Aiden was very excited to create this special wreath for his Grandma! I will share the step-by-step below, but he also wanted to make a video of the process! You can find that at the bottom of this post. This is such a simple little project! Little hands will need some help, but Aiden was able to do most of the work on his. I also want to point out that the folds do not have to be perfect. When working with kids, my inner perfectionist can get the best of me at times! You can see, though, that his folds were not super precise but you cannot tell in the finished product! (Of course the folds can also be tightened up by an adult if needed along the way.)
Materials Needed:
Paper
Paper cutter or scissors
Ribbon or string for hanging
(optional) items for decorating: glue, glitter, sequins, stickers, ribbon, etc.
Step 1 - Choose your papers. While I prefer uniformity, Aiden clearly likes to be more creative in his choices. You can use any combination of papers. Just make sure the rectangles are equal in size and the ratio is 2:1. So these rectangles are 6"x3" but the ones I used for my ornaments were 3"x1.5" or even 2"x1". We chose the larger size for his project so that it would be easier for his little hands to work with and would leave plenty of room for writing the messages inside!
Step 2 - With a single rectangle, place the paper with the back side up. Then fold the paper in half the long way, so that you have a long rectangle with the front of the paper visible on each side.
Step 3 - With the folded side at the top of the rectangle, fold the corners up from the bottom to create triangular ends. When both corners are folded up, your paper should now look like a little boat.
Step 4 - Fold the ends of the boat together, with the corner flaps facing in. Aiden says that the paper should now look like a little shoe!
Repeat steps 1-4 with the remaining rectangles until you have 8 little "shoe" pieces.
Step 5 - Take 2 pieces, and make sure that they are facing the same way. Turn one piece toward the other, and insert its points into the little pockets of the other piece. You want one point in each pocket. Slide the pieces together.
Step 6 - Continue this process of assembling the wreath. Make sure with each piece that your pieces are sloping in the same direction before your turn one to insert the points into the pockets.
Now, if you are just making ornaments, then at this point all you need to do is add a hanger and you are good to go! However, if you are making your wreath into a greeting this is where you will add your "secret messages" to each piece. Now technically I think I would actually write the messages before even folding the pieces... but because I wanted the tutorial for the wreaths themselves first we added our messages afterwards! Either way works!
Step 7 - Add a message inside each piece of the wreath, and then reassemble the wreath. Don't forget to include a note when you send it to the desired recipient, letting them know to look inside each piece for their message!
Step 8 - If you want to decorate your wreath, now is the time! You can add gems, glitter, stickers, a bow... there are lots of possibilities!
Let the glue dry on any decorations you may have added, and you are ready to display or deliver your paper wreath! This was definitely a fun project, and I am sure there will be more wreaths being made between now and Christmas!
Here is Aiden's video tutorial of the assembly steps for this project:
If you decide to do this project for the holidays I would love to see how it turns out! Feel free to post a photo and tag me on instagram! (@bransonmerrill)
And feel free to pin this post to save it for later!
