Jingle bell wreaths are an easy way to add a bright and festive touch, as well as a little jing-a-ling, to any corner or your home. I hung mine on one of the doors in my dining room, and I love how it brightened up the space!
Now, let’s talk about wire for a minute. You want to use 16 gauge stainless steel or galvanized steel wire for this project. You can find it at the hardware store, or like I did, in the picture hanging wire section of a big box store. If you’re looking for it with the picture hanging wire, be sure to steer clear of the braided wires that are commonly used for hanging pictures, as they’re designed to be flexible and won’t work for a project like this. Also, stick to stainless steel if you’re planning on hanging your wreath in an area where it’s exposed to the elements, as galvanized steel wire has a coating that can break down over time if exposed to wet and cold.
You also want to avoid aluminum and brass wire, even if it’s 16 gauge, because those wires are much softer and more easily bendable than stainless or galvanized steel and won’t hold their shape when formed into a wreath.
To calculate the length of wire that you need to cut to make your wreath, multiply the desired diameter (in my case, 8 inches) by 3. Technically, it’s 3.14, but it’s just easier to round down to 3 and multiply it in your head. No calculator needed, and you’ll still get pretty much the same diameter wreath that you want. I’d advise not to go larger than 8 inches with the 16 gauge wire, though, since it may start to sag with wreaths larger than that. You can use a stronger gauge wire* if you’d like to make something larger.
* With wire, the stronger the gauge, the lower the number. So, 14 gauge wire would be stronger than 16 gauge.
Check out the video tutorial below to see a step-by-step tutorial for putting together your own jingle bell wreath:
Supplies Used in This Project
The following supply list contains affiliate links. I make a small commission if you purchase through these links, and I really appreciate it if you do!
AMZ = Amazon.com SBK = Scrapbook.com DKB = Dick Blick SSS = Simon Says Stamp
16 gauge stainless steel or galvanized steel wire (see notes above)
wire cutters
needle nose pliers
jingle bells*
1 1/2″ ribbon ( I used 1 1/2″ Red Double-Faced Satin Ribbon from Papermart)
sharp scissors, to cut the ribbon (I used Fiskars All-Purpose Left-Hand Scissors – great scissors for lefties)
* The bells that I used are 35mm, and I needed 36 bells total for my wreath. If you’re using smaller bells or a mix of smaller and larger bells, then you’ll need more to make the same size wreath.
