DIY Décor: Make a Christmas Centerpiece from a Wreath

One of my favorite ways to dress my home for the holidays is to add in fresh greenery wherever I can. Of course that means putting up a Christmas tree, hanging wreaths wherever possible, and planting paper white bulbs that bloom throughout December. For something fresh this year, I decided to create a snowy tableau on my coffee table using a wreath, faux snow, and candles. If you don’t want to dress up your coffee table, this would make a lovely Christmas centerpiece for a dining room table, kitchen island, or even a console table!

How to Make This Christmas Centerpiece

Materials

• A wreath– real or artificial will work fine
• Flocking spray
• Pillar candles– I used a combination of LED votives and real flame pillars
• Instant snow
• Crystallized ice picks
• A flat circular tray (or a large piece of cardboard cut to fit under your wreath)

Step 1

To begin, flock your wreath. For this project, the wreath will be lying flat on your table, so you’ll want to spray the flocking straight down. This way the heaviest coat of ‘snow’ will be on the parts of the needles that face straight up, creating the most realistic ‘snowy’ look.

Using this method, the bottom needles will be mostly snow free, as you can tell in the first image above. (Stylist extraordinaire Liz Demos walks you through creating a realistic, snowy effect with flock spray in this video for design*sponge– starting at about 3:25).  Create a thicker snow fall by lightly layering on the flocking.

Once you are finished with your flocking, set aside your wreath for at least 4-6 hours, or until the ‘snow’ can harden up a bit.

Step 2

Once your wreath is dry, you can start assembling your centerpiece. Start with a circular flat tray. I used this mirrored tray which I already had, but you can use any kind of tray you have on hand. You could also cut a circle out of a piece of cardboard so that it fits right underneath your wreath.

Step 3

Next, group together a few white or ivory pillar candles in the center of your tray. You can also use Flameless LED pillar candles if you have little ones around your home. A collection of candles of different heights works best. Also, remember to use odd numbers — either 3 or 5 create a the most aesthetically-pleasing arrangement.

Step 4

Next, place your wreath over your tray, so that the edges of the tray can’t be seen.

Step 5

The next step is to add icy, crystallized picks to your wreath. This step is optional, but it does add extra texture and dimension to your arrangement.

Before sliding the picks into your wreath, bend the pick so that all of the branches move in the same direction. You’ll want the motion of the picks to match the motion of the wreath.

Insert the picks into your wreath so that the shape of the crystallized branches matches the shape of the fir sprigs. Work your way around the wreath until you’ve inserted all of the picks.

Step 6

You’re almost ready to start adding the faux snow, but first add in the rest of your LED votive candles. I like to have a mix of tall and short candles, and I do love the soft yellow glow of the LED votives, but you can use any collection of candles you have around the house, even tall tapered candles!

Step 7

You’re now ready to start adding in your instant snow. Using a spoon, start dumping the snow between the candles and around your candles. You want the snow to pile up in the center so that it creates a more realistic effect, rather than sprinkling an even coating throughout.

After you light your candles, your arrangement is done!

DIY Décor is a series about small, affordable design and décor projects for home and garden.