DIY outdoor Advent wreath

Lights on the railings and on the ceiling of your terrace: an extraordinary glance!

zoom »

You'll need (only for the wreath)

• - Thin sheet of birch plywood (0,8x200x1200mm) to be bought in a model shop
• - Birch rods to be bought in a model shop
• - Golden metal chain, 2m long
• - Golden wall anchor with closed eye hook and its carabiner
• - Green paint
• - Pine garland, 2,40m long
• - Outdoor multi function LED string lights (at least 96 lights in the string)
• - Synthetic Christmas ornaments (red and orange berry sprays, holly ...)
• - Brush
• - Extra strong glue
• - A wood blade or special scissors
• - Staple gun
• - Mini-drill
• - Drill
• - Garden wire

(89 download)

Advent wreath for outdoor use How-To

• - For the railing.
  If you'd like the idea of adobing the railing you can look at another outdoor decoration.
  At first fix the led rope light to the railing with little pieces of garden wire.
  Then the multi function LED string lights.
  At the end hide all with the pine garland.

zoom »

• - For the Advent wreath.
  Now I tell you how to make this wreath hanging from the ceiling.
  In Italy we can find pine wreaths ready to be decorated but they are very expensive.
  I don't know the situation out of Italy.
  Beyond these considerations I like to do handmade Christmas decorations and so these instructions are addressed to people who share the passion for D.I.Y. decorations with me.
  In this occasion I had a great help by my husband too.
  Moreover if you make this basic structure you can use it for other decorations all year long.
• - The dimensions I propose are adapted to our terrace.
  Verify them are right for your terrace or balcony.
  66cm is our wreath diameter and 5cm its height.
  The circumference is therefore 207.24cm
• - At first make the basic structure.
  We chose birch plywood and rods because birch is a strong, heavy, hardwood.
  This wood takes glue well and is ideal for most projects.
• - Before reading our further instructions look at our video by night!

zoom »

• - Cut the sheet into strips, 5cm wide.
  Plunge them into hot water for about 15-20 minutes.
  In this way your wood becomes more flexible and you'll be able to bend it more easily.
  In fact you have to get a circle.
• - Join the strips overlapping the ends partially.
  Use the staple gun for this step and then glue the ends.
  Let the circle dry very well.
• - At this point you have to insert the rods perpendicularly, as you can see in the photo, to make firmer the basic structure.
  Make four little holes in the circle with the mini-drill.
  They must have the same diameter of the rods.
  Insert the rods and then brush a thick layer of glue around every hole.
  You can also use the garden wire for a more stability.
  Let the glue dry very well.
• - Now you can paint the circle included the rods.
  Look at the photo for more details.
  Let the circle dry very well.
• - Cut the golden chain into four parts and link every part to a rod in the point where the rod enters the hole.
  Use the garden wire to fix every chain to the rod.
• - Insert the wall anchor into the ceiling using the drill.
  Then hook the carabiner.
• - The last step is decorating the circle.
  Wrap the string lights around the circle.
  If the length is enough you can also wrap them around two of the four chains.
  Then wrap the pine garland around to circle trying to hide the circle.
  At last insert and fix the ornaments in the garland using the garden wire.
  Try to hide the basic structure as more as possible especially the visible part.
  Your Christmas decoration is ready to be hung.
• - It is fantastic, isn't it?
  You'll have one of the most beautiful terrace in your town.
• - The basic structure can be used all year.
  In spring arranging birds and violets.
  In summer with poppies and ears of corn.
  In autumn with fall leaves and mushrooms.