Strangely Bewitching Winter Branches Wreath

So I am not normally a wreath person.  At all.  But today, surprising even myself, I have for you a wreath tutorial.

Take a look:

Kind of minimalist, yes?  Bare winter branches and berries.  Oh, and it has  a little secret...thanks to some cool glow-in-the-dark Puffy Paints, it, um, glows.  In the dark.

As you can prolly guess, I started with a basic black dollar store witch hat.

Now, really, I ask you: how fun is that? Want to make one?  Read on for the wicked simple DIY.



Flip the pointy bit inside-out, so the front of your wreath will have a smooth seam showing.

I gathered the excess fabric in a scrunchie to keep it out of my way while painting.

Here's the rainbow set of Puffy Paints I received from some very groovy people over at iLoveToCreate.  (Thanks, you guys!)

This stuff takes me back years.  It's classique, my dears.  Puffy Paint 4 Ever!

I used Gray Glow to draw a mandala of wizened branches.  Don't be too precise - just wiggle the lines into vaguely treelike shapes.

A few odd blobs here and there represent thorns.

(Okay, I'll level with you.  Most of the blobs were accidental.  So I added a bunch more and called them artistic!  That's how we do it, right?)

For the berries, I squoze out some little round beads, using the Natural Glow color.  I know squoze is not a word.  That shall not stop me.

Let the paint dry for 4 hours.  And heck - that's pretty much the whole tutorial right there.  Talk about easy squeezy!

Now you have some decisions to make.  What to do with your branch-embellished witch hat?

Well, you could wear it.

You could do a wall-pocket foliage wreath:

Or go the minimalist route.  (My personal fave.)

Decisions, decisions!  I'll show you the step-by-steps, and you can take it from there.

Wall Pocket Wreath

For the wall pocket, poke a teeny hole and add a loop of string or ribbon for hanging it up.

Put some type of jar or vase inside the pointy hat part.  This will act as both a weight and a foliage-holder.


Since I was doing a dried arrangement, I didn't need an actual vase that would hold water.  I happened to have this glass light cover, and thought the ruffled edge would add some ooh la la.

Place your jar, vase or glass thingy inside,and arrange foliage to your liking.

Done!  And pretty!  Bonus: it remains a fully-functional witch hat, in case you still hanker to wear it out on the town.

If you use a bud vase or glass jar, as in the pic below, you can have a living plant or cut flowers instead of a dried arrangement.

Minimalist Wreath

Take a deep breath, and cut away most of the pointy witchy hat part.  Make small cuts in the circle of leftover fabric, creating small tabs all around the center.

Use fabric adhesive to glue down the tabs against the back.  (You will probably do a much neater job than I did.)

Ta-da.  Sleek and chic.

You could also add some embellishments.  Here it is with a cluster of ribbony swirls...

Made from carton strapping.

This wreath is super lightweight, so if it's going to hang someplace windy, add some weight at the bottom - maybe a big tassel or a heavy bead.

Note: it looks cute as mantel decor, as well!  The wire inside makes it stiff enough to prop up against something and stay put.

Now is the time to go buy your witch hat, because next month they'll be gone.  I'm stocking up!  I can see making these wreaths in different designs for every season.  And keep in mind, if you hit the dollar store the day after Halloween, they'll be half price.


And so ends my very first wreath tutorial.  I do hope you enjoyed it.  See ya next time!



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Disclosure: this post was written as part of a paid campaign with iLoveToCreate and Blueprint Social.  All opinions and projects are entirely my own.