Nicole and Candace of the Crafty Sisters blog definitely inspired me to undertake this wonderful wreath. All of it’s sparkliness called my name and I just couldn’t say no. I mean how could you deny something this cute!
Credit where credit is due to the Crafty Sisters.
These Crafty Sisters were inspired by this Ballard Designs pinecone wreath. So this is technically a copy cat of a copy cat! But Hey, we’ll do whatever it takes in the name of crafting around here.
I stocked up on pinecones, silver paint and glitter (thanks Michael’s Black Friday sale!). Once I got my loot home, I was instantly overwhelmed by my situation. I was completely stumped with what to do first. So I started (messily) painting the pinecones and glitterfying them (yes, glitterfying them!). All in all it took about 3 bags on pinecones to get close to making this baby.
I'm loving it!
After my pinecones were all dry and pretty, it was time to break out the power tools! Now I’ve seen my dad drill a few things in my day, but I’ve never been the one drilling. This may seem intimidating, but it’s not, trust me. So with the smallest drill bit I a bored a hole into the bottom of each pine cone. Oh, this isn’t even the half of it. Next you’ll need to cut a short piece of wire to make the hook and eye. This is verrrrryyy important—don’t cut the wire too long. You only want it to barely stick out from the base of the cone. If it’s too long you can 1) see the wire on the wreath and 2) won’ have a tight finished product. Just a little squirt of hot glue is all you need to keep the wire in the hole.
So you’ve painted, glittered, drilled and hooked your pinecones…whew! This is definitely not a project for the faint of heart. You’ll come back to your dear friend many times before it’s all over. Now it’s time to straighten out a wire hanger and start putting the cones on the “wreath form”
I haphazardly did this with no attention to detail and I have to say I think it turned out alright. Once I had filled pinecone capacity I had to call my dear old dad for assistance. I had no idea how to close the wreath and ensure that all of the pinecones would stay on my wreath. With a little elbow grease, dad was able to will the wire into place and tada we had a genuine pinecone wreath! He wasn’t nearly as impressed as I was but he didn’t labor hours on the thing either!
Here’s the finished product. What do you guys think? Definitely a bit lopsided at times and my wire doesn't seem as supportive as my inspiration. But overall I'm pleased! You can also see the wire in some spots, but I just ignore that too!
Copy Cat Rundown:
Total Time: Gosh, I think I lost count. Painting and glittering about 3 hours. Assembling the wreath (drilling and wiring) about 2 hours. Plus one more hour for good measure! For a total of 6 (count em) 6 hours! Merry Christmas Mama!
Total Cost: 3 Bags of pinecones: $6, glitter: $2, silver paint: $2, wire: $2 drill, wire hanger, paintbrushes: FREE for a total cost of $12. Certainly less than the $99 price tag on the BH’s beauty.
Would we do this again: While I think one pinecone wreath is plenty for this crafter, au natural pinecones could be nice. Maybe next year!
Credit: Candace and Nicole of the Crafty Sister’s blog for using Ballard Designs for inspiration.
That such a pretty wreath! Great idea, using pinecones! I will have to try that next year!
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