Didn’t do much stamping this week. Instead, I worked on creating this “zinnia” pine cone wreath. It is currently hanging on my front door, and I love it!
This project began earlier this summer when I saw an idea on Pinterest: “zinnia” pine cones in a bowl. They were so pretty. Since we have a gazillion pine cones on the property, I thought making a “zinnia” wreath out of them would be a great idea. I suggested it to a friend as a crafting project we could do with her daughter and grand daughters who would be visiting for the month of August. She agreed, and so we began collecting pine cones and the other supplies needed to create 5 wreaths.
Well, a couple of weeks later, my wreath was finally done! It was certainly a labor of love. I have found that making wreaths is not my forte, and I’m so glad that I don’t have to make a living at it! But, I think the end result is stunning, and I’m very proud of my creation!
What you’ll need:
-wire wreath-I used an 8″ wire wreath. I suppose you could use a grapevine or Styrofoam wreath, but again, I’m not an expert…
-pine cones-I used approx 50 for 3 layers on this wreath. You would need more or less depending on the size of wreath you are using and the number of layers of cones.
Be sure to bake your cones before using to kill any little critters that might be hiding in them. This is especially true if you are going hang the wreath inside. Place a single layer on a cookie sheet covered with aluminum foil and bake at 200 degrees for 45 minutes. Let them cool before handling.
-heavy-duty pruners to cut off the tops of the pine cones. You’ll want to use the bottom 4th of the cone. They are tough to cut, so make sure you’ve got some sharp pruners, and you may want to wear gloves as they tend to be prickly.
-paint and brushes-We used acrylic paint and cheap foam brushes. You can spray paint them too, but spray paint is more expensive, especially if you want a lot of colors: .50-1.00/bottle of acrylic paint vs. 3.00-4.00/can of spray paint
-floral wire and cutters
-needle nose pliers
Bake, cut and paint the cones and let dry. This is the fun part, so be creative!
Wire-wrap the cones to the wreath. Again, I’m not an expert, so I won’t give you any tips for wrapping other than to make sure the cones are wrapped tightly. They will snug up to each other as you add more cones, but you don’t want them loose so they twist around or dangle from the wreath. Use the needle nose pliers to tighten the wire as needed.
At first I thought it would be easier just to hot glue some of the cones, especially to fill in any gaps. I quickly learned that this doesn’t work very well. For the most part, the glue doesn’t hold and can look messy if you have large pools of glue showing. Plus, I think glue guns are dangerous. So, if you can, get your wrapping technique down tight, and it will come together much nicer.
And have patience! It was slow for me at the beginning, but I did better and better with the wrapping as I went along.
Good luck. Please share your creations if you can!
