"Shredded Wheat Wreath"
We have made these wreaths with our children several times over the years both at home and with various youth organizations. The children really enjoy this hands-on activity and the end result is a great, inexpensive ornament to share with others. The wreath pictured is actually 12 years old and still looks great on their grandmother’s Christmas tree!
You’ll need:
Nabisco Shredded Wheat Cereal (large biscuit style, or a generic brand, use one half of the biscuit to make this size wreath)
Plastic bowl
Plastic small margarine container lid
Spoon
Glue
Green food coloring
Green curling ribbon about 8 inches long
Scrap piece of red ribbon for a bow
Three red beads or something small, red and round for decorative “berries” (optional)
Directions:
Pour about 1/8 of a cup of glue into your bowl. Add green food color and stir to create the shade you want for your wreath. Using your hands, break apart half of the shredded wheat biscuit into the bowl. Don’t crumble the biscuit too fine, because stirring it later will also break the pieces apart and you want to maintain a branchy texture for your wreath. Using your spoon, toss the cereal around with green glue until completely coated. Kids like to do this with their hands! If the mix appears too dry, add more green colored glue. (Another way to deal with the glue, especially if you are doing this craft with more than one child at a time is to color the glue before beginning and pour it back into the glue bottle.)
Turn the mixture over onto the margarine lid and using your hands, press into the shape of a wreath. Press firm enough to hold together, but not too firm that you lose all the texture of the cereal. Don’t worry about it sticking to the lid. It will peel off when dry and have a nice flat back. Using a brush or your finger, coat the wreath thoroughly with non-colored glue. It will dry clear and help make your ornament sturdy and shiny. Allow wreath to air dry. Once dry, you can add three red beads and a bow for decoration. Tie the curling ribbon onto the wreath so you can hang your ornament on the tree!
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Copyright © 2007 by Shelly Kotulka. All rights reserved.