Pinecone Wreath

The wreath that took three years and forty-five minutes to make!

Hubby proposed to me over Thanksgiving break a few years ago and before mid-January we narrowed down the wedding date, the following Thanksgiving. Well, the venue we could agree on and afford helped us narrow it down… So, we picked a winter wonderland kind theme since we would be getting married in a ski village in the mountains and there should be snow. Sadly there wasn’t snow but there were some beautiful views and fun times had!

Anyway, we started collecting winter decorations. PERFECT timing because of the after Christmas clearance deals! My mother-in-law and a friend started to collect pinecones for us. Every day when she went for a walk she would pick up the cute pine cones. We used them in our center pieces and as seating cards. Everyone adored them.

In the meantime I decided I wanted to make a pinecone wreath. What else could be cuter?! So I grabbed a wire wreath form on sale at a craft store and… three years later I finally set to work! As you can see in the video I have a bag AND a box full of them. I can make so many things!!! …but can never decide on what exactly to make. I’m so indecisive sometimes. Now I’m here to share with you the process I took to create this beauty. (Ignore the little bow, I need to work on my bow skills.)

Supplies

• Wire Wreath Frame
• Pinecones
• Hot Glue Gun
• Hot Glue Sticks
• More Pinecones
• Ribbon and bow tying skills or a fancy bow from the store

Gather your pinecones. I hear you can purchase them but if you live near a tree that makes them it can save a lot of money. Just make sure it is not public land (like a state/national park) and that you have permission. I did not try making this with fresh pine cones, they were dried for 3 years. I’m sure letting them dry some would be useful if you get fresh ones but am not sure it is necessary either. I used about 90 the size of my fist or smaller on an 18″ diameter form.

Have a work surface ready. I used an old table from a thrift shop that we use for projects so getting hot glue on it wasn’t going to hurt my feelings. If you’re concerned you could put down some cardboard to prevent damage from the heat of the hot glue from damaging the surface. Newspaper may not cut it with the heat.

Lay the wire wreath frame down on the table, plug in the hot glue gun, set some sticks out where they are easy to reach and begin!

I started with smaller pinecones and around the inside of the frame. Select a pinecone, fit it to the frame holding it against the frame and the pinecone already glued down. Once I could see where it would touch the frame I’d add hot glue to the two inside wires, place the pinecone on the spot, hold until cool. Repeat… a lot.

When I was done with the inside ring I moved to the outside. Repeating the same method. I used slightly larger pinecones for this round just by chance. Originally I was only going to do two rows but I decided I wanted it a little fuller. So I found more small-ish ones and glued them between the two rows. There was no way for them to reach the wire frame so when I fit them without glue I would note which pieces would touch and add glue to those. Sometimes I also just winged it. If it didn’t stick well enough I’d add a few more drops of hot glue.

THREE YEARS of pinecones sitting in our basement and from start to finish this project took me 45 MINUTES. That’s it! I could have done this before now but at least it is finally finished. Sometimes life gets in the way and time slips away. Now I have a beautiful, holiday/winter wreath to decorate with… and a LOT more pinecones for crafts!

Now I just need to work on my bow tying skills… especially if we have a daughter. She’s going to need some bows…

Please share any wreaths you make and be sure to sign up for emails to keep up to date on new postings.