Wooden Dowel Wreath

I am so in love with today’s project. Like I mentioned in my Christmas post,  I am not a fan of an overabundance of holiday decor that is super holiday specific. I really want to decorate with things that I love so much that I want to keep them up year round.

(Enter dowel wreath stage left)

This is something I want to keep up year round. Possibly hanging on my ceiling, so that it is the last thing I see when I fall asleep and the first thing I see in the morning. Maybe, just maybe he will scare Dylan enough that she will sleep in her own bed. One can certainly hope.

You guys. It is 2 o’clock in the morning and I cannot stop giggling like an idiot about the goat graphic. It is like the funniest thing of my life right now. Please forgive my 2nd grade humor threshold.

Seriously. Tears streaming. Cheek stretching. Silent laughing. So.much.pain.

(Big sigh) Ok. Lets get to it.

To make this project you will need

10-15 Wooden Dowels in varying widths. (They are in the molding section of Home Depot and cost between $.89-$4.00 depending on the diameter.)

Wood Glue (I used Gorilla Wood Glue and it worked great!)

ScotchBlue Painters Tape

A 5 Gallon Bucket

Dust Mask and Safety Glasses

Start by cutting the dowels. If you want them all the same length you can set up a simple jig stop on your saw, but if you want to take the easy/lazy road, go for the intentionally uneven look and it will all work out.

Here are the sizes of dowels that I bought:

Really, just get a variety (and make sure that they are the pine dowels, not the poplar ones. They are SO much cheaper!)

I used a miter saw to cut them to size, but you can use a Dremel, or a hand saw, or, if you want to really get the lifetime warranty out of your Cutco knives, you can use them.

But please for the love of all that is holy, use safety gear when you are cutting. 3M™ Safety Products like a dust mask and safety glasses are not an option, they are a necessity. Just keep a stock of disposables on hand,  that way you dont have to run to HD when you are in Project Mode.

Once your dowels are cut, sand off any splintery edges with a sanding sponge.

 

Find something circular that will give you the size of wreath that you want. I used a 5 gallon bucket and it worked perfectly. If you want something smaller you can use a bowl, or if you want something bigger you can use a round pizza pan. You are setting the size of the inside of your wreath so plan accordingly.

Start gluing your dowels together. You want it to be nice and strong, so place glue everywhere the dowels touch each other.

I originally used e6000 and was really disappointed at the strength of the glue,  about 1/2 way through I switched to Gorilla Wood Glue and it worked better, but was a lot more runny, so make sure to protect your surface before you start gluing.

 

Go around your bucket, filling in the gaps with different sized dowels.

 

Keep circling until your wreath is 4 or so layers deep.

Remove your bucket and to back through and add a few more dowels to the center. Doing this makes the center of your wreath match the unevenness of the outside ring.

Once your dowels are all glued into place, run a piece of ScotchBlue™ Painter’s Tape around the outer edge to hold everything nice and tight while the glue dries.

Wait 24 hours before hanging.

To hang my wreath I used a nail and it fit perfectly into one of the dowel gaps. To hang the Ram head I used Monkey Hooks.

If you are wondering about the Ram, his name is Ned and I found him at Homegoods for $35.00. If you are looking for something similar White Faux Taxidermy has every animal imaginable. Do you know what is at the top of my wishlist? This Bison. I mean. It is a buffalo for crying out loud. THAT is awesome.

I know that so many of you are dying for the Himmeli Wreath tutorial. After I had the post written, I thought that it would be so much easier to understand if I had a video to show you. So. That being said, I will be posting the tutorial and video tomorrow (Saturday). I promise it will be worth the wait!

 

 

 

 

This post is a collaboration with 3M DIY. To keep up-to-date on projects, products and sampling visit 3MDIY.com.

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