I have to confess…I’m a collector. I collect pinecones, acorns, seed husks, driftwood, sticks, stones, just about anything textural and interesting goes into my pockets when I am out on a walk. My family thinks I’m nuts…LOL. I just can’t seem to help myself when I see the perfect pinecone or a lovely acorn on the ground, I must pick it up and bring it home with me. Driftwood, pebbles, seashells; Mother Nature creates such beauty and it’s all around us. We just have to slow down to see it and appreciate it.
Well all my collecting has finally paid off!
On a recent shopping trip I picked up a couple pounds of whole nuts; Hazelnuts, Brazil Nuts, Almonds and Walnuts. It’s that time of year when you can sometimes find whole nuts at the grocery store. I remember when I was growing up, my mother would set out a bowl of nuts with a nut cracker during the holidays. It used to be a thing back in the 70’s. You don’t often see nuts in their shells anymore, except in the fall when the holidays are fast approaching. So when I saw them at the grocery store, I knew exactly what I wanted to use them for.
I purchased just under three pounds of nuts and it cost me less than $15. The small twig balls were purchased at the Dollar Tree. The mini pumpkin filler was from Hobby Lobby a couple years ago, and the rest are items (pinecones and acorns) I have collected out in nature over the years.
Supplies:
- 12″ – 14″ Styrofoam wreath
- Brown acrylic paint
- Small paintbrush
- Floral wire
- Wire cutters
- Hot glue gun
- Glue sticks
- Assorted small pinecones in various sizes
- Assorted nuts in their shells, i.e., Hazelnuts, Brazil Nuts, Almonds, Walnuts, Pecans.
- Acorns and acorn caps
- Small twig balls
- Small beads
- Coffee beans
The total cost of making a wreath like this will depend on what you are able to collect for free. All the items needed to make this wreath can easily be purchased at the craft store. Even if you need to purchase all the items needed it shouldn’t cost you more than about $30 to make this wreath.
Over the years I have collected pinecones, big ones, little ones, and every size in between. Every camping trip I drag my son along with me in search of the perfect pinecones. Every forest has different varieties of trees and different pinecones to collect. I have to give him credit for humoring his mom and going along on the hunt. Even my girlfriend Michelle has patiently waited along hiking trails as I collected pinecones. I know, I know, I have a serious problem…LOL!
The native oaks in the backyard are dropping acorns like nobody’s business right now. Instead of complaining about them, I collect them instead. I even used a handful of the caps and teeny tiny acorns for this wreath. They were perfect for filling in some of the smaller gaps on the wreath.
Look for items with interesting textures and unusual shapes. For the most part I stuck to earth tones for this wreath, but added a few pops of burnt orange for some color interest.
The base is a sturdy styrofoam wreath that I picked up at the craft store. The styrofoam wreath was pricey at $7.99 but I was able to use a 40% off coupon, woo-hoo!
Begin by painting the foam a dark brown color so that if there are any gaps in between the items on the wreath, the base will blend in and not really show.
Once the styrofoam wreath is painted and dry, attach a hanger. I used floral wire and secured it to the foam wreath with a generous dab of hot glue to hold it securely in place.
Don’t have floral wire? A pipe cleaner would also work well as a hanger.
Now comes the fun part. All that’s left to do is to start glueing on all the items you have collected. Start with the larger items and fill in around them with the smaller items.
Do your best to place items as close together as possible to hide the foam base underneath.
Mix up items as you place them on the wreath. Try not to place two of the same items together if possible.
Take your time and have fun with this. It’s like a giant jigsaw puzzle. There really isn’t a right or wrong way to do this. It should look random with no apparent discernible pattern.
Fill in gaps with the smaller items until you have completely covered the styrofoam wreath base and you are happy with how it looks. It took me about 4 hours to glue on all the various items and I was happy with how my wreath looked.
The various textures and patterns on the wreath are what makes it so interesting to look at.
Hang your wreath and enjoy all season long.
This post was originally published October 2020 and republished with updated photos, additional notes, and new content October 2024.
Happy Fall Y’all!
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Ephesians 2:8-9
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