Cardinal and White Pinecone Wreath

It feels so good to be accomplishing things on my Christmas Craft List!  The first project I conquered was this cardinal and white pinecone wreath.  I got the idea off Pinterest via Better Homes and Gardens (see original project here), but I made it with my own twist!

The tutorial called for a store bought pinecone wreath, but I thought, "Why pay for a pinecone wreath when I have plenty of pinecones in my own backyard?"  So I picked up bunches and bunches of pinecones, then bought a grapevine wreath at Jo-Ann's with my 40% off coupon.

I laid out the pinecones on the wreath where I wanted them, then used an unprudent amount of hot glue to stick them in place permanently.  I used about half a bag of glue sticks, if you can believe that!

Once everything was all tacked down, I spray painted the whole thing white.  I didn't bother to make sure everything was evenly coated.  I wanted the wood to show through so it looked like it was more frosted than just white.

Once the paint dried, I put on the red birds and red bells instead of the ornaments the original tutorial called for, both of which I got for 60% off at Jo-Ann's.  And voila!  I think it turned out great, and I'm so excited to hang it in our living room with the rest of our Christmas decor, which is all red and white bird themed. :)

I hope you're chipping away at your Christmas bucket list!  Thanks for reading.

--CC

Handmade Fall Wreath

After the tropical storm passed through the Gulf last weekend, the temperature here in Florida cooled off dramatically.  It almost feels like fall!  So it felt like time to drag my fall decor out of the garage, and now this autumn wreath is hanging on my front door:

I actually made this wreath last fall.  I even cheated on the picture--it's from last fall at my old apartment!  But I didn't have a blog then so I thought it was only fair that I get to share it with you now!  I can't take credit for the creativity (although I wish I could because I love the way this wreath turned out!).  The idea came from one of the free projects that they have hanging in the aisles at Jo-Ann's.  But I'll let you know how I made it, anyway! :)

I started with a grapevine wreath, then hot glued magnolia leaves and those "fall picks" that they have at Jo-Ann's (but you could use a substitute such as faux apples, gourds, pumpkins, berry sprigs, or whatever you like for a different look) all over the wreath.  Next, I lightly coated the whole thing with gold spray paint (again, you could use whatever color you like) and loosely wrapped the ribbon around the circumference of the wreath, tying it in a bow at the bottom and hot gluing it in place as needed.  And viola!  It was beautiful and I'm still proud of it a year later!

Have you made any fall decorations that you're particularly proud of?  Tell me about it or share a link with me in the comments!  I'd love to see! :)

This post is linked up here.