Light the World Wreath

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints launches their #LightTheWorld campaign every Christmas. The focus is to act kindly and do acts of service for anyone around you to brighten their holiday season. I wanted to create a wreath that showcased lights and stars with the Light the World phrase right in the middle.

This beautiful wreath was made using products from a variety of manufacturers, none of which are associated with The Church of Jesus Christ. Other opinions and ideas are all my own.

I already had some of the tools and supplies needed for this, including a high quality Wood Burning Set from Plaid  that has a temperature control, sturdy tips, and comes with a nice storage case. I was anxious to try it out for the first time on some wood cutouts that I had.

The flat tip attachment can be used to transfer laser printed images onto wood. In my design program I created a star shape the same size as my wood piece and centered the text I wanted to use in the middle of it. It helps to use a font with no color fill so you can see the outside edges to trace when you start the wood burning. Don't forget to use the mirror image setting so the text is the right direction when it transfers to the wood.

Cut out the paper and tape it face down to the wood and turn the heat setting for the wood burning tool to the line separating the orange and red sections. After it heats up use it by applying even pressure and move in circular motions to transfer the toner to the wood. You can peek under the paper to confirm it is working and you didn't miss any spots. I reused the paper on a second star and it worked, just a bit lighter.

I used two different star cutouts planning to use the one I liked better when I was done. Wait for the tool to cool down before changing to the universal tip. Turn the heat setting for the wood burning tool to the red section and wait for it to heat back up. Then practice on paper or scrap wood!  Find a technique that works for you, but remember, you can always go back over a section to make it darker, but you can't make it lighter. Go slow and gently touch the tool to the wood until you get the hang of it.  When you feel comfortable you can go for it, I recommend lightly tracing the edges of the letters, and then filling in the gaps.

Not bad, for my first time wood burning! I liked the thicker star better. The words on that star were smoother than on the thinner star.

Now get your wreath supplies. I went to my Smiths Marketplace and got some discounted Christmas decorations and I had a coupon. Christmas sales are the best!

I got a small wreath, gold star ornaments, branch picks, gold berry picks, and gold wired ribbon. I also had a small string of led wire lights left over from another craft project.

Using floral wire, start wire-wrapping the branch picks to the wreath.

It might be a good idea to have a rough design planned out. Remember, floral arrangements look better using an odd number of groups. So you can divide your decorations into 3 different sized groups and choose areas to put them.  I wanted to have my main group on the right side just below the center with the other two areas on the left side to balance it out.

Next start adding the stars and the gold berries. The stars worked better wiring the points of the star to the tips of the wreath branches, making them visible and stable.

Then add a star and a group of three berries a third of the way around the wreath from the main group.

That left me with three berry picks in my last group, which I put in the empty area, leaving space for the bow on the top.

It's starting to look pretty good. At this point, make sure your decorations are firmly attached and won't fall off if knocked around a little.

Attach your wood burned star ornament to a gold ribbon and hang from the middle of the wreath. Then make a big bow with long tails and wire that to the top of the wreath over the knot where you tied the star. Then I made a ribbon loop and tied that to the top behind the bow so you can hang it up on a wreath hook. Wrap the wire led lights all the way around. Hiding or hanging the battery pack behind the knot of the big bow.

Doesn't it look great? I like how the ribbon weaves through the branches on the wreath and through the ornaments. The Light the World star is right in the middle where you can see it.

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