Baseball Wreath

Baseball Wreath

Finished wreath--more ribbon
in team colors could be added.

We are a baseball family............
and we have baseballs in buckets, stuffed in cabinet drawers and falling off shelves.  Some are souvenirs of favorite moments and some are simply water logged, beaten up or starting to lose their covers. This project uses those discarded baseballs that found mud puddles, were collected from creek beds, or left out for the winter--it is amazing how many baseballs you find when you trim bushes in the spring!  This project could be adapted by using softballs or a mixture of baseballs and softballs.

Materials I Gathered Before Starting:

• Baseballs:  Used baseballs that are at the end of their life (you will need 12-16 depending on the size of wreath frame you select.
• Wire Wreath Frame:  Hobby Lobby and Michaels have a wider size variety of wreath frames but I was at Walmart and they had two sizes (12" & 18").  I opted for the 18" frame for $3.49.
• Metal or Wood Screws: I used two per baseball
• Wire:  I used covered floral wire I had on hand but any kind of heavy wire would work.
• Home Plate:  I cut my home plate from scrap wood using clip art I downloaded from this site.  I have also ordered a blank wood home plate from Amazon.  I used vinyl lettering to paint the selected quote on the wooden home plate.  (Another favorite quote for a baseball wreath is "There's no place like home."  Here is a video on YouTube on how to paint over vinyl lettering to transfer the quote.
• Ribbon:  I used natural burlap ribbon and navy blue burlap ribbon.
• Drill:  You will drill screws into each baseball.
• Needle nosed pliers:  Pliers are helpful in securing the ends of wires to the frame.

Add two screws to each baseball.

Getting Started:

Step #1:  Gather your materials and begin by drilling two screws in each baseball about 1" apart.  You will use these screws to secure the baseballs to the wreath frame.  Do not push the screws all the way in--you will want a gap to wrap the wire around.  Repeat this step for all of the baseballs.

Step #2:  Wrap wire around the screws in each baseball and tighten the screws down as far as they will go into the baseballs.  Repeat this step for all the baseballs.

Wrap wire around screws& tighten.

Step #3:  Now you are ready for your wreath frame.  You will want to use the "back side' of the wreath frame so that the baseballs fit into the "concave/curved" part of the wire frame.  Use the wires to twist and secure the baseballs to the frame.  Use pliers to twist the wire ends so that they are not sticking out.

Secure the baseballs to the wreath.

Step #4:  Once you have all of the baseballs secured to the wire frame, drill a hole into the top left and right corners of your wooden home plate and use wire to fasten the home plate to the frame.

Step #5:  Use burlap ribbon to make a bow and then tie pieces of burlap ribbon between each baseball knotting the ribbon as you go.  Use team colors or contrasting ribbon to fill the wreath.  At the top of the post you will see the finished wreath as it would appear on your wreath hanger or door.  (I like this wreath hanger I purchased on Amazon a few years back)

This is the back of the wreath with all of the ribbons
attached and the wooden home plate & bow attached.