Holiday wreaths for dolls

I came across a simple way of making cute 1:6th wreaths a couple of years ago, sent a few to friends, and this time I had the obsessive idea of making a bunch of them to photograph together. Do you want to see how to make them too? I don't start decorating until the 24th, so this is actually me giving you a headstart :D These take very little time, don't worry!

There are many ways to make doll wreaths and trees from pipecleaners. I was inspired from the traditional 4-strand braid we use to make festive bread. It makes a nice full rope.

By Wikipedia user Ludek

I'll show you this technique (and then you can use it to braid bread dough also :))

You will need:
- 4 standard pipecleaners (300*6mm)
- an office clip or something similar
- decorations of your choice
- glue

1. Gather the pipecleaners, it's best when they are not aligned at the same length.

2. Clip the bunch close to one end.

3. Spread the pipecleaners in four directions just to see better what you are doing.

4. Cross the opposite sides over each other, but don't pull tight. It helps to put a finger on the middle and cross the pipecleaners over it.

5. Cross the other pair the same way.

6. Keep doing this until you reach the end. I usually sit on a sofa with the clip between my knees and use both hands to bend the pipecleaners.

See how loosely they are braided?

7. Now remove the clip and fix the ends if you need to.

All these uneven ends will help us achieve a smoother seam when we loop the braid into a wreath.

8. Connect the ends. Twist a pipecleaner from the beginning of the braid with one from the end.

Use your imagination. I usually twist the short ends together and curl the longer ones, then tuck them in where it looks like I could use some volume.

This is the result:

9. Now pull, scrunch, flatten, puff until you're happy with the shape. Only eight minutes have passed since the first photo!

10. Decorate! Glue beads and small items to your heart's content. I've tried a few glues, hot glue won for me because it dries instantly, holds well and doesn't smell.

I gathered some beads, ribbons (out of which I made fork bows), tiny real cones, ball chain and candy canes I'd made out of embroidery yarn soaked in PVA glue.

This is the finished wreath:

Done!
Repeat as many times as needed...

One thing I hate about hot glue is the hot mess it leaves behind!

It takes forever to remove all the strands from the wreaths.

Also some places could use a little glitter to cover glue accidents, but I didn't bother.
Here is my summary of the project:

^^'

And since I mentioned they are a perfect 1:6th size, check out Barbie holding one:

This was all! Hope you liked it! Do you decorate your doll displays for holidays? What do you use?

Happy Holidays and see you next year!

Blackkitty (^^)~