light me up...

I know its not just me who has a silly love affair with doilies. If the doily were a man, it would be that one gorgeous guy you stalked back in high school, hoping you could just take him home, sit him down, and stare at his incomparable beauty. No? You didn't do that too? Well, at least doilies are beautiful white breaths of fresh air that are literally everywhere these days, not just Grandma's attic. I mean really, you can buy a pack for a buck at a flea market and feel like you won the lottery. So next time you score a jumbo sack of these bad boys and come home feeling like you have to hide your winnings from your husband (him= "oh hon, not againnnn!") you just shoot him a little evil smirk because you have a plan. Yup, this time they won't collect dust. This time, they will light up!

Paper Doily Wreath
via Martha Stewart

What You Need:

• 24-inch wreath form
• 30-inch wreath form
• 24-gauge wire
• White spray paint
• 20-foot strand of white holiday lights
• Scissors
• Paper bouquet holders (try ten 8.8-inch ones, twenty 6.4-inch ones, twenty 4.8-inch ones, and fifty 3.2-inch ones from germanplaza.com)
  
  
  

Directions:

Step 1
Working on a covered surface, lay a 24-inch wreath form inside a 30-inch one. Attach them with 24-gauge wire at 6 to 8 evenly spaced points.

Step 2
In a ventilated area, coat combined wreath form with white spray paint. Let dry.

Step 3
Wrap wreath form with a 20-foot strand of white holiday lights (test lights beforehand), leaving the plug end unwrapped (as much as is needed to plug in).

Step 4
With scissors, widen the center-hole slits slightly in paper bouquet holders (we used 10 8.8-inch ones, 20 6.4-inch ones, 20 4.8-inch ones, and 50 3.2-inch ones). Poke a finger through center hole of each bouquet holder (from front to back) to create openings large enough to accommodate a light bulb.

Step 5
Beginning with largest ones, place bouquet holders evenly around wreath, slipping a light through each hole so that bulb bases, not bulbs, rest against paper. (From time to time, hang wreath, and step back to ensure that the arrangement is balanced and attractive.)

Step 6
Add remaining bouquet holders in descending size order. Use smallest bouquet holders to cover centers of larger ones and to fill in any gaps. Hang near an outlet. Unplug when unattended.