Paper Christmas wreath tutorial

12th October 2016 Share:FacebookTwitterShare

Get crafty for Christmas! This year, why not make your own decorations? It’s a great way to get into the spirit of the season with the whole family.

Bloggers Tia and Laura, from the excellent Little Button Diaries, have made a fabulous festive wreath (see below) using Rex London papers, ribbon & lights. Read on to discover how to make your own.

wreath at night time

Tia & Laura’s Christmas wreath 

This pretty paper wreath will welcome Christmas guests in with a sparkle. Bells and twinkly lights are hidden among paper leaves and flowers. We’ve made a large wreath for a door, but you could also make a smaller version with battery-operated tealights for a table decoration.

You will need:

    •    Wrapping paper (we used a sheet each of Gold Confetti, Christmas Wonderland, Gold Stripes)

    •    A1 piece of foam board

    •    Green acrylic paint

    •    Craft knife

    •    Double-sided tape   

    •    Strong glue

    •    PVA glue

    •    Red wooden beads

    •    Red ribbon
    •    LED Sleighbell Christmas Lights

    •    4 or 5 sheets of A4 white and green card in different shades 


Step 1 - Make the base

Begin by cutting the foam ring base. Draw a circle with a diameter of about 16in. Next, draw a circle about 2 inches smaller inside that to create a ring. The base will mostly be covered so this doesn’t need to be too neat. Cut out the ring and paint green, then leave to dry.

foam base

Start with a foam ring base

paint base green

Paint the base green

Step 2 - Make the laurel branches

Draw laurel leaves on curved branches onto a sheet of card and cut out (see the image for inspiration). For speed, you can tape a few sheets together to cut several layers of leaves in one go. Win! You will need about 6 branches.

cut out laurel leaves

Draw laurel leaves on curved branches and cut out

laurel leaves

Six laurel leaf branches

Step 3 - Make the leaves

Now for the leaves. Fold a piece of green wrapping paper in half and glue together using PVA, so that the print is on both the front and back. Leave to dry, then cut small holly and plain leaf shapes from the paper, about 2-3in long. Fold down the centre of each leaf. You will need about 30 leaves.

holly leaves

Christmas wrapping paper cut into holly leaf shapes

plain leaves

Plain leaf shapes made from Christmas wrapping paper

Step 4 - Make the petals

To make a paper flower you will need 10 petals. Draw and cut 5 that are about 3in high and 5 that are about 2in high (for a smaller flower, the petals should be about 2in and 1.5in). Curl the top of each petal between your fingers. At the base of each petal, cut a 3/4in long slit to create 2 tabs.

gold confetti petals

Paper flower petals

Step 5 - Create the flowers

For each petal, overlap one tab over the other and glue (or double sided tape) together. This should give your petal a nice curve. Now, glue the large petals together at the base. Repeat this with the smaller petals, and glue these inside the bigger ones. 

curve petals

Give your paper flower petals a nice curve

put petals together

Glue the petals together at the base

create flower

Et voila! One paper flower!

Step 6 - Add the flower centres

For the centre of the flower, take a 6in x 2in strip of paper and fold in half lengthways. Cut snips all the way along the folded edge, almost down to the bottom, to create fringing. Add a line of glue along the un-snipped edge and roll up. Separate them out a little with your fingers then glue inside the flower. 

cut flower centres

Cut snips in folded paper for a fringe effect

roll up flower centre

Roll up to make the flower centre

finished flower

Glue the flower centre to the petals

Step 7 - Begin assembling the wreath

To assemble the wreath, put strips of double-sided tape around the centre and lay the sleigh bell garland on top. Add another layer of double-sided tape on top of the wires of the garland and lay the laurel branches on top. 

put sleighbells on base

Add a String Of 10 LED Sleighbell Christmas Lights to the foam base.

glue laurel leaves to base

Tape the laurel leaf branches to your wreath

Step 8 - Add flowers and leaves

Tape the flowers on in a small cluster on one side of the wreath. Tape the leaves onto any gaps in the laurel branches. Make sure they are all going in the same direction. Use strong glue to attach a few beads for berries.

add flowers

Add the paper flowers

add leaves

Glue the holly and plain shaped leaves to the wreath

Step 9 - Hang your wreath

Cut a length of ribbon to hang the wreath. Fold into a loop and secure with tape on the back of the wreath at the top. Tape the battery pack onto the back of the wreath to tuck it away.

hang wreath with a ribbon

Add a ribbon for hanging your wreath up


Ta Dah!

finished wreath 1

finished wreath close up

For more crafting ideas visit Tia and Laura’s blog Little Button Diaries or you can follow them on Pinterest and Instagram.

Make your own wreath

Ready to make your own Christmas wreath? Find the items that Tia and Laura used to make theirs here at dotcomgiftshop.

christmas papers

Wrapping papers pictured above (from left to right): Gold Stripe - £8.95, Christmas Wonderland - £6.95, Gold Confetti - £8.95.

ribbon and lights

Pictured above (from left to right): Vintage Crafts Cotton Ribbon Red & White Polkadots - £2.95, String Of 10 LED Sleighbell Christmas Lights - £12.95.

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