"Redneck" Wreath Tutorial

My oldest brother has just moved into a new home, and in light of the season and my AWESOME sense of humor I decided to make him a beer can wreath.. I think it turned out awesome, and would work with a multitude of colored cans!

So here's the How To;

You're gonna need to start with a LOT of empty cans. Make sure you wash and dry the well to avoid having a STINKY wreath.

Again, for the gag gift I went with beer cans (some great friends contributed to the stack), but any cans would work.

 

Take a heavy duty wire and curl one end into a hook, and the other end into a swirly ring. Make sure your ring is big enough that the tab of the can cannot slip over it. This step will not only help with building your wreath, but also putting it together.
 

Next take your clean cans, a rubber mallet, and a cutting board (to protect your work surface).
 

Hammer your cans until they are a good height to you, I made all my cans just a little under half the size. WATCH OUT FOR SHARP EDGES!!

 

After all your cans are smooshed, it's time to start placing them on the wreath. Gently pull the tab up, and slip the hook side thru the large opening on the tab. The more you put on the wire, the wreath will pretty much just fill itself out.

 

I did try to make a wreath with out smooshing the cans first, but it pretty much just looked like a jumbled mess. After a few different idea trials, I found smooshing the cans produced the best look.
 

After your wreath is full, just hook your hook side of the wire to your loop. This really is way easier said than done, and in the end it took the most time, and adding and removing cans. But with a little bit of patience it came together in the end!

And then just finish off with some ribbon or another piece of wire for hanging.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask!