Getting started
The first task at hand was deciding on the size I wanted for my wreath. Since I intended to place it over the fireplace mantel, I opted for a fairly large wire wreath form. I kept in mind that I would be gluing these rolled candies all around the edge of the wire wreath, so size mattered. I used a 16” wire wreath and it took about 170-180 candy rolls to fill it. This might vary by the width of your wreath. You may also be able to use a foam wreath just be careful your hot glue doesn’t melt the wreath. I usually wrap a foam wreath with something like a wide burlap ribbon painted to match the project and then glue to that.
Now, onto the fun part - making the candies! I ordered a bag of bulk wine corks along with numerous Halloween fabrics, although I repeated many of them. Additionally, I gathered embellishments such as yarn, ribbon, ric rac, and even sequins to adorn the rolled fabric. A drip-less glue gun proved to be almost indispensable to prevent a messy glue situation.
Next, the fabric needed to be cut to the appropriate size for rolling, covering, and twisting around the corks. I started with just a couple dozen to gauge how much of the wreath they would cover, allowing me to estimate how many more I'd need. There were essentially three layers involved: an inside layer, a top layer, and an outer curve layer. I selectively placed the top layer first as those would be the most visual. Leaving a little gap between them. Then alternate your inside and outside candies so that the twisted ends of those are filling in between the top row of candies, this helps to fill gaps.
Once all the candies were completed, I simply added a wire hanging piece to the back. This precious creation is one I made for myself, and stored in a protective box until it's time to be showcased again during the Halloween season!
