With a flood of holiday cards now filling your mailbox, it can be difficult to find enough space to display them all. Within a week, the mantel is full and you’re left looking for other options to prevent any one place from looking too crowded. To solve that problem, we’ve created a simple DIY card wreath that will help you find a home for this season’s batch of festive greetings. The simple, neutral style of this display should match many different decor styles, from modern to rustic, and it will be exciting to pull out of the attic year after year!

What You’ll Need

If you don’t already have the supplies for this project lying around the house, you can easily find them at your local craft store. Gather these items to get started:

• A large hoop (pictured is an 18” quilt hoop)
• Felt (Choose shades of green for a natural look, or try experimenting with unexpected but still festive hues like vibrant red or gold.)
• Scissors
• Glue
• Small pompoms (We used white pompoms for a mistletoe look, but red or metallic pompoms are fun as well.)
• Twine
• Thumbtacks
• Tiny clothespins

How to Make It

Step 1: Begin by making your leaves. You can freehand these onto the felt with a permanent marker before cutting, or practice them on paper first. The wreath in the picture has one long branch (going down the left side), two medium branches (one layered on each side), two small branches (one layered on each side) and one middle piece to cover the gaps between felt layers. Test the size and placement of each felt piece as you go to figure out what you like best.

Step 2: Glue your leaves in place and allow them to dry according to your adhesive’s instructions.

Step 3: After the glue has dried, lay out your twine and cards to decide on their placement. Since holiday cards come in a lot of different shapes and sizes these days, many combinations will be possible. Once you’ve decided where your twine will need to go, attach it to the back of the hoop either with thumbtacks (which will push the wreath away from the wall, creating depth) or staples. You may want to glue or fasten the twine where it runs along the hoop to keep it from view, but that’s up to you.

Step 4: Next, flip your hoop back over and glue the pompoms on the “leaves.” Keep the arrangement fairly random to resemble to natural, organic look of berries. As a bonus, these can be helpful for covering any odd gaps between the leaves if that’s necessary.

Step 5: Now find the perfect spot to hang your new wreath. We chose to hang ours over the fireplace, but the foyer, kitchen and dining room are all possibilities—just think about where you’re likely to enjoy it the most! You can attach it to the wall using a simple nail or any other picture-hanging supplies.

Step 6: Choose a handful of your favorite cards, then attach them to the twine with the mini clothespins. Remember: Your arrangement doesn’t have to stay the same all season. Have fun swapping out the older cards for new ones as they arrive in your mailbox so that you always have a fresh collection of smiling faces greeting you and your family!

About the Author:

Julia Marchand is a DIY and home design expert for Shutterfly. She lives in New Hampshire, where she grew up, with her husband and year-old son. Julia loves all things vintage and spends her time sewing, reading and crafting. Follow Julia on Twitter to find out what adorable holiday idea she comes up with next!

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