HOLIDAYS

HOW TO MAKE A SNOWY PINECONE BERRY WREATH

I am overflowing with pinecones… remember we collected 3 huge boxes weeks ago?  I’ve been having a lot of fun experimenting and crafting with them.  You already know I’ve bleached them, and it was a cool effect.  Now I’ve made a gorgeous snowy pinecone berry wreath for my front door with them and I’m thrilled with the result.

When working with pinecones you’ve collected outside you need to kill off the bugs by baking them on a cookie sheet at 200 degrees for about 30 minutes, this will also help pinecones open up a bit more.  Line the pan with foil in case you have any sap that drips out.

I’m gearing up for my Christmas home tour soon, yeah… I know it’s early, but isn’t that a bloggers job to be early?  I’ve already confessed I’m an early decorator regardless.  Blogging just adds to my excuses.  I’ve been warning everyone coming to our Thanksgiving and they seem pretty cool with it.

SUPPLIES

 

Metal wreath form

Pinecones

Hot glue

Regular glue – not the washable kind

SnoFlock or white spray paint

Berries

Ribbon

Before you begin, tie some yarn or ribbon to make a hook for hanging. Then start hot gluing the pinecones to the inside of the frame, in whatever position you like, once you finish do this to the outside of the frame.  I placed hot glue at the bottom and also the sides to anchor them to each other more.  Now we add another row of pinecones to the center to fill in the gap – oops I forgot to get a photo of that.

Here’s the trick, once the hot glue is set turn the wreath over and squeeze on some regular glue too.  Hot glue is a blessing but we all know it gets moody in extreme hot or cold temperatures.  That’s why a combo of regular and hot glue is your best bet.

Once dried it’s time to add the snow.  My plan was to use white spray paint but I changed my mind and decided to use my SnoFlock instead.  I still have a TON of it and I love the texture it gives.  Flocking is really easy to do.  You basically just add water, sprinkle it on, and let it dry.  Big projects should be done outside or in the garage, little ones are fine in the sink.  You can see more in depth steps from my tutorial last year.  FYI small projects do not need a long dry time like a huge Christmas tree does.

After the flock dried I added berries to fill in the pinecone gaps.  Then I found a big bag of holly berries from last year so I thought I’d add those too.  They were on the dining room Christmas tree last year, I only remember that because I just happened to glance at the tree flocking photos.

I decided to add a bow because I always like a pop of color, I’ll pass on giving you bow making instructions.  Mine always look ok, but are seriously a hot mess in the back.  You don’t even want to know what’s going on back there.

I get such a thrill crafting from free pinecones.  They’re adorable, natures gift!  I adore this gold wreath hanger not just because it’s beautiful, but it’s adjustable.  You can purchase SnoFlock from Amazon, and the ribbon, wreath form, berries, and Mr. Nutcracker all came from Hobby Lobby.

We recently had our front door refinished and while I love the result it’s so shiny it’s hard to photograph for real!  Not complaining though, I love it in real life.  Because our door was recently refinished I glued some snow fluff to the back of any rough spots that could scratch the door.

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Am I done with pinecone crafts yet??  Nope, I’m making pinecone garland for the stairs and a simple wreath for over our bed.  ‘Tis the season for hot glue burns!  Christmas home tour will probably debut next week… that or a nervous breakdown.  Haven’t quite decided yet.

 

Laura

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