How to Make a Wreath From Newspapers

At first glance the newspaper might not seem all that beautiful, and certainly not decorative. With a few snips, folds and some fanning, however, you can transform those boring black and white pages into a sophisticated wreath to hang on your front door, over the mantel or on a blank wall in your home. The blank slate created by the black and white pages of the newspaper mean you can make your newspaper wreath to suit any season simply by choosing an appropriately colored or patterned ribbon to adorn the front.

Things You'll Need

• Ruler
• Scissors
• Floral wire
• Decorative-edge scissors
• Low-temperature hot glue gun
• 12-inch foam wreath form
• 1 1/2-inch-wide grosgrain ribbon
• Lighter

Instructions

1. Stack the pages of the newspaper four deep. Cut a 3-inch square through all four layers of newspaper.

2. Accordion fold the stack of newspaper squares so that each fold is roughly 1/2 inch wide. You don't need to measure the folds, just eyeball it.

3. Wrap a 3-inch piece of floral wire around the center of the folded newspaper. Twist the ends of the wire together after wrapping it around twice. Snip the ends of the wire.

4. Trim the ends of the folded newspaper with decorative-edge scissors. Just snip the very ends of the paper -- you don't want to take off too much length.

5. Separate out the layers of newspaper to fluff it out into a flower or half-sphere shape. Play around with the newspaper flower until you are happy with its shape.

6. Apply a dot of low-temperature hot glue in the center of the flat side of the newspaper flower to attach it to the wreath form. Keep making flowers and attaching them to the wreath form until the entire from of the form is covered.

7. Measure and cut a 2-foot piece of 1 1/2-inch-wide grosgrain ribbon. Use a lighter to heat the cut ends of the ribbon until they begin to melt to seal the ends.

8. Tie the ribbon in a decorative bow, leaving the tails of the bow long. Use a generous amount of hot glue to attach the bow to the front of the wreath.

Tips & Warnings

• Get a nice decorative bow in seconds by creating two loops with the ribbon and tying the loops in a knot. You will most likely need to adjust the loops and re-tighten the bow a few times before the shape is right. Then, knot the loops again to hold the bow's shape permanently.

• Use a wreath hanger to hang your wreath.

• You can use a wire wreath form, rather than foam. Don't trim the wire wrapped around the center of the newspaper if you are using a wire wreath form. Instead, use the wire tails to attach the flowers to the form. This method is more time-consuming.