Like the traditional Swedish wreath ornament made out of straw, this full-size wreath is made out of another plentiful material — catalogs! I used to think of those mailbox-busters as a nuisance but since discovering what an awesome craft material they are I love my junk mail. This wreath could not be simpler: just fold and staple, and hang it up on a pushpin. Great to do with kids because it’s so fast and easy. You will be amazed at how beautiful they are!
Made in minutes, and great to do with kids
Each one is unique
Recycle after the holidays. No storage space or special boxes needed!
Steps At a Glance:
Ready? Here’s how:
1
You’ll need:
a catalog, the ordinary kind with very thin shiny pages, held together with staples
a penny
stapler
scissors, optional
push pin, for hanging
2
Open the catalog and find the center where the staples come through. With the penny pry up the legs of the staples so they are easy to pull out from the other side. Pull out and discard.
Take one full closed catalog page. Fold in half parallel to the original stapled fold. Fold again the same direction, then one more time to make a stick; three folds in all. Set the stapler on top to hold it while you fold a second stick. You’re going to staple the two together and you want the first one to stay folded till then.
3
Staple the two sticks together at right angles.
Fold and staple two more sticks to make a square, then make a second square. It’s A-OK if they are crooked or not perfect.
4
Lay one square on top of the other to form a star and staple the two squares together at the eight places where they cross.
That’s it, your Swedish Wreath is ready to hang! You can choose which side faces out. Simply hang from a push pin and admire.
Different sized catalogs will make different size wreaths. Try the variations below — they all look great hanging together.
and try this:
Overlap the ends of the sticks when you staple them for a wreath that looks like this.
For pointy ends cut off the outer corners of each pair of ends.
Thank you for reading! If you have questions, please drop me a line.