HOLIDAY: Mid-Mod Holiday Wreath

Welcome to my 2025 holiday theme!

After spending a week out in Palm Springs soaking up the mid-century modern vibes, I was inspired to create Christmas decorating projects in a fun 'Mid Mod Holiday' theme!

Created with simple materials, clean lines, and a monochromatic color scheme, they're all easy to create, and all of them utilize an item that you can easily find... as a matter of fact, you've seen this material before! My last pumpkin creation of fall was painted with green leafy motifs, inspired by the shape of the leaves in this pattern:

It's a VINYL PLACEMAT! From Dollar Tree!

They cost just $1.50 each. I bought 18. (See them online on the Dollar Tree website - but they aren't sage green as described, they are a minty green) You can also see other patterns and colors that might work for you here! [Not an Ad]

I've been cutting and bending and gluing them into various decorating elements, and I hope this series inspires you to give a new material a try!

Continue reading for details and full tutorial...dwk

Using a small, sharp pair of scissors, I carefully cut out various shapes from the placemat... the pattern offers several possible motifs to use.

For this wreath project, I'm using the four-leaf clusters seen on the right above.
I also cut out full circles (the four-leaf clusters are inside the circles), half circles, and two sizes of the four-point 'stars' that are between the leaves. I also cut some single leaves out, and there will be a lot more of those needed for another project this season! 

Remember this photo from my last post?

That 'snowflake' made from flocked tree greens inspired the flowers on my wreath. Instead of using real foliage, I'm using cutout leaves from the vinyl placemat pattern! They look a lot like poinsettia flowers to me.

Tutorial

Materials:

vinyl placemat (I used cutouts from one placemat to create 6 flowers)
posterboard (I used a white one and painted it green to match the placemat color)
scissors . pencil . 6 tiny white pompoms . ruler with a metal edge
straight pins - or hot glue, if you wish

wreath (You'll need a foam wreath if you are using pins, any kind of wreath will work if you are using hot glue.)

I used my matlasse' fabric-covered foam pool noodle wreath from 2024, but you can use a store-bought foam wreath that is either painted or covered with a fabric of your choice. Find my wreath tutorial here.

Method:

You'll need to cut two cutout leaf clusters for each flower you plan to make.

NOTE: Click on the images below to enlarge!

1.Gather two leaf clusters, a tiny pom pom, and a straight pin. 

2. Push a straight pin into the pom pom until the head of the pin is resting on the top.

3. Take one leaf cluster and bend each leaf inward at it's base, angling toward the center. This gives the flowers a more dimensional look in the end.

4. Push the pin and pom pom into the center of the bent leaf cluster - the leaves will angle up around the pom.

5. Push the pin into the center of the second leaf cluster - which isn't bent, it's still flat. Push until the leaf clusters are right up against each other and the bottom of the pom.

* If you are using hot glue to secure the flowers, it will be easier to reverse the order: put a drop of hot glue onto the flat leaf cluster, and center the bent leaf cluster on top of it. Then add another drop of hot glue to the center of the bent leaf cluster, and place the pom pom on it.

6. Push the pin into a foam wreath to secure the flower to it, pushing the pin all the way into the foam so it won't fall out. You can see here how the bent leaves add dimension to each flower.

Placement is all up to your personal preference, as are the number of flowers you use. And if you used a red pattern placemat, these would look a lot more like poinsettia flowers!

Now we'll create the second element of the wreath: the leaves to enhance the flowers. 

First up, a paint tip: 

I used white posterboard and painted it green to match the placemat color. 

When I color-match paint, I use a small amount to figure out the mix. Then I use the same proportions to mix a larger batch and store it in a lidded jar - that way the paint is the exact same color all throughout the related projects AND I won't run out! This green is white and 'leaf green' acrylic paints, with the green mixed one small portion at a time into the white...

Also - the color is an EXACT match when I look at it in person.
Because of the way light works (or doesn't) in my north-facing studio, the slightly glossy vinyl placemat surface and the flat-paint paper surface reflect light differently, so photos make the green painted surfaces look very different in color. 

1. I put two coats of paint on the posterboard and let it dry. I used a quarter sheet of posterboard for this project.

2. I cut a leaf shape from an unpainted piece of posterboard to use as a pattern, so that all of my leaves are the same size and shape. 

Do you recognize that tapered leaf shape?!
It's the Cathrineholm 'Lotus Leaf' shape that I painted on the pumpkins I shared recently! I decided not to add the central white stripe to them this time.

3. Place the leaf shape on the posterboard and trace around it. Continue moving the pattern and trace leaf shapes all over, to get as many as possible....
 
4. + 5. I find that using a color pencil just a bit darker than my painted surface works best - dark regular pencil lines can smudge!

6. Cut at least twice as many leaf shapes as you have flowers. 

7. Lay each leaf flat on a table, and place a ruler with a metal edge on top of the leaf, running down the center lengthwise. (See 2nd photo above) 

8. Using your fingers, bend one half of the leaf lengthwise up and over the ruler. 

9. This will create a crease in the leaf that adds more interest to the final wreath. I placed my leaves with the thin end past the ruler edge, so when I creased it, the pointed tip was still flat.

10. Continue until all leaves have been creased.

11. You'll need more straight pins or hot glue to create clusters of leaves.

12. + 13. Stack three leaves on top of one another, and push a straight pin through all of them near the tip of the leaves.

14. Spread the leaves out by pushing the two bottom leaves outward on either side of the top leaf, making it the center of the cluster.

* If you are using hot glue, glue all three together by adding a drop of hot glue to each tip as you stack them - and spread them out AS you glue them. 

15. I made six sets of three leaves for my wreath, as I wanted it to be minimalist. 
If you want a more lush look, make more leaves! 

The leaves are attached to the wreath the same way the flowers were - I just pushed the pin on each leaf cluster into the foam wreath, and spread the leaves out. I placed them randomly around the flowers - and one group of three was split into a single leaf and a double cluster, then placed in two areas just to break up the pattern.

*If you are using hot glue, test the position of your leaf clusters on the wreath before you glue them on.

This is how my wreath looks finished... I could have put the flowers & leaves on the top, or the bottom, or evenly spaced all around, but I wanted an asymmetric design.

And I DO like it this way. Simple, minimal, and 'clean lined'. However... 

...SOMEONE (my studio assistant Elfie Green - no relation to Elphaba!) is up to his old tricks, and just couldn't resist jumping into a photo!

So... tell me... do you think I am absolutely CRAZY to create a whole holiday decor scheme using cheap vinyl placemats??!! Maybe I AM, but I think you're gonna' love seeing how many ways I can use them... stay tuned for more!

Click HERE for more holiday wreath ideas & tutorials!

You can find ALL of my past holiday + Christmas decorating content (since 2012) over in the right sidebar. Simply scroll down to the 'Holiday Decorating' links and click on a category to view all posts. (NOTE: If you're viewing this post on your phone, scroll all the way down and click the 'Web Version' link to view the sidebar)

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