I wanted to make a pinecone wreath for my door for fall, and give it a more modern spin -as in not the Christmas version from the 80’s, did your mom have one too? To make it a little more up-to-date, I spray painted it white, and added a really simple ribbon.
Supplies:
I love how it turned out, here’s how I made it.
How To Make A Pinecone Wreath
First step, enlist the help of your children to go with you to pick up tons of pinecones ,can’t you just picture a lovely family fall walk in the woods -in real life, if they’re over the age of 8 you made need to use a little bribery. 😉
I was debating what kind of form to use. Wire was an option, but let’s face it hot glue is easier than wiring every single pinecone to a wire form. I thought about foam, didn’t think it was sturdy enough -pinecones are heavy an masse. I thought about just cutting out a few layers of cardboard, than I found this. Perfect.
I added a string to one of holes before I started, to hang it from later. 😉 Wish I had spray painted it before I started, but you can benefit from my mistake, and spray your base first. Then break out the glue gun and get busy!
I went with two rows as a base and filled in a row of smaller pinecones on top. I used all the same shape and kind of pinecones, because I thought it looked a little more modern than mixing them.
Then it was time…for spray paint. I am slightly obsessed enjoy spray paint.
Here it is after one coat. Spray with many, many light coats for best coverage and to avoid drips, although pinecones are very forgiving.
I tied on a long white grosgrain ribbon. I think it’s less fussy than a bow and again makes it feel more up-to-date.
This would also be lovely for Christmas, but I think it looks like fall with all my other white fall accents, including tons of white pumpkins.
You can see how I made the white fall planter here, and the DIY fall doormat here.
Happy Fall!
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UPDATE: See how this whole scheme turned Christmas HERE!
Your entire arrangement looks wonderful and an easy change for Christmas.
I love it….it’s so beautiful ^_^
Thanks for sharing
Hugs
Marta
I love spray painted pinecones, and I think the white makes them looks so elegant! Thanks for sharing at The CSI Project challenge this week!
What size ring did you use & what size were the pinecones?
Hi Ruth, I don’t remember what size wreath ring this was…maybe 12″, whatever fits your own door would be a good choice. The pinecones are just regular pinecones…maybe a couple inches in diameter, but anything would do, you’d just have to add more or less to fill in your form.
Best of luck,
Dannyelle
Where can I find the ring?
Hi Lisa,
I found the ring at Michaels craft store, best of luck.
Dannyelle
The wreath is great but I love those wonderful white pumpkins: are they spray-painted too?!?
Thanks a lot
Barbara
Hi Barbara, They’re mostly faux pumpkins from the craft store, they come in white.
Best of luck,
Dannyelle
Did the pinecones hold with the hot glue outside? I did a project with hot glue and the rocks started to fall off (maybe because of the smooth surface).
I have read that you have to bake and bleach the pinecones before you use them. Really put a damper on my plans! Did you do that?? Does the glue hold up outdoors??
Hi Jean, I didn’t bake or bleach my pinecones. If they’re very wet they’ll be closed but a little time indoors and they should open up. You can bake them a little to make them open more if they’re not open, but it’s not a necessary step. I didn’t have any trouble with the hot glue holding up. Maybe after a couple years I had to reapply some glue for some loose ones.
Hope this helps,
Dannyelle
This is just what I want to make. I collected pine cones from a bachelor’s front yard and I want to make him a wreath out of them. Since his front door is dark, I wanted a light one and this one is perfect. I sure hope I can follow your instructions. Thanks.
Susan, best of luck, I’m sure it will turn out great!
Dannyelle
I’m going to try to make the wreath on the door. I’m not very smart so I hope I can do it. I have to go to the craft store and get that cardboard and I have to put the pine cones in water and bleach and dry them for a few days. I think it’s best. Maybe I can paint them before I put them on that cardboard. Would it be best and paint the cardboard too before? Thank You
Hi Joann,
Best of luck with the pinecone wreath. You can for sure bleach the pinecones if you’re worried about them having some creepy crawlies in them. After their dry you could paint them before glueing too if you think it’s easier. I really hope your wreath turns out for you.
Best,
Dannyelle
I bleached pine cones this week and learned the hard way a few tidbits to save some time that was not on the instructions I found.
You can bleach more at one time using a 5 gal bucket – got mine from Walmart
I used one part bleach to 4 parts water
I put a plate on top to submerge them all and then put a paint can on top of the plate- soaked in garage for 24 hours
They closed up and turned black so you have to bake them on a cookie sheet for 2 hrs at 275
Do crowd them or only 1/2 of the cone will open up
I used two racks so only the bottom rack opened up all the way
I recommend doing this process before your projects to get rid of any bugs or spiders!
Debbie, thanks for all your tips, so nice of you to share. Hope your pinecones turned out great!
Best, Dannyelle.