Yes. I am that kind of crazy. Honestly though, this DIY dog poop bag wreath just might be the most useful Christmas wreath ever. As all good dog owners know, you can never have too many poo bags, but you can definitely have too few! Hehehe… Here are the DIY details on how the dog poop bag wreath and accompanying miniature poop bag Christmas tree were made.
Poop Bags? Doggone Crazy!
Yes. But also pretty doggone practical. These would be particularly fun for animal welfare charity holiday fundraisers. I’d buy a raffle ticket for a poop bag wreath or buy a mini poop bag tree. After all, I’d have to buy poop bags anyway, right? Giggles and poo jokes aside, they would also make nifty gifts for dog owners and furfriends. A wreath like mine might be a bit expensive for your holiday gift budget, but it can be scaled down in size. Alternatively, the mini trees are very affordable, cute, simple, and require only a few minutes to make.
Both crafts come apart into materials that can mostly be used, reused, or recycled with limited waste. Pawesome indeed! The dogs preferred last year’s Christmas dog bone treat wreath, of course. But Humphrey was keen to assist with the recycling duties for this project and happily helped break down the packaging. Our dogs love helping with the recycling and I love reducing our household waste. Win win!
How to Make a DIY Dog Poop Bag Christmas Wreath
Supplies and Materials
To make your own DIY dog poop bag wreath like the one shown, you will need a lot of dog poop bags (affiliate link). Preferable green rolls for a Christmassy looking wreath, but feel free to get creative. And on the subject of needing lots of poop bags, this isn’t a sponsored post. Although poop bag people, please feel free to get in touch for a future creative collaboration. We us a LOT of poop bags! Hehehe….
If you are making this for giving, you want to be confident in your bags. Use a brand you’re comfortable with using and sharing. Nobody likes a poopocalypse. Poomageddon. Pootastrophy. Trust me. I’ve been there. Poop bag quality really does matter.
You’ll also need scissors, tape, narrow ribbon or cord to secure the bags, wide ribbon(s) for decoration, cardboard, and a sturdy ring support. I used a wire lampshade ring, which can be found in craft and/or hardware stores. They’re great reusable supports for round DIY projects.
- Poop bags
- Wide ribbon(s) for wrapping and decorative accents
- Narrow ribbon or cord for attaching the bags to the wreath
- Wire ring or other sturdy round support
- Cardboard
- Scissors
- Tape
I used white ribbon for attaching the poop bags only to make it easier for you to see what’s happening in the step-by-step construction. For aesthetics in an actual project, try to use the same colour as the ribbon wrap on the support cylinder. For green bags, I’d recommend using green for both. Inexpensive curling ribbon (used here) is a good option for securing the bags. It’s a little bit grippy and comes in many colours for matching ribbon to bags. But sadly it will be rubbish after use, so feel free to switch to suit your preference. Grip and tight ties are key, as you don’t want to tape anything onto the bags. Nobody likes a holey poop bag.
Making a Dog Poop Bag Wreath
Preparing a support cylinder for the wreath:
- Cut narrow (approximately 1/2 the size of your poop bag rolls) strips of cardboard. Attach them securely to your ring support with tape to form a support cylinder. An alternative cylindrical frame, such as a small cross-cut piece of pipe, can be substituted for the cardboard and ring support, if you prefer. This cylinder stabilises and sets the size for your wreath, so choose your materials with care.
- Wrap the support cylinder with ribbon. As you will be able to see the front edge in the finished wreath, I recommend using a complimentary shade of green. That will help it disappear into the poop bags in the finished wreath. Poop bags are the star here. Haha!
Creating the inner ring of dog poop bags:
- Starting from the inside of your cylinder, tightly tie a small length of narrow ribbon or cord to a poop bag roll. See tips above. Loop the ribbon around your support cylinder and tie to secure. Do not trim the ends.
- Repeat until the inside of your support cylinder is full.
It’s important that this be a tight fit to keep the bags securely in position. If your sizing is a little off and you simply can’t squeeze the last bag into the circle or are left with a tiny gap, you either can take a few bags off the roll to fit or use a small sturdy placeholder in lieu of a roll. If you need to do it on both the inside/outside, make sure the placeholders line up in the same spot. Don’t stress if this create a bit of a mismatched look, it can be hidden later if needed. That part of the wreath can be covered when you wrap the ribbon for your bow.
Creating the outer ring of dog poop bags:
- Starting from the outside of your cylinder, continue as above, feeding the ribbon through the gaps in your inside ring of poop bags as you wrap around the cylinder.
- Repeat until the outside of your support cylinder is full.
- Tie the end of your attachment ribbons together to further secure bags to each other side-to-side and/or inside to outside as length and placement allow. Trim excess.
Embellishing the wreath:
So that the neat side is the front, turn the wreath over so the working side is at the rear before embellishing. Carefully flip your wreath. The outside may still be a bit loose, so take care and reposition any bags which shift in transition. You can also press gently to slide the centre support a little if/as needed to be even all around.
- Tie a wide strip of ribbon around the outside of your wreath, finishing at the top. Do this VERY tightly to support and further secure the outside layer of bags. Optional: For added security, you can feed the ribbon through the bags at this top point and tie again and/or double layer the outside ribbon.
- Embellish with additional ribbon and/or bows if/as you wish. As a little tip, If you’d like a wrapped appearance in the front of your bow (as shown), slip a little strip of cardboard around the top bags before you wrap the ribbon. This support will keep the ribbon from sliding into the valleys as you loop it around and tie.
- Handle with care until disassembly for bag use.
My wreath was made for standing display on the mantle only. All those bags are rather heavy for hanging. Plus, this craft is more of a (very useful) novelty than a festive décor feature. It’s also a great talking (laughing) point for guests! If you want to try hanging it, you may need a very strong wreath hanger with a hooked end large enough to go all the way under/around your poop bags, or other strong hanging support.
How to Make a DIY Dog Poop Bag Mini Christmas Tree
Supplies and Materials
To make your own dog poop bag mini Christmas tree like the ones shown, you will need six dog poop bags (affiliate link), scissors, wide ribbon, cardboard, and curling ribbon or a bow to top the tree. They can be easily scaled larger by increasing the number of bags by for each added layers below, but a larger tree may need extra support on the base to accommodate the additional weight.
- Poop bags
- Wide ribbon(s) for wrapping
- Curling ribbon and/or bows for decorative accents
- Cardboard
- Scissors
Making a Dog Poop Bag Miniature Christmas Tree
Our trees are really just embellished pyramids of poop bags secured with ribbon. Cute, but also very quick and easy. To make your own:
- Cut a small strip of cardboard approximately the width of your ribbon and just shy of three poop bag rolls wide. This will help support the base of your tree and keep the pyramid in shape. I cut a piece from my poop bag box. Easy peasy!
- Place the cardboard on a strip of ribbon.
- Stack poop bags carefully on top of the ribbon and cardboard, layering three-two-one to create the pyramid.
- Tie the ribbon tightly at the top to secure.
- Trim the ends and tuck them under the ribbon to conceal.
- Embellish the top with ribbon curls or a bow as a star.
- All done! How easy was that!?!
