A Pool Noodle Became a Fall Wreath, but It Took 2,800 Thumbtacks
Pool noodles tend to disappear into storage once summer ends, but one foam ring became the base for a fall wreath covered with thousands of brass thumbtacks. The green foam vanishes under overlapping metal heads, leaving a gold surface that looks more like scales than office supplies.
Homedit contributor Brittney Smart made the wreath with a 14-inch foam form, flat-head brass thumbtacks, and copper wire ribbon. Covering the ring took 14 boxes with 200 tacks each, bringing the total to 2,800.
Each tack goes straight into the foam, so the project requires no wood frame or complex assembly. The work comes from covering the curved surface without exposing gaps between the metal heads.
Thumbtacks Start in Overlapping Rows
First tacks form a line across the foam, with each round head overlapping the one beside it. Leaving too much space exposes green foam between the pieces.
Spacing matters because the tack heads need to cover the base without stacking on top of each other.
Straight Rows Don’t Work Around the Whole Ring
Wreath’s outer edge has more surface area than its inner curve, so neat rows start falling out of alignment as they move across the ring.
Instead of forcing a grid, new tacks fill the changing gaps while following the same direction around the form.
Each Tack Covers Part of the Previous One
Overlapping the brass heads hides the foam and creates the scale pattern visible in the finished wreath. Each new tack sits over part of the neighboring pieces without covering them in full.
Changing the overlap also helps the pattern follow the ring’s curve.
200 Thumbtacks Cover Less Than You Might Expect
One box contains 200 tacks, yet that amount covers just a section of the 14-inch form. Much of the green foam remains exposed after the first box.
Covering the sides as well as the front helps explain why the final count climbs into the thousands.
400 Thumbtacks Still Leave Most of the Wreath Bare
Doubling the count to 400 extends the gold section around more of the ring, but most of the wreath still needs coverage.
Working around each section from front to back prevents exposed foam from showing when the wreath hangs on a door.
Final Rows Meet at One Seam
As both ends of the pattern meet, the final tack rows interrupt the overlapping direction established around the rest of the ring.
Copper wire ribbon covers that seam and provides a hanger, turning the join into part of the finished design.
2,800 Thumbtacks Hide the Pool Noodle
Finished surface reveals almost none of the foam beneath it. Hundreds of overlapping brass circles catch light from different angles, giving the ring a textured gold finish.
From a few feet away, the individual office tacks become harder to distinguish. Would you guess there were 2,800 of them covering a foam ring?
Copper Ribbon Finishes the Fall Wreath
Copper ribbon loops around the wreath and contrasts with the brass surface without hiding the tack pattern. It also lets the ring hang without driving another fastener through the finished section.
Gold and copper suit fall decor, but changing the ribbon offers an easy way to carry the same wreath into another season.