Katemade Designs: How to make a Convertible Halloween Wreath

and Connect with your Kid.

Step 1. Turn off the Television.
Nothing kills a kid's concentration, or a joint creative project, like a television blaring in the background. There isn't a show on television more important or interesting than your kid, just turn it off.

Step 2. Gather your Supplies.

         14" Styrofoam Wreath Form
         A couple of yards of orange Burlap
         Mod Podge (outdoor)

         Hot Glue Gun
         Hot Glue Gun Helpers (if you don't have these tools use a bit of tin foil and the erasure side of a pencil)
         heavy duty cardboard - thick cereal box works well
         T-pins
         Crop-o-dile or other hole punch
         Pencil
         Silk Flowers (we found inexpensive black roses with silver glitter on them at Micheal's)
         Silhouette (or a pair of scissors and some alpha stickers)
         Adhesive
         Twine or ribbon
         Picture hanging

Step 3. Cover the Wreath Form.
         We got burlap because ribbon, even on sale, was a bit too expensive. We cut it into 2" strips and wrapped it around the form. We added a bit of Mod Podge Outdoor to the form every few inches to adhere the burlap. The ends were pinned down with T-pins while the Mod Podge was drying.

Step 4. Create a Floral Addition
         I didn't want to have to make a whole new wreath for Thanksgiving. I wanted to be able to switch out the Halloween decorations for a fall/Thanksgiving feeling fairly easily so we made a floral addition.
         We traced a portion of the wreath on a piece of sturdy cardboard and cut it out. Then pushed T-pins through the cardboard at the ends. We used the smaller end of the Crop-o-dile to punch holes in the cardboard, cut the roses off the wire. We put a glob of hot glue around the holes and put the rose's stem through the holes. We turned the cardboard over, bent the stem down to the cardboard and adhered with more hot glue.
         While using the hot glue we discovered a great way to make spider webbing.

Step 4a. Make Spider Webbing

Step 5. Make Banner
   I let my son chose the words and font for the banner. He chose "BOO!" "EEK!" for the words and we cut the letters, face and banner pieces out of long-retired Stampin' Up patterned paper with the Silhouette. If you don't have a Silhouette or Cricut you can cut out the banner pieces with scissors and use alpha stickers for the lettering. We used regular glue on the paper and googly eyes
         Put a T-pin in the back of the form but don't push it in all the way. Wind the twine around the post of the pin a few times then push the pin into the form pinching the twine between the form and the top of the T-pin. Pull the twine across the front of the wreath where you want the banner to be and repeat the T-pin winding process on the back of the wreath. Repeat as many times and you like keeping in mind the size of your banner pieces.
          We used hot glue on the banner pieces but any adhesive will work.

Step 6. Adhere Floral add on
Push the pins on the back of the floral add on after your banner has been placed on the wreath.

Step 7. Get ready to hang
We adhered a sawtooth picture hanger to the back of the wreath by pushing T-pins into the holes on the hanger. Makes it easy to move the hanger if it's poorly positioned too.

Step 8. Hang and admire
I don't really have to explain this step do I?

After Halloween we will take the Halloween banner and flower add on off and add Thanksgiving decorations to the wreath.

Supplies