Joy Door Decoration

I got the idea to spell out JOY with a jingle bell wreath as the O from this etsy listing.  I quickly decided I wanted to convert that into a new decoration for my front door.  The tired, slightly rusty old wreath I'd been using for about 10 years was ready to be retired.  I was intimidated by the idea of making my own jingle bell wreath, despite some simple enough tutorials, so I bought a cute one on Etsy.  Painted my own J and Y from Michaels, linked em with ribbon, and TA DA:

I'm going to toot my horn on this one.  My husband teased me that Pinterest is fun and all, but I don't have to copy everything from it exactly.  I *can* think of things on my own.  Well I'd say this is a nice adaptation, and I'm the one who thought to hang it vertically with ribbon!  The details may be lost on him but hey, I made it for me.  So there.  ;)

Supplies

• J and Y unpainted wooden letters (got mine $3 each from Michaels)
• Red paint
• Ribbon
• Jingle bell wreath (bought or made yourself; as long as the ring and the letters are about the same size, you're fine)
• Way to hang your letters: I used Command wall hook strips; nail and a staple on the back of the J would do fine, too
• Hot glue gun and glue to secure everything together

Directions

1. Paint letters red and allow to dry.
2. Glue thinner ribbon on top of thicker ribbon (optional if you just use one ribbon).
3. Cut ribbon in half to have even lengths on top and bottom.
4. Glue top of ribbon to bottom of J, run taught to the wreath, and secure to the wreath.  My wreath had a wire for hanging, so I looped the ribbon through the wire and glued it in place.
5. Secure next length of ribbon to bottom of the wreath.  I didn't have a wire to loop through here and I was doubtful that the glue would hold well on such a lumpy surface without crinkling my ribbon, so I actually stuck on some velcro to the back of the wreath and the ribbon.  That'll hold, for sure!  Run the ribbon taught and glue to the Y.  Glue along the empty space in the Y so that the ribbon is attached at several points.
6. Hang on the door so that it hangs evenly.  I stuck a Command strip to the vertical part of the J and the Y, so that it holds top and bottom.  It can get pretty windy in my corner of the neighborhood, and I didn't want the decoration clanging around in the middle of the night.  Because everything is lightweight, the strips are holding it up just fine.