The rustic charm of the wreath makes it easy to combine with other Christmas decorating ideas, and though it’s perfect for the front door, it will suit a whole host of other situations outside or in the interior of your home. In this guide, floral designer and flower school founder Judith Blacklock (opens in new tab) explains step by step how to make a pine cone wreath that looks great at Christmas but could decorate your home from fall to spring.
How to make a pine cone wreath
When it comes to outdoor Christmas decor ideas, you can see how making a pine cone wreath is the perfect Christmas door decorating idea. Or, if you want a change from the usual Christmas wreath ideas, leave the foliage for your mantel and opt for a pine cone wreath for indoors instead. Add ribbons, festive decorations and lights to give it a festive touch. And if you don’t want to leave your pine cones their natural brown color, paint them white, silver or gold, and tip the ends in eco-friendly glitter. If you have any left over, there are lots of other pine cone craft ideas and pine cone decorations to bring a rustic, homemade touch to your decor, from floating branches and chandeliers, to simple table displays and elegant garlands to wrap your stairs or porch. Below, though, we show you how to make a pine cone wreath. Your ingredients may differ, depending on how you want to decorate your pine cone wreath, but this is what you’ll need to have for Judith Blacklock’s design. You will need:
Long fir cones; these are Picea abiesPolystyrene ring in a size to suitHot glue gun and glueSmall amount of garden mossArtificial berries and gold painted wooden stars (optional)About 2.5m satin ribbon in a color of choiceFlorists’ stub wire
1. Prepare your pine cones
Place the cones in a dry area and allow them to dry out. This prevents any sap being released from the cones that might stain your surfaces. Give the pine cones a shake and remove any dirt with a toothbrush. You can paint or add glitter to your pine cones at this stage if you want a more ‘dressed’ design.
2. Begin to glue on your cones and decorations
Hot glue the cones to the ring in circles, starting from the outer perimeter. The cones should be butted up nose to tail as they have a distinctive top and bottom. Sometimes you may need to cut a cone in half to fit a gap. As long as it is facing the same way as the others it will blend in well. Glue small pieces of green garden moss between the gaps (make sure it is dry). Add the artificial berries and wooden stars using dabs of hot glue.
3. Tie on your ribbon
Create a hanging with a length of satin ribbon. Make a figure of eight bow or use one that is ready made. To make the figure of eight bow, take a length of ribbon about 1m long. Find the central point and bring the ends over, across the center. Take a length of medium-gauge florists’ wire and wrap it around the center. Secondary loops can be made by having a longer length of ribbon and by making extra loops into the center.
4. Display your pine cone wreath
Display your pine cone wreath from your door, a gate, or hang it on the wall. If you like, you can change the trimmings with the season – choose orange ribbon in and add dried flowers or orange pom poms in the fall; or switch to pink and fresh green tones in the spring.
How do you attach a pine cone to a wreath?
The easiest way to attach a pine cone to a wreath is by gluing it on using a hot glue gun. However, there are alternatives. One is to use florists’ wire. Insert a length of wire near the base of the pine cone leaving just over an inch (3cm) of the wire sticking out on one side. Bend the long end of the wire right around the pine cone then twist the two ends of the wire together to close the loop. You can then use the wire to attach the pine cone to a wire wreath form. It is also possible to insert pine cones onto a wire wreath form so that they‘re held between its wires. However, the pine cones would need to be of the right shape and size to push between the wires of the wreath form, so gluing or wiring is likely to be easier.
Do you need to bake pine cones before crafting?
You don’t need to bake pine cones before crafting, but they do have to be dried out, and baking will do this. ‘Like drying, baking gets rid of the sap that could stain surfaces,’ says Lucy Searle, global editor in chief of Homes & Gardens. ‘Bear in mind that the cones should be cleaned to remove dirt, too. Shake each cone out, then use a toothbrush to remove anything lodged there.’ To bake pine cones, preheat the oven to 400ºF (200ºC), then put them onto a baking sheet lined with foil for around an hour and a half until they are fully open, but do keep checking on them to avoid burning.
