When Mardi Gras gives you beads, make a wreath!

Every year my husband and I go to the Universal Orlando Mardi Gras event both for the musical acts and to see the parade. We have been Annual Passholders for years so we usually go several times and it is always a blast! I have seen so many great musical acts, my favorite being Weezer front row and FREE since it is part of admission! They also have a great parade complete with lots and lots of beads. While I loved the excitement of catching necklaces flying through the air I was never sure what to do with them once I got home. After searching Pinterest for ideas I finally found the perfect use for them, a wreath!!

This was very easy to make and costs under $10.
For supplies you will need:
  - foam wreath
  - hot glue gun
  - about 30 strings of beads
  - floral wire cutters
  - 2 masks, these are from the Dollar Tree

  - optional Styrofoam ball cut in half and painted black, black pain and brush

First step is to paint the wreath black. You don't have to do this but I prefer it so the green doesn't show through, also my door is black so the green would have really stood out. Once it's dry, add a dollop of hot glue to the back and attach the end of a bead strand.

Once it is secure, wrap the strand around to the front. Add another dollop of glue to hold the strand in front. Continue wrapping and gluing as you go.

When switching colors, I made a point to stop at the back and cut off any excess beads if necessary. This way the pattern looks smooth and continuous from the front. Once it is all wrapped, I attached the masks. If you have an area that is a bit wonky, don't worry just attach the mask there, no one will see it! My green mask wasn't hitting the wreath enough to get it glued securely so I glued half of a Styrofoam ball behind the forehead area then glued it to the wreath.

All done! Time to hang from the door and enjoy your shiny new wreath. I love how colorful it is! The shiny plastic really pops on our door.

A funny story about the beads. I actually started making this wreath back in January but was two purple strands shy of finishing. Instead of buying some, my husband suggested we just go see the Mardi Gras parade at Universal and most likely catch a couple of purple strands. We ended up with over 100! Here is our haul.

We went on Super Bowl Sunday which happened to be rainy so there was hardly anyone there. We were worried the parade was going to get cancelled because of the weather but it didn't so I was able to get the two purple strands I needed and many more! Many thanks to Universal Orlando for the beads and much applause for continuing with the parade in the rain. We had a blast!