MAKE A DETROIT TIGERS BASEBALL WREATH

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Initially (over a year ago) my mom had seen a photo online of a wreath made by stringing used baseballs onto a wire to make a front door wreath.  She was concerned that the wire would bend out of shape over time.  My dad was concerned that it would be too difficult to drill all the way through a baseball.  I was concerned with how we would be able to make it look like a Tigers wreath, and not just a generic baseball wreath.

So, we discussed.   And discussed.  And researched.  And discussed some more.  Products were purchased and returned to the store.  Tools were borrowed from neighbors.  Prototypes were attempted and discarded.  It was… overdone.

Finally we decided that the best way to attach the balls to the wreath would be to use a floral craft ring and to screw each ball to the ring itself.   The sturdy ring wouldn’t lose its shape, and we would not have to drill all the way through each ball.  My mom asked a high school baseball coach we know for the old baseballs, but you may have luck searching on Craigslist or eBay.

I started by laying the baseballs out around the wreath to determine where each one would need to be placed.  I marked each spot and drilled a hole for each baseball.  On our 12” floral ring, we used 12 baseballs, spaced 2 3/4” apart.

We borrowed a vise from a friend, and I clamped the baseballs into it to hold them securely while I drilled.

I drilled a starter hole into the center of each ball.  I had no idea how hard it would be to drill into the baseball, but it went surprisingly quickly.  I just eyeballed the center of each ball (don’t tell my dad) using the ball lacing as a guide.

I screwed each baseball into place around the floral ring (which had been spray painted the color of their front door).  The balls screwed tightly to the ring, and they aren’t going anywhere!

Once the engineering of the wreath was finally finished, I could get to the fun part: decorating!  My mom found miniature baseball bat pens at Party City.  She removed the pen parts and painted the bats blue.  They are glued to the wreath with heavy duty glue, as is the tiger toy we picked up from Michaels.  Finally, I used my Silhouette to create a stencil of the Old English D and painted it onto a piece of balsa wood cut into the shape of home plate.  I added it to the wreath with a few lengths of orange and white striped ribbon.

The wreath is plenty heavy, but it hangs nicely from a sturdy wreath hook.  I am so glad that my mom’s wreath is FINALLY done since she has been waiting so long to be able to display it.

While I love the whole wreath, my favorite part is the prowling tiger in the center.  It reminds me of all the fantastic tiger statues at Comerica Park.

This enormous statue greets guests to the park and huge tigers flank the scoreboard inside the park as well.  The eyes of the tigers on the scoreboard light up when the Tigers hit a home run or when they win the game, which happens more often than it doesn’t these days.

It may be the most over-thought wreath ever, but the work was worth it.  We are diehard Tigers fans in my family, and my mom will proudly display this wreath during the summer and hopefully into October every year too!

I’ve gathered links to the materials I used in this tutorial. If you purchase after clicking one of these links, I will receive a small commission. Thanks!

6 Pack, 12 Ultra Supreme Plutonium Professional Aerosol Paint 12Oz-Mofunk Schleich Tiger Baseball Bat Pen 6 Pack Martha Stewart 32081 2-Ounce Acrylic Satin Paint, Deep Sea Balsa Sheets 3/32 x 4 x 36 (15) May Arts 3/16-Inch Wide Ribbon, Orange Grosgrain Stripe Silhouette Vinyl Starter Kit Gorilla Glue 7800101 2-Piece Super Glue Tube, 3 gm Size Plaid:Craft Martha Stewart Basic Brush Set 5/Pkg-

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