Holiday Ombre Pinecone Wreath

Gather up some pinecones, I've got a pretty holiday idea for you!  I'm going to be honest, this is not one of my quick and simple crafts that I normally like to do.  It's a bit of a chore, but its so worth it!

I came across this wreath idea via BH&G (Better Homes and Garden) and I "needed" one too!  It was not only beautiful, but it was a perfect color scheme for my freshly painted front door.

My Mama has two giant pine trees in her front yard and at almost any given time you can gather up quite a few pinecones for crafting.  We happen to have several bags full because I'm always "going to make something" with them and then I don't.  Sound familiar?

If you have just picked up your pinecones, you may want to de-bug and fully open them, see how by clicking here.  I've had mine for over a year so they are all open and buggie free!

You will need the following items to make your own wreath:

18" Grapevine Wreath (I usually get mine at Goodwill or thrift stores)
Lots of pinecones (I used 42), the smaller the better.  The larger ones are harder to work with.
Spray Paint - Colors of your choice.  I used three colors, Aqua, Destiny and Silver Fox but more is fine too.
Hot glue gun
Glue sticks

I picked out all the small pinecones I had, but I did end up using some of the larger ones because I needed more in the end.  I ended up having three different paint sessions because I kept needing more pinecones.

Here are my paint colors.  The Aqua I already had left over from my thrifty lamp makeover.  You can see that post by clicking here.  The other two, Destiny and Silver Fox, I picked up at Lowes for about $4 each.  To be honest the Valspar paints are really pretty and all but the sprayer button itself needs some revision.  It's extremely hard to press down and get to start spraying!  Not even joking when I tell you my forearm muscle is sore after using them.

Here is my set up for painting.  I set up on our work bench and I laid down a big piece of cardboard so I didn't get paint all over everything.  You could also use a drop cloth or plastic.

NOTE: Please wear gloves and a mask to protect yourself.  The mask is a definite necessity because you DO NOT want to breath those paint fumes into your lungs.

I'm sure I don't have to tell you how hard it is to use a hot glue gun and snap pictures all by yourself, but to assemble your wreath, start out with one color of pinecones adding them to your grapevine wreath here and there and then go on to the next color and so forth and so on until you have your wreath looking the way you want it.....three paint sessions later even! lol!

Please click here for the BH&G video tutorial, its awesome!

It looks like Piper is standing on her head here, but she's actually playing with a piece of pinecone that fell to the floor as I was hanging the wreath.  Anytime I start taking pictures, all the kitties show up, especially Piper!

I really love how the wreath looks on our freshly painted blue door!  If you haven't read my post on Painting a Paneled Door you can click right here.  Its easier than you think!

The best thing about this wreath is that we can leave it up all Winter long! Yay!

It doesn't have to be done all at once.  It is a slow process in the works! C-ya next time!

I'm Linking to:
These lovely and FUN parties!
Between Naps on the Porch
The Dedicated House  - (I was featured)