I love decorating my home for the holidays, which you learned from this post. Hands-down, my favorite aesthetic for fall and winter decor for my kitchen takes its inspiration from Colonial Williamsburg. While I don’t have the skill or creativity of those who make the amazing wreaths for their annual Christmas wreath contest, I can manage this simple, quick craft and enjoy its beauty for years to come.
I began by using a serrated knife and slicing 5 oranges 1/8″ to 1/4″ and then blotting them dry on both sides. Bake them on parchment-lined baking sheets at 175″ for 6 hours, making sure to flip them once per hour.
I then laid out some of the larger dried slices on this wreath form and used my hot glue gun to adhere them to the highest portion of the wreath form (these are a slight dome shape). I then glued smaller slices around the perimeter, sort of shoving them in between the wires of the wreath and gluing them down to make them appear to be peeking out between the layer of slices above them. Once I finished this I looked for any areas where the wire form was still visible and added orange slices to cover those. Finally, I glued a layer of slices all over in areas to add some fullness and depth.
I made a simple bow with a navy double-faced satin ribbon (try to find one Made in the USA since we don’t allow toxic dyes to be poured into our water systems). I then glued the bow on the top of the wreath and hung it in the center of our secretary desk’s pediment.
I love how it turned out and will keep it up until I take down the Christmas decorations, wrap it carefully in tissue paper, and then put it in a plastic bag to store in my prop closet until next year.
