Paper Christmas wreath tutorial

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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. 

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. 

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. 

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.

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.

Ta Dah!

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.