My American Confessions: DIY Christmas Wreath- Under .99!

I must say, I was incredibly pleased with how this turned out. All I knew when I started out was that I wanted to make a wreath for my door- and look at what I ended up with! I used greens and a few small red shapes in order to make a modern mock-holly wreath. Feel free to use whatever colors or schemes bring you a smile.
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Cost: Under .99
Assumption that you have cardboard, scissors, box cutter, glue, markers, etc., already lying around. 50 sheets of origami paper runs about one dollar, so 20 sheets or so should put you out less than a buck.
Time: 60-90 minutes, depending on size

Materials
*15-20 sheets of origami paper (get it at the dollar store)
*piece of cardboard 18"-36" square
*embroidery floss/yarn
*1/2 page cardstock
*glue
*box cutter
*scissors
*markers

*tape

Step 1
Cut a two-ish thick ring from your cardboard using the box cutter. It's your wreath- make it as large or small as you'd like- but it looks best at about two inches wide. I just moved and had more cardboard than I knew what to do with. Mine is plain cardboard, but if you have some with writing or markered words on it, no problem! And don't worry about it being perfect or even- you can see my is clearly far from a perfect circle. You will be covering the entire thing up with decor, so don't worry about the shape or colors on it too much.

All stages of folding! The red piece is fully folded, the green
piece on the floor was fully folded and is half way unfolded.

Step 2
Fold an origami sheet in half, then half again, (should be square shaped) then into a triangle, and then fold that triangle in half so that you have a very skinny acute triangle. Make a round cut (for a scalloped edge) or two straight cutes (for a pointed edge) to the outer most edge, away from the folds. Unfold, but don't flatten out the creases. Repeat 12-24 times (as needed to cover your cardboard wreath.) Want smaller shapes? Cut the origami sheet in quarters and follow the same process.

Step 3
Arrange the shapes around your wreath in a design/pattern/color scheme you like. Move things around, try closer bunching, gradient color schemes, or spacing them out. Just find a configuration that is pleasing to the eye. (Namely, your eye, that is.)

Laid out, ready for glue

Step 4
Apply the shapes to your cardboard ring with just a dot of glue on the back center of the shape and then press down firmly. Allow the shapes to overlap each other.

Just a DOT of glue in the center

Step 5
Using your half sheet of cardstock and markers, write a festive message to all who might come to visit! Attach to your wreath by taping your floss/yarn across the back of your message and then taping the ends of the floss/yarn to the back of your cardboard wreath. (See photo- I used four small pieces of floss, but in retrospect, it is simpler to use two equal lengths of floss)