DIY Star Anise Wreaths

Looking for a fun and easy DIY for the holidays? I’ll show you the step by step of how to make a star anise wreath! 

A few years back I bought a large star anise wreath for our front door and loved not only how it looked but also how amazing it smelled (if you’re not familiar with star anise, it smells like licorice!). So when I started scheming up ideas for small wreaths I could DIY to add to the back of our dining room chairs, I thought about how cute little star anise wreaths would be so I set out to make my own. I’m so happy with how they turned out:

It was a pretty simply DIY project to do – today I’m sharing the step by step so you can create them too! (post includes affiliate links – full disclosure statement available {here})

Star Anise Wreath Supplies

The supplies that you need are

• 8″ rounded foam wreaths such as {these}  
• Brown burlap – you can buy two yards of fabric such as {this} and cut it into strips or buy a roll like {this} and cut it down the middle.
• Whole star anise, which can be found online {here} or locally at Asian grocery stores. You can also find star anise at spice stores but you’ll typically pay much more it.
• Wire edged ribbon for hanging (you can find my favorite sources for ribbon {here}) 
• Hot glue gun such as {this one}

How to Make YourStar Anise Wreath

1. Cut Your Burlap Into Strips & Wrap It

Cut your burlap into long strips 2-3″ wide and hot glue the end of your first strip to the back of the wreath. Next, wrap the burlap around the wreath, pulling it tight as you go. I used two long burlap strips for each wreath, gluing the end of the first strip and the beginning of the second strip to the back of the wreath and continuing to wrap it around until the entire wreath was covered. Hot glue the end of your last strip to the back.

2. Glue on the Star Anise

Now you can star gluing on the star anise.  Simply put a generous dot of hot glue on the back of each piece of star anise and stick it on. It’s a little bit of a puzzle (which I found to be sickly fun), fitting the star anise pieces together as closely as possible. Sometimes you’ll have to break off an arm or two of the star for the best fit. Cover the entire surface of the wreath except for the back. It’s very simple and easy but does take a fair amount of time – I did while watching TV so the time passed quickly but each wreath took me over an hour. 

3. Use Wire Edged Ribbon to Tie them onto Your Chairs

Finally, simply tie the wreath to the top of your dining chair with wire edged ribbon:

These wreaths would also look great in other areas of your home, such as hung over a large mirror. I hope you guys enjoy making them as much as I did!