Ring Around the Coffee Filter…..

What does this formula get you?  Figure it out and I will give you a nice shiny new penny…….

300 Coffee Filters

3.5 Glue Sticks

2 Burned Fingers

 

Graphic Credit: gerardnadal.com

4 Hours

1 Coffee Filter Wreath

 

Coffee Filter Wreath

I am really pleased with how this project came out.  I can’t stress how easy this project was in relation to how it looks.  If you don’t mind the occasional hot glue burn and some mind numbing repetition, anyone can do this craft project.  I have to thank Nichole over at Parlour for giving me the inspiration for this project.  Her fantastic DIY light fixture got me thinking that if she could do that with a $5 paper lantern, I could do the same concept but on a wreath form.  After a quick search of the net, I found that I was not alone in my concept and several other bloggers had attempted the project to varying degrees of success.  So armed with the knowledge that the worst I could do was end up with a life time supply of coffee filters, I ventured down to my local Dollar Store to pick up the supplies.  I returned with 320 coffee filters, a wicker wreath form and the reality that this project was going to take me longer than I anticipated.    However, at a total cost of $3, I figured I was game for the challenge.

I started Sunday afternoon on the project.  A cup of coffee (insert pun here), sunlight cascading into the kitchen and cabaret music streaming on my laptop.  I was in a happy mood….life was good:

 

Doesn't this look like a happy place to be crafting?

 

About 1.5 hours into the project....still in a happy place.

 

And then the darkness set in.....

I realized about the point above that the wicker form was not a good option for this project.  Due to its twisting nature, I couldn’t create a “master row” of coffee filter rosettes and then work out from there.  Further, I realized that I started fairly” loosey goosey” and then got tighter as I went applying the rosettes, so one side was slightly higher/fluffier than the other.  Annoyed, I stopped for the day and went had lunch because the prospect of redoing 1.5 hours of work just made me want to drink.

The wreath sat untouched until Thursday.  Now having ample free time on my hands (see reason here) I decided to finish the project.  It took about 2.5 more hours and several choice curse words after burning my fingers, but I figured out how to rectify the imbalance and create symmetry.  The secret was to apply the rosettes on a diagonal working with the contour of the wicker rather than against it.  It took about 2 rows to get the hang but after that,  but after that it was smooth sailing.  I finished the wreath in about two hours and spent a half hour filling out “holes” in the wreath for a fuller look.  As I said, aside from the inability to feel  anything in two of my fingers and slight brain atrophy, I really liked this project.

Originally I thought it would grace a wall in my living room, but I am thinking it may serve a more unconventional role in  my holiday decor.  Any guesses?  Leave a comment and if you guess correctly, there may be a special little holiday surprise in it for you. And no, it won’t be a shiny new penny – Geesh I am frugal but not THAT cheap!