Dollar Store Advent Wreath

We’ve been seeing beautiful wooden advent wreaths and I decided to try making one, using what I could find from the dollar store! I already had the 6″ masonite wreath base from an earlier trip to the dollar store.
I know I have seen little wooden leaf cutouts, but this time of year, my trusty dollar store had none. I switched gears to use little wooden hearts and flowers and this is what I came up with.

Because I have the traditional taper Advent candles, I was looking for little candle holders that would not take up much space on my little 6″ wreath. I was originally looking for these little plastic containers (with lids) because I could glue them in place and fit the candles in, perhaps with a little bit of tissue, wax paper, or foil to keep them steady. But alas, the dollar store was all out!

I ended up finding a sturdy paper (cardboard) roll and cut 2″ sections with our radial arm saw. (Don’t tell the carpenters in the family =) The edges were a little jagged, so I covered the little cut rolls with white duct tape.

(I had also purchased little wooden rings, but it was too much work to shave the end of the candles and it probably wouldn’t have been secure enough to keep the candles upright.)

Originally, I thought I would paint the leaves, but given that they are actually little hearts, I think I like the unpainted wood look.

The next time I get to visit a Hobby Lobby (we don’t have this magnificent store up in Canada!) I might purchase a couple of different sizes of the wood ring wreath base and also look for wooden leaf cutouts and little wooden candle holders…but I think this will do just fine this Advent!