Wire Worked Candle Wreaths

For every holiday I enjoy putting together a special table display. It ties together the feel of the holiday and gives everyone something special to look at while we gather around the table. This year for my Thanksgiving table I have made some wire wrap wreaths to put around candles. Learn how to make wire wrapped candle wreaths for your own Thanksgiving or any other celebration.

Wire Wrapped Candle Wreath Supplies:

• Bead Mix
• Beadalon Artistic wire (20 to 24 gauge) (I am using 20 gauge for my wreath and it will use almost a full spool per wreath)
• Candle
• Glass candle holder (I purchase mine at the dollar tree)
• Sand (some material to hold the candle and cover the bottom of the candle holder)

Wire Wrapped Candle Wreaths:

Before you can start the project you will need to gather you materials. The biggest choice that you have is to pick the bead mix that you are going to use. Some bead suppliers sell pre-made bead mixes but a lot of the time I like to grab left over beads that I have that go together to make my own bead mix.

Since these candle wreaths will be used for my Friendsgiving table I selected fall colors. Another consideration when making these wreaths is to select beads that have some transparency. This will allow the candle light to shine through the beads and give it some sparkle.

Start your project by pre stringing all of the beads that you think you will need. This project will use more beads than you might think. It is always easier to have more beads strung and remove them at the end. Although I try to add more beads than I need, it is possible to add more at the end if you didn’t have enough.

Leaving a 2 inch tail you can start to twist the first bead. The tail will be used at the end to secure the start and finish of the wreath. Slide your first bead down about 4 inches from the end. Fold over the wire and twist to hold the bead in place. Be sure to pinch the wire at the 2inch mark so that the whole thing does not twist. In this project I am trying to make about a 2 inch spike in the wreath. Feel free to make your smaller or longer or to even change the size with each bead that you add. This is a project where you likely won’t want all of your twists to be the same.

Finishing your Wire Wrapped Candle Wreath:

To continue your wreath you will pull the next bead down and again leave about 2 inches between the first twist that you did and the next bead. Again you will fold the wire over and twist together. Be sure to pinch the ends of the wire where you want the twist to stop. I recommend that you leave a little more room than how long you want your twist to be. This will give you some room at the base between twists allowing you to move around the wreath. Continue around the wreath in this fashion.

As you work check your progress and how far you are around the candle. If you should run out of beads give your self a longer tail to string more beads and continue the twisting process.

Once your wreath is long enough to go around your candle holder you will slightly overlap the two ends of the bead work. Twisting the two wire tails together, just like a twist tie, you can secure your work into a ring. Take the time to ‘fluff’, a very technical term, your wreath and get the twists just where you want them.

I used a small amount of sand in the bottom of my candle hold. The sand covers the bottom of the candle holder so that you can’t see through the glass and it also gives the tea light something to rest on so it doesn’t move around as easily. If you don’t have sand you could really use anything else that you like.

Color Options for your Wire Wrapped Candle Wreaths:

For this tutorial I show you how to make the wreath in fall colors. Think about changing up the color of the beads and the wire for different seasons. Try reds, greens and silvers for Christmas, or school colors for a graduation party. The possibilities are endless.

Set this beautiful decoration out on your table and think of me this Thanksgiving.

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