Merry & Bright Chalkboard Wreath Project

Every year, our local Arts Center hosts a Festival of Wreaths where businesses and community members are invited to decorate and donate a wreath that goes on display during the holiday season. The wreaths are then sold silent-auction style as a fundraiser for the Arts Center. Last year, Erin & I created a really fun 12 Days of Crafting Wreath  {complete with a video and a song}. This year, Erin has a new baby to keep her busy, so I was on my own and had to figure out what I could do that was quick, cheap, easy, and still awesome. I kept feeling really limited by the “wreath” part until I stepped back and thought a little bit outside the box…or outside the wreath, if you will. Here’s what I came up with. It cost me less than $20 and took less than an hour to create.

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I loved it so much I ended up buying enough supplies to make two; one to donate and one to keep! Here’s how you can make your own version at home.

You’ll need:
16 x 24″ canvas
Small artificial wreath
Floral berries
Ribbon
Hot glue and glue gun
David Tutera Fine Tip Chalk Pen
Black paint and paint brush

Step 1: Paint your canvas.
I used a satin acrylic paint and it only took me one coat to get great coverage. Let it dry completely before you move on.

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Step 2: Thread a piece of ribbon through your wreath and glue it to your canvas.
It was extra important for mine to be secure since the folks at the Arts Center will be handling it several times, so I used hot glue on the top and back of the canvas in three different spots. My wreath came already glittered and complete with snowy pine cones at Michaels.

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Step 3: Add your lettering!
You can really write anything you want here. I used my trusty new favorite thing, David Tutera Chalk Pens, and followed my usual method of writing the word then going back to add thickness to the down strokes. If you’re wondering what in the world that means and you want to get started with hand lettering, check out my Basic Hand Lettering post for a full photo tutorial that will show you how to get this effect.


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If hand lettering totally intimidates you, you can also get a similar effect by using vinyl or a stencil, so never fear!

Step 4: Add berries to your wreath.
You can actually do this much earlier, like before you attach the wreath to the canvas…and probably should. I just did it last because I didn’t have the berries when I did the rest of the project. I got it finished and realized it desperately needed a pop of color, so I ran back out to the store and got some pretty red berries, which were the perfect solution. They came on wires, so I twisted the wires around the wreath branches to secure them. You can also use hot glue.

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What do you think? I can’t wait to see it on display at the Arts Center, and I hope there are other folks who love it as much as I do! Is this something that would fit in to your Christmas decor?

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