There's Nothing New Under the Sun

I'm going to call myself on this before anyone else does. This idea is in a Pottery Barn catalog and it inspired many bloggers to make a paper wreath of their own. I really liked the look of them and thought it would be a fun project to try. If you're going to throw up if you see one more blogger make a paper wreath, you may want to scroll down and check out my bathroom makeover instead. (I finally found where I originally saw this wreath. It was at The Shabby Nest. Thanks, Wendy!) After seeing the beauty and simplicity of these wreaths, I knew immediately that I wanted to make one out of the antique sheet music I found in my grandparent's attic. If you don't have antique sheet music, you could buy a new paino book (or print some free off of the Internet) and tea stain it.
I used an ironstone wash bowl as a template for a cardboard wreath base. I purchased this sheet of cardboard for a different project from the mat board section in AC Moore. You could always use a spare box, though.
Trace the rim of the bowl, then turn it over and trace the base inside the larger circle.
No one will see this cardboard wreath base, so it does not have to be perfect. You just want it to be wide enough to provide stability and a good gluing surface.

Roll up the paper into cones and add a dab of hot glue to hold it in a role. (I have a few burns on my fingers from this process, so be careful!)
Apply a bead of hot glue on the wreath base and stick the paper cone on immediately.

I rolled up the sheet music all different ways and didn't find that one way was better than another. I did find that it's best to glue four cones in a north, south, east, west pattern and then fill the rest in. This ensures that all of the points are going to the center. Otherwise, it's easy to start going askew.
I used sheet music of varying sizes from different books and I was not picky about everything lining up perfectly. I think sheet music from piano etudes & movements look the best, but that's just a preference thing.

This is how it looks from the back. Just a warning - this wreath gets pretty heavy, so that's why it's important to use a sturdy cardboard. If you're using book pages, it might not get as heavy.

Attach a ribbon to the cardboard base using hot glue and/or staples. In hindsight, I would do this BEFORE I glued all of the paper cones on. Attaching the ribbong after made it a little tricky to attach.

This makes a huge wreath! I used full-sized antique sheet music and started with about an 18" diameter base. You could cut the sheet music in half and use a smaller base, if desired. I might make a smaller one to hang on my piano.

For now, I hung it on my dresser mirror, but I don't think that will be it's permanent home.
I really think using the antique music made this wreath special, so I hope you were able to choke your way through another paper wreath tutorial. I'm going to work on my FFF favorites post right after this, so check back tomorrow for the results!

Miss Mustard Seed

I'm linking this to Kimba's DIY Day and Bloggeritaville's Thrifty Thursday.