Think Crafts Blog – Craft Ideas and Projects – CreateForLess

By Kid’s Craft Contributor, Gillian from the blog “Dried Figs and Wooden Spools”.

When I started thinking about decorating my office earlier this spring, I knew I wanted to have a circular thing going on. I love the look of embroidery hoops with bright fabrics hanging on the wall, it’s both modern looking and gives you that crafty feeling. But in addition to the hoops, I started brainstorming other ideas for circular “art” for my wall. I’m still looking for a round frame to make a new whiteboard out of and have my eye out for tinker toys for a sunburst, but to get me started I set out to make a funky wreath to hang up with the hoops. And since I love nothing better than scavenging around the house for supplies for my projects, I headed to the closet and dug up a handful of wooden hangers and got gluing.

The idea of using hangers for wreaths isn’t new. Wide hangers are often the base for all kind of door decorations, but this winter I was inspired by a wooden hanger sculpture at a favorite store. I tucked it into the back of my mind back then for a rainy (or sunny as it turns out) day.

Hangers aren’t the easiest thing to attach to one another. After a few false starts with nails and screws, I finally settled on Gorilla Glue which, in my experience, is pretty much the best stuff ever if you need two things to be stuck together for good. If you’ve never used Gorilla Glue, be sure to read the directions before you get started. The glue is activated by water and foams quite a bit so you need less than you might with other glues.

Here’s what you need

8 wooden hangers
Gorilla Glue�
Spray Paint
�

Begin by gluing two hangers together so that the end of one overlaps the neck of the other. Dot glue and water on all points where the two hangers meet. Repeat this process so that you have four sets of two hangers each glued together. You may need to support the hangers with scraps of wood so that they the glue can have time to set before the hangers move.

Once all four sets have dried position two of the sets so that, again, the end of one hanger (from one set) overlaps the neck of a hanger from the other set. Glue and allow to dry. Finally join the two halves together check for any weak points and add more glue if necessary and allow the whole thing to dry completely.

Move the wreath to a safe place to paint and spray several think coats of paint to cover the entire wreath, making sure the sides and edges are covered as well.

If you want, you can remove the hooks from the hangers to give it a more abstract look, but it’s kinda cool to leave them in, good for a few doubletakes when passers-by notice what the wreath is actually made of.

I’ve realized that making wreaths out of odd things is becoming a habit of mine. So far I’ve done recycled cartons and tubs, waxed paper and now hangers. What unusual element have you used in a craft? What do you think I should tackle next?

Related posts:

• Recycled Spring Wreath
• Bird Silhouette Wall Art
• Sunflower Head Feeders
• Christmas Place Card Holders
• T Shirt Wreath