Invisalign Tray Holiday Wreath

Light Up the Season With Your Smile

This holiday season, surprise 'em with a wreath made of your used Invisalign trays. (Discarded title: Whiter, Straighter Christmas)

This is a super easy project that you can't really mess up, and a perfect way to spend a winter afternoon sorting through ambivalent holiday feelings. Total cost is about $4907 (including orthodontia).

Supplies:

• 9" white styrofoam wreath base with a flat side
• 1 yard of standard size aluminum foil, cut into 2" strips 100 Invisalign trays (upper and or lower)
• 50-100 floral greening pins or wire ornament hooks in silver
• Hot glue rods
• Scraps of ribbon, fabric, feathers, buttons, hatpins or other bits and pieces
• 2" masking or duct tape
• A 12" piece of floral wire or twine
• Spray of fake flowers or ribbon streamer

Tools:

• Hot glue gun
• Wire cutter
• Scissors
• Awl

Used trays reflect their function as little display cases of scum. Some are stained, some cracked or broken, some have gold Sharpie lines from your Post Malone Halloween costume. Soak the trays in a bucket with a 10% bleach solution for a half hour, then scrub, rinse and allow to air dry.

Cover the white foam base and give your wreath a reflective underpinning with the aluminum foil strips. Wrap them all the way around then pinch to get a smooth, tight fit. No need for glue.

Flip the wreath over and secure the foil with 4" pieces of tape. Trim the pieces so that they create a backing for the wreath but don't fold over onto the sides.

Cut 4-5 pieces of ribbon and tie them at intervals around the wreath. This will also hold the foil in place.

Use floral wire or a strong piece of twine to create a loop to hang the wreath. Fold the wire/twine in half, loop it around the wreath, then twist or tie, leaving a 2" loop. Clip any excess.

Now you're ready to decorate!

Use the awl to push a hole in about 20 of the trays. Pin each tray to the wreath by sticking a floral pins through the hole and into the foam base. (Tip: To use ornament hooks, clip them in half with the wire cutters and bend them to be V-shaped.) Distribute the placement of these trays evenly around the base. Use hot glue to secure them. If any still wiggle, use more pins to hold them down.

Now fill out the wreath with the rest of the trays to cover as much of the base as possible. Hot glue trays at different angles around the entire structure until they are all attached. They don't all need pins.

Use ribbon pieces, buttons or other scraps to add color and make the wreath more fluffy and full-looking.

Hold your wreath up by the hook and decide where it needs a bit of interest. Then add a ribbon steamer or spray of fake flowers, secured with hot glue.