DIY Sequin Wreath for Valentine’s Day

Today I’m sharing an easy DIY sequin wreath for Valentine’s Day – with an optional wire wrapped heart ornament suspended inside.  You can make either part of this easy DIY Valentine’s Day craft or combine them for maximum sparkle!

Supplies:

• 16 gauge wire
• 24 gauge wire
• Mix of beads
• Needle nose pliers
• Foam wreath (mine is 11.7″ x 1.7″)
• Simplicity Sequin trim (I used 8 yards, but I overlapped it a lot)
• Ribbon (similar – for hanging wreath and heart shaped ornament)

Let me start by showing you how to make these simple DIY wire wrapped hearts.  Like my DIY beaded wire leaves, this is a great way to use up leftover beads or even upcycle old beaded jewelry.

How to Make a Wire Wrapped Heart:

1. Cut a length of 16 gauge wire, approximately 17″ in length.
2. Form it loosely into a heart shape, using needle nose pliers to gently shape the pointed end.
3. Using the needle nose pliers, curl the cut ends into curlicue shapes and hook those together to hold the heart shape.
4. Cut a length of 24 gauge wire and wrap it a few times around the 16 gauge wire.
5. Use needle nose pliers, if necessary, to help secure the wire tightly.
6. Slide a bead onto the end of the 24 gauge wire.
7. Position the bead and wrap the 24 gauge wire around the 16 gauge wire to secure the bead.
8. Repeat for subsequent beads.

Detailed Instructions – How to Make a Wire Wrapped Heart:

Let me show you some photos of how I wrap the beads around the wire heart shape, to give you a clearer idea of this process.  Once I slide the bead on, for the larger beads I run the wire down the back of the bead and then wrap around the base to secure it.  If this doesn’t secure it 100%, I twist the bead once or twice.  I do this so the beads can be positioned pointing outwards from the wire heart shape, which gives the finished ornament some more dimension and fullness.  Here are photos of this process:

After affixing a few of these larger beads, pointing outward, I go in and add some smaller beads on top.  The smaller beads cover up the wire, and add a little more dimension to the front of the wire wrapped heart.  I slide on a bead, and then position it over some exposed wire and then secure by wrapping the wire around other beads of the wire heart shape:

I do each one a tiny bit differently and sometimes have to reposition the beads where they “fit” well.  It’s a somewhat random process, and I just go with the flow – securing the beads where they fit the best amongst the other beads.  It’s a very organic process, so don’t overthink it!  The important thing is to make sure each bead feel secure and not loose.

Then just repeat around the entire heart shape until you reach the end.  Simply wrap the excess wire around the heart shape a few times to secure it and trim any excess wire.  Below is what the finished DIY wire wrapped heart ornament looks like.  I used the teal wire so you could see the wire wrapping more easily in photos, but I ended up liking how it looked, so I linked some colored wired options in the supply list but of course you can do this with wire that matches the wire heart form as well.

Here’s a peek at the back, so you can see how I was wrapping the wire.  It’s a little bit messy on this side, but the random, scribbly wire is a major part of the charm, in my opinion.

Next I created a simple DIY sequin wreath and hung this wire wrapped heart from the centre with some ribbon.

How to Make a Sequin Wreath:

1. Grab a foam wreath form (mine is 11.7″ x 1.7″).
2. Secure one end of the sequin ribbon to the back (you can use glue or even sew/pin the ribbon to itself).
3. Wrap the sequin ribbon around, overlapping the ribbon (I overlapped about 50% of the width of the previous layer).
4. Secure with safety pins on the back to finish.

How to Add the Wire Wrapped Heart to the Sequin Wreath:

To add the heart to the middle of the sequin wreath, I used a coordinating red glitter ribbon.  I cut a length and looped it through one end of the heart and tied a knot.  Then I used the tail ends of the ribbon to secure the heart to the wreath – and that’s also what I used to hang the wreath.

This was such a simple DIY Valentine’s Day wreath, but the end result is very fun and sparkly!  I also like that it can be disassembled and reworked.  I am a big fan of reusing supplies, and with this wreath I simply pinned the sequin trim in place, so if I wanted to I can still use it for another sewing project.  The wire wrapped heart can also easily be removed and used as a tree ornament in the future.  It’s a versatile, flexible DIY Valentine’s Day craft with lots of opportunities to upcycle or use up leftover craft supplies – and reclaim these supplies for future projects!!

P.S. Don’t Forget to Pin for Later!