Music Sheet Paper Cone Wreath Tutorial

Ok kids!  You know I love to blog about Relay stuff, and craft stuff- so this post is a combo of my favorite two stuffs ;)  Relay For Life of Custer County puts on a silent wreath auction each year before Christmas- and I was feeling crafty this weekend, so I wanted to get moving on one of my wreaths for this year.  Now, I will give you a fair warning that this wreath is probably the cheapest one I have ever made as far as supply costs go- but the most expensive in time.  If you are going to take on this project- set aside at least 6 hours.

Supplies you'll need:
-Awesome paper (About 100 sheets should do the trick!)
-hot glue/hot glue gun
-foam board
-ribbon
-a stapler
-clear sealer (I like Krylon's 3 coat glaze)

Yup- that's it!  If you are like me, you probably have everything you need sitting around the house except for the foam board, which was about $2 at my local Walmart (don't judge me- we don't have a Hobby Lobby in town.)

One last thing before you start looking at these pictures.  I make tie dye for a living, so my fingers and nails are stained weird colors 99.5% of the time.  The other .5% of the time is when I am doing a photo shoot.  So yeah, I don't have beautifully manicured nails like other bloggers.

Ok- on with the show.

I wanted to use Christmas hymns for my project, but something about tearing pages out of a hymnal or book seems super wrong to me, so I scanned the pages and printed them out on both sides of card stock paper.  I won't judge you if you are cool with that though- it makes the project eve cheaper if you can pick up an old book at your local thrift store.

 Take your foam board, and trace two circles (one large, and a smaller one on the inside) on it.  This will help you make sure you keep your paper lined up right.

Then start rolling your paper into cones.  I seriously recommend you pick a good movie for this part!  I started out by using glue dots to hold them together thinking I would save myself some burns, but after about 10 cones I realized the card stock was so sturdy that the dots weren't going to hold.  Go with the hot glue. You'll want to glue the cone where your paper ends.

Then staple the bottom of your cone to create a flat surface to glue, and make extra sure your cones stay together.

Once you get your cones made up, you will want to start placing them on your foam board.  I am slightly OCD, so I like to lay them out first before I start hot gluing them down to make sure I have them all where I want them.

Once the first layer is glued down, place a second layer down in between the gaps that the first layer made.

Then do the same with the third! 

Next, I printed out a Bible verse on the same card stock, and cut it into a circle (I will sing unto the LORD, because he hath dealt bountifully with me. Psalm 13:6).  I glued ribbon and flowers to the edge to create a more finished look (bonus- this covers up any imperfect cutting edges on the circle).  I took that, and glued it into the center of the wreath.

At this point, you will want to take your creation and seal it with your spray sealer.  This will help strengthen your paper so that your wreath will last a long time, and protect it from moisture.

Once the front side is sealed and dry, flip the wreath upside down.  Hot glue a ribbon to the back to hang it by.  Then cover the back of your foam board with any extra paper you have so it looks pretty on both sides!  This was an important step for me, since people will probably be able to see the front and back during display.  You will also notice I added an additional strip of ribbon, in case the auction winner wants to hang it up without the ribbon hanger.

Then seal the back!

And voila!  You're done!  Enjoy! 

Want more crafty Relay ideas?  Check out my other posts and subscribe! http://www.cassiselby.blogspot.com :)