ribbon

Instructions:

  1. Cut the hook off your hanger, discard & bend hanger into a circle.
  2. Thread a clothespin onto the hanger (put the wire through the spring coil of the pin) & then add two pony beads.
  3. Continue threading materials onto the hanger in this repeating order: clothespin, two beads, clothespin, two beads until you have them all on the wire. If you come across an "ugly" clothespin, just flip it over so the pretty side is facing the front of the wreath.
  4. Put a bead on each side of your first & last clothespins, so you have a bead nearest the opening of the wire circle on both ends of your wreath.
  5. Overlap the loose ends of the wire & secure with duct tape. You can hot glue or twist the wires to "close" your wreath as well. You only want about a 1.5 inch gap between your beads after the wreath is enclosed, so you may need to trim off a bit of the wire depending on your hanger length. 
  6. Use one foot of ribbon to form a loop from which to hang your wreath. Use the glue gun to attach the ribbon loop to your wreath, using the ribbon to cover the duct tape.
  7. Tie a bow with the remaining 3 feet of ribbon & use the glue gun to attach the bow to the base of your ribbon loop.
  8. Add all your Christmas cards & enjoy!
There's all sorts of variations for this wreath... here are a few ideas if you want to jazz yours up a bit:

You can paint your clothespins:

Or use mod-podge or glue or double-sided tape to add colorful scrapbook paper  &/or glitter to your clothespins:


Or scratch the Christmas card holder idea entirely & make a wreath just because they look snazzy. Valentine's Day, Easter, 4th of July... the clothespin wreath possibilities are endless!

(from left to right: source, source, source)

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