How to Make Miniature Houses for a Christmas Wreath

Several years ago, one of my sisters gave each of us the gift of a large wreath that we decorated with supplies she purchased. It was such a creative idea in my opinion—our family was together for Thanksgiving, and she put all the supplies on a table so we moms could assemble our wreaths. It was such a simple and smart way to give the gift of a wreath.

I still have my Christmas wreath but this year I wanted to spruce it up a bit. My wreath has faux berries on it and a bit of white ribbon tucked in the pine branches. I took the ribbon off so I could tuck in some miniature houses and love how they turned out. This is such a simple project and if you already have a decorated wreath, you most likely have the supplies on hand to make it happen.

For the house designs, I referenced my sketchbook where I had drawn several holiday ads from Starbucks as well as some other companies a few years ago. (I didn’t label where I found all the drawings or I would mention them—didn’t realize I’d be referencing them for my blog years later!) I mention this because if you’re struggling with how to create houses, you might want to look at vintage drawings from the 50s (i.e. Mary Blair) for some inspiration. You’ll be able to see how those artists used a minimum of lines to convey a mood for the buildings they drew. With that, let’s get started!

How to Make Miniature Houses for a Christmas Wreath

You will need:

One cereal box
White gel pen
Scissors

Draw houses as shown on the inside of a cereal box. You can also use a red pen for highlights if you’d like a pop of color. A red gel pen that has a bit of glitter in it would be really fun. When you’re finished, cut the houses out and arrange them in the wreath. You don’t have to hot glue them onto the branches; I’ve found that just sitting them in the wreath and twisting a couple of berry vines or branches slightly around them to stabilize works perfectly.

By the way, for a fun gift tag, you could do the following:

• Paint the backs of the houses white (I would do this at the beginning, before you cut anything out.) Let the paint dry.
• Decorate the front of the houses as you would for the wreath project.
• Cut the houses out.
• Hole punch the top of the houses, and thread a piece of ribbon through the hole.
• Write a message on the back of the tag.

Well, there you go. A simple way to update your wreath that won’t take you very much time at all. Hope you all have a wonderful and creative day!

Have you ever made a Christmas wreath?