DIY Nightmare Before Christmas Wreathe

I made this NBC wreathe to go along with the Monster Wreathe I made for this holiday season.

My inspiration for the wreathe was our Christmas tree and the below pics I took on our trip to Disneyland this past October.

One day I'll try to make this clock for Halloween

I need this candelabrum in my life now!

I took the simple approach to this wreathe. I had this white wreathe already so I didn't need to go out and buy one or make one. 

I added some some fake holly bits, a hand-painted striped bow and of course, a skellington head.

The bow was easy to paint, believe it or not. I couldn't find any ribbon that looked like the one from Disney so I bought some wide chalkboard ribbon and painted the stripes on myself. 

Now, the skellington head was not so easy to make. I tried Model Magic because it is lightweight, but I could not get it to mold how I needed it too, so I scrapped that idea. I went back to the air-dry clay that I used for the teeth in the monster wreathe. I haven't touched clay since high school, so this was not so fun for me. For the life of me I could not get it very smooth. You can see the bumps in mine but at some point I just had to say "fuck it" and go with it. Once the clay was dry I painted it white and added black eyes and nostrils. 

I had plans to make a garland with a skellington head as well, but didn't end up leaving myself enough time. Honestly, I didn't want to after I was done with this one. Maybe next year, if I can find an easier way to do it. 

 After re-reading this post it is kind of a bummer isn't it? I sound like a Debbie Downer.

DIY Disney Haunted Mansion Monster Wreathe

Ever since we went to Disneyland in October for my birthday, I knew I was going to try to recreate some of the decor surrounding the Haunted Mansion. It is by far my favorite ride there for obvious reasons and during Halloween it's a pure joy. The little kid in my comes out and I embrace it when I'm there. I should post about our trip one day because it was definitely a good time.

(This photo also has supplies for other DIY projects)

Supplies Needed:

1. Green Garland - I picked the cheapest one I could find

2. Strong Floral Wire - because the clay adds some weight

3. Wire

4. Crayola Air-Dry Clay

5. Plyers

6. Paint

7. Red Bow - I bought a cheap one that was already made

First, I took the strong floral wire and created an oval shaped wreathe to the size I wanted. Secondly, I attached the green garland to the oval shape with some wire all the way around to create a stronger wreathe.

(This is the picture of the wreathe I took at Disneyland that I feel in love with)

Once the wreathe base is complete you can begin attaching the features, but first you may want to make the features. 

I used air-dry clay to form the teeth and eyes. While the clay was still soft I put wire in each piece to make them easier to attach to the base once they were all dry. I made 12 teeth altogether; six for the top and six for the bottom. Once they clay was dry (it took around 48 hrs) I painted them white and used a matte modge podge as a clear coat. 

For the eyes, I painted them both yellow with black pupils. 

Using the clay; forming and painting each piece was the most time-consuming. Once all the pieces were ready it was a very simple wreathe to make. You could make the pieces out of anything your heart desires that would be easier, like cardboard, paper, felt, etc. 

After attaching each facial feature I adhered the red bow and it was ready to be hung. I love seeing it in our hallway of our apartment complex as I approach our front door. It makes me very happy.