Paper Dresden Ornament Wreath

December is the month to have a wreath on your door. It adds a festive holiday touch to a home without any life-threatening trips to the roof to hang lights! Unfortunately, those velvet poinsettia wreaths aren’t quite doing it for us this year. So when we came across this Dresden Ornament wreath from one of our favorite shops, I immediately fell in love. We did a little research and found that Dresden Ornament wreaths were originally made out of old candy molds or ornaments in Germany beginning in the late 1800’s. The brass figurines represent seasons and holidays throughout the year, making it a piece you can keep up all the time. There is space in between the trinkets so you can weave garlands, florals, or lights in it depending on the time of year. I love the stunning quality of it just as is. They happen to cost a pretty penny, so we decided to make our own Paper Dresden Ornament Wreath (of course!). We created the files you can use on your craft cutter machine to expedite the process or you can hand cut them, because we know shopping, baking, and decorating are in full swing!

MATERIALS:

• SVG files here (perfect for your craft cutter), PDF files are included too if you’d like to handcut
• Gold paper, we used about 5 sheets of 12″/12″ gold cardstock
• Acrylic paints to texturize your paper, like brass, red, or green (not necessary but we like the depth is gave the paper)
• Paint brush
• Cricut or Silhouette machine (Cricut is on sale right now)!
• Scissors
• Glue Stick
• Gold wire, or silver wire spray painted gold which is what we did!
• Hot glue gun

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Create a frame for the wreath by bending your wire into a circle. Ours had a diameter of 15″.
2. Texturize your gold paper with the acrylic paints using a dry paint brush and light strokes. You can also use a paper towel to create a softer look. You want a subtle but distressed look to it.
3. Download the files and upload them to your cricut machine. Size them appropriately and cut out of the gold paper.
4. Some of the designs have two components. Glue the pieces together with a glue stick.
5. Using the bow template, print out or trace the bow to add to the top of the wreath.
6. Take pieces of gold wire about 5″ to 6″ long and hot glue them to the back of each trinket and the bow.
7. Wrap the pieces of wire with the designs attached around the wreath frame, overlapping and leaving spaces between each piece to create depth and allow room for lights, garlands, etc.

Photography by Anna Killian  |  Designed by Ashley Isenhour  |  Crafting by Rebecca Young