Holiday Holly Wreath for Activa Products by Lisa Fulmer

There is something so satisfying about making your own holiday decorations. This holly wreath is small and lightweight enough to hang anywhere you need a bit of holiday cheer in your home or office. Leaves made from Rigid Wrap are full of texture and dimension because you can easily shape and mold this plaster-embedded mesh, however you like, with or without an armature, plus it dries quickly.

Supplies:
ACTÍVA Plus Clay

Rigid Wrap Plaster Cloth

ClothGreen floral wire

Cardstock, marker, scissors

8” Smoothfoam disc

Dark green paint

Metallic green paint

Red paint

Paintbrushes, cosmetic wedge sponges

Wood skewer, palette knife

Red ribbon, straight pin

Roll 21 (or more) small balls of clay to make berries, then pierce a short length of wire into each ball. Let dry overnight.

Paint the Smoothfoam disc dark green and let dry.

Paint the berries red and let dry. Twist the wires together in clusters of three and trim.

Draw two sizes of holly leaves on cardstock. Cut out and use as a template to trace and cut several leaves of each size from Rigid Wrap.

Following the package instructions, wet each leaf in water and place on the disc, plaster side down. Start with the larger leaves – smooth out the damp plaster into the netting with a brush. Use a palette knife to gently lift and buckle each leaf, leaving some areas flat against the disc. Place cosmetic sponges around the disc as needed to support the leaf tips as they dry.

After the first layer of large leaves is dry, place a second layer of the smaller leaves on top in the same way.

After the top layer is dry, outline some of the leaves with dark green paint. These outlines will help distinguish the leaves a bit.

Paint the rest of the leaves with a lighter metallic green. Use a small brush to get color in between all the leaves so no white plaster shows.

Poke pilot holes in random positions among the holly leaves with a skewer and push a cluster of berries in each hole.

Attach a ribbon loop to the back of the wreath with a straight pin for hanging. Secure the ribbon against the disc with a bit of glue if desired.

Designed by Lisa Fulmer