LegoAtVrieswol designs absolutely gorgeous, geometric Lego MOC's. The 800+ brick holiday wreath (aka “Seasonal Circle”) grabbed me instantly with its beauty.

I asked the designer if the model would support itself when hung. I received the following reply.

I don't think the design will hold in a vertical position in its current form. Without any additional structural support it will deform into an oval at best, at worst it will break. I could see a construction using fishing wire to add more support.

I knew I had to, somehow, support this so that all twenty-four floral sections—twelve of each of two designs—would stay together, not sag, and support a network of Brickstuff lights, wires and extension cables.

THE HOOP

After a few suggestions from “arts and crafty” friends, I ended up buying a wreath hoop from Michaels. The 19-inch diameter metal wreath ring proved too large. The 16-inch diameter, wooden ring proved just right.

A little dark green spray paint produced just the right color. 

I devised a “map” to plan for the placement of lights, extension cables, adapters, and the power source.

THE FRAME

The substructure for the wreath is a group of Lego axles and angled axle and pin connectors.

 Together, these parts produced quite a sturdy structure.

How to attach the Lego substructure to the wooden hoop? I tried many ideas but ending up being happiest with sage-colored polished twine to tie the two together. This method ensured a snug fit.

   

FLOWERS AND LEAVES

Twenty-four floral/leaf units are alternately attached around the wreath’s Lego substructure using 43093 and 11214 Technic axles. The two different designs—one longer than the other--were quite lovely, in themselves, and a bit fragile to handle.

THE LIGHTING

I consulted Rob—our Brickstuff “guru”--about his thoughts. He was quite helpful to me in planning the network of twenty-four of the new flickering Pico LED lights, extension cables and adapters and the 3XAA battery pack. The flickering LED’s are a particularly beautiful new product which I ordered in 6, 12, and 24 inch lengths. Rob suggested I form a loop of the extension cables, adapters and the battery pack to provide power all around the wreath. This insight was crucial to things working out as they should and quite different from my original “ignorant of electronics” plan. Thanks, Rob! My order from Brickstuff was, as follows:

    1 four-pack Branch04 Adapters (3 port)

    2 Branch10 Adapters (10 LED port)

    1 two-pack Branch15 Adapters (4 LED port)

    1 four-pack Grow12 12 inch extension cables

    1 four-pack Grow24 24-inch extension cables

    1 four-pack Grow1.5 1.5-inch extension cables

    9 6-inch warm-white flickering Pico LEDs

    14 12-inch warm-white flickering Pico LEDs

    4 24-inch warm-white flickering Pico LEDs

With my “map,” Rob’s advice and Brickstuff supplies, I was able to create the “powered” wreath ring and Lego structure onto which the lighted floral sections would be attached.

I experimented with various combinations of transparent round tiles and bricks under which the flickering LED lights would be placed. The most attractive result came from using trans neon green 1x1 round bricks (#4073) on top of the yellow 2x2 round tiles (#18674). #98138 1x1 round tiles—my initial choice--did not allow enough space to fit the LED lights.

One three-port Branch04 adapter--powered by a 3XAA battery pack—connected extension cables to two 10-port and one 4-port Branch Adapters. This made a full circle with all the adapters (and the LED lights connected to them) receiving an equal amount of power.

     It was one thing to figure out a workable plan for the electronics. It was another, however, to build all twenty-four floral/leaf assemblies—each with its own flickering LED inserted—and attach them to the Lego substructure without everything falling apart.

RESULTS

When I finally finished and was able to turn on the power, I felt the weeks of work, waiting for additional parts, and re-assembling sections of the wreath that had come apart, were worth it.

LegoAtVrieswol’s design looked excellent once assembled. When lit, it was somewhat of a late, holiday dream. Here are some photos of the finished wreath, unlit and lit. I managed to find a small wreath tripod at Michael’s on which to hang the wreath. You can see my complete Google photos gallery here where there are more images, build photographs, and several short videos. There is something magical about all of the lights flickering, independently.