Magazine Wreath Tutorial

The other day, I saw a magazine lying around and thought, "Instead of throwing it away, I wonder if I can find some sort of craft to use it for.". Believe it or not, I didn't go to Pinterest immediately. I actually googled something like "magazine catalog wreath" and that lead me to this beautiful Upcycled Magazine Wreath tutorial on Addicted2Decorating. But I didn't have everything she had, especially the 18" wreath form. So instead, I decided to do a mini-version and tweak a few things.

What You'll Need
Scissors
Tape (I couldn't find the scotch tape so I used the paper medical tape we always keep on hand.)
Glue (All I had was Tacky glue.)
2 magazines (You might need more/less, depending on how many colorful pages there are.)
7.6" x 7.6" piece of cardboard
2 circular things of different sizes (2" wide top from a canister and a 6.5" or 7" paper bowl will work just as well. The sizes must be different!)
Ribbon or fabric
Ruler
Pen/Sharpie (Pencils will not work, unless it is a charcoal pencil.)

Optional:
Exacto knife (This will help when cutting the cardboard. We don't have one.)

TOTAL PRICE: FREE!

Ready to get down to work?

1. Gather everything you will need. It is tedious so you want to make sure you have everything within reach.

Step 2. Measure twice, cut once... 

2. Take your 7.6" x 7.6" cardboard and place your smaller circle that's at least 2" in diameter in the middle. Trace and cut it out. An Exacto knife would work perfectly in this case. I didn't have one so I had to use scissors. Can I just say that cutting a circle in the middle of cardboard with scissors stinks? It does.

Step 3. This is what you should end up with, minus my sloppy scissor-work.

3. Now place your paper bowl that's at least 6.5" or 7" in diameter right over the smaller circle and trace. It's okay if you can't trace it around completely. You can cut to make your wreath form look more like a circle. Toss both cutouts away. You won't need them! Don't forget to poke a small hole at the top of the cardboard circle to thread thin ribbon or fabric as a hanger!

 Step 4. Look at all the pretty colors!

4. Take your magazines and look through them. If you find a colorful page you like, cut or tear it out. (If you tear it out, you can always cut the side to make it more even.)

5. Gather as many as the pages you think you can cut with your scissors and stack them. You may need to use the ruler to measure and mark, but with the papers stacked together, cut 2.5" x 2.5" squares. I tried to cut individual squares and almost went mad! You will probably need 100 or more.

Step 6. Roll, roll, roll your squares!

6. Taking one square in your hand, roll it around your finger (or anything like a nail polish bottle top, AA battery, or something similar), going from point to point (not corner to corner). You want it to look like a pointy cylinder. Secure the end with tape (or glue). Next, fold in half shortways. You can either have the pointed open ends facing away or to each other. Your choice. Secure the middle with a little tape or glue. You might want to pace yourself with Step 6. It gets really tedious after rolling 15 of those squares.

 Step 7. Glue until you think you'll dream of gluing in your sleep.

7. Run a strip of glue around the rim of the inner circle. Place the folded end of your rolled square on the glue and hold for a few seconds until it sticks. Keeping place the folded edges on the glue until either A: you run out of space or B: you run out of rolled papers - in which you would have to make more, unless you run out of patience and quit.

8. Once you have done the inside, it is time to start moving to the outside. Now, the squares we have already glued will be getting in the way to run a strip of glue around the cardboard so you will need to start gluing the papers individually. You don't have to finish this in one sitting. I sure didn't! Remember- start on the inside and work your way out. Just be sure you don't completely cover the hole for your ribbon/fabric!

Step 10. After 3 days, this is what the finished product looked like!

9. Once you have glued everything, including your sanity, to the cardboard, thread your ribbon or fabric through the hole and hang. Voila - you added instant home decor for free and helped the environment! (Sorta.)