Valentine Wreaths You Can Make & Eat

I'm posting this mainly for Jessica but if you're thinking of being creative to surprise someone you love, try one of these. I made and sold a few of these last year while trying to raise funds for Russia. (A couple ladies from church were getting them from hubbies, so I couldn't post them back then.) Sorry about the blurry first picture. Just pretend it's sort of foggy, wispy, airy, romantic, ethereal on purpose.

Instead of chocolates, you could use assorted candies, little cheap toys, play jewelry, or even rolled dollars bills and shiny coins to decorate it.
For the Valentine wreath pictured here, I'll give you the supplies list and my directions. All of these can be bought at an arts & crafts store like Michael's.

















SUPPLIES
1 (14") flat styrofoam wreath base
1 pc cardboard or tagboard, cut to same size as wreath (it's got to be sturdy to support "toppings")
1 roll valentine wrapping paper
1 large heart-shaped box chocolates
1 small heart-shaped box chocolates
1 square box chocolates (for height)
1 bag Hershey's Kisses *
1 bag Dove chocolates *
1 wooden LOVE sign ($1)
1 roll each pink & purple curling ribbon
1 roll pretty pink satin ribbon slightly wider than side of wreath
hot glue gun and glue sticks
1 roll wide beautiful gauzy (not gaudy!) ribbon to tie on top



















DIRECTIONS:
1. Prepare hot glue gun have extra sticks available. Open all supplies before starting; you'll have to work quickly at times for the sake of the glue.
2. Unroll paper so it's about 2" wider than wreath. Fold it in half and cut along fold so that you have two equal pieces, one for the top of finished wreath, one for the bottom, plus enough to overlap the edged of wreath.
3. Lay wreath on "wrong" (i.e. undecorated) side of wrapping paper to make your template. Trace around bottom edge of wreath with pencil. Remove wreath. "Eyeball trace" another circle approx 1/2" beyond original one. (The extra inch will hang over sides and get glued down and covered up by ribbon.)
4. Glue cardboard securely to one side of wreath (this is the top side).
5. Glue wrapping paper to each side of wreath. Working quickly, glue excess paper down as smoothly as you you around the sides. Don't worry if it's not perfect. Seam won't show.
6. Glue large box down in center.
7. Glue small box on top of large one, where the points of the heart meet. This gives you room for the square box to also sit on the large heart.
8. Glue square box on.
9. Glue love sign on.
10. Glue satin ribbon around sides of wreath.
11. Glue assorted chocolates on (or whatever elements you've chosen.
12. Cut lots of curling ribbon in approx 6" strands, curling and gluing them around top edge of wreath as desired. Whatever suits your fancy. (If you want, like I did, you may add "roses"; cut gauzy ribbon into 4" strips and wrap them around two fingers to form roses. Glue roses onto perimeter of wreath here and there.)
13. Tie an extravagantly long piece of gorgeous ribbon to the top box.
14. Add a name tag or your own special card, and you're done! Love is in the air!

Would you lookie there. A Valentine Wreath in "14" easy steps. I wasn't trying for 14, it just happened. :)-

*I used these kinds because they went well with the paper I'd chosen.
+If you are looking for less expensive options: choose a smaller wreath, use foil instead of wrapping paper, omit the satin ribbon, make your own LOVE sign. The idea is to make it something your recipient will LOVE. I'm so inspired now, I just might make these again this year, just for my family.

(If you'd like me to make one for you, a donation of $40 will go towards Sarah's mission trip to Mexico, but no pressure. I would just need to know by Feb 5th. I could do just about any theme--trucks, farm animals, princesses, travel, cold hard cash, etc.)