Follow these easy steps to make a pinecone wreath with a foam wreath form. It’s the perfect Fall or holiday door wreath on a budget!

Hi, y’all.  Hope you had a wonderful weekend!  It’s the perfect time of year for collecting pinecones and creating holiday crafts. Making wreaths is one of my favorite DIY projects I do seasonally for this blog.

I love the texture and shapes of pinecones so I’m sharing tips for how to make a pinecone wreath with a foam base. It really is a lovely seasonal decor piece for the home and can stay out for Christmas and January!

How to Make a Beautiful Pine Cone Wreath

If you are new here, howdy! I’m a retired military spouse who moved back to Texas after being gone for 19 years. I perfected the art of rental decorating and overcoming challenges in small spaces for over fifteen years but now am tackling homeownership with a new set of challenges! Our family of four lived in some of the most beautiful coastal towns in the US and Japan which have influenced my colorful and global style with DIYs and furnishings in our one-story 60’s ranch-style home in Fort Worth.

Materials for a DIY Pinecone Wreath

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• Foam wreath form
• Lots of pinecones (Scroll down to find out how to clean pine cones for decoration!)
• Hot-glue gun
• Jewelry wire (optional) We poked it through the styrofoam from the backside of the form, looped it back through, and twisted the ends together, leaving a little slack at the top for the “hanger”.
• Gold spray paint

Steps for Making a Pine Cone Wreath

This DIY gives you the perfect excuse to take long autumn walks and collect cones or maybe they are already in your yard! Make sure to pick up all shapes and sizes for a nice full wreath of pine cones.

1.  (optional) Prepare your foam base by painting it with a light coat of gold or brown spray paint. Don’t get too close to the styrofoam as the paint can melt it.   Taking this step will eliminate the need to fill exposed holes in the foam wreath.
2. Using a grapevine wreath form or wire wreath form is another option but makes it trickier to get a full and even wreath shape. Skip this step if you plan to paint your pinecones after.
3. Start on the inside of your wreath with smaller pinecones and hot glue them into place. If you pick the little knob off the bottom of the pinecone first it will lay flat and be easier to glue.
4. After applying the glue make sure to press the pinecone into the wreath form for a few seconds to insure it will stick!
5. One option for your pinecone pattern is to continue gluing pinecone rings using larger ones as you move toward the middle of the wreath form.
6. If you prefer a more organic shape, glue pinecones on in a natural way with different shapes and sizes. Just make sure to spread the varying colors and sizes evenly. The texture will be AMAZING!

Continue to Content

Pine Cone Wreath Tutorial

How to clean pine cones, attach them to a wreath, paint, and display a beautiful pinecone wreath.

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Materials

• Collected or store bought pinecones
• A foam wreath form (other wreath forms will work too!)
• White vinager for cleaning
• Glue sticks for glue gun
• Spray paint is optional
• Wire and ribbon for hanging

Tools

• Hot glue gun
• Baking sheet

Instructions

1. Prepare your pinecones by soaking them in a one-part white distilled vinegar to 2 parts water solution.
2. Spread pinecones in a single layer on a baking sheet and place in the oven at 200 or 225 degrees for a few hours.
3. Hot glue pinecones onto a styrofoam wreath form either neatly in rows from the inside to the outside or place large pinecones evenly around and fill with holes with smaller pieces. Pick off knobs from the bottom of the cones to lay them flat.
4. Optional: Lightly coat the wreath with metallic spray paint. A little dusting will go a long way.
5. Thread wire through the back of the wreath to hang or loop the ribbon around the middle and top to hang.

Did you make this project?

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Instagram

How to Make a Painted Pinecone Wreath

Painted pine cone wreaths: If you find that some of your green or white wreath foam is showing through you can fill in the gaps with pinecone petals or cover the entire wreath with a mist of gold spray paint. It will give it a nice shimmer perfect for the holidays.

Hang your wreath onto a nail or wrap it with ribbon and hang it.

Later I repurposed some pinecones on a winter wreath that was made with a grapevine wreath form. I love the mix of textures and colors! Click on this story for the full tutorial.

Q&A for DIY Pinecone Wreaths

I’ve received a few questions on this post and wanted to provide answers in case you have any of the same questions.

• “I’ve read before that you need to bake your pinecones to kill any insects in them. Did you do that with yours?” That’s a great tip! Our pinecones sat in the sun for a few days. My friend’s wreath is only for the outdoors and I spray-painted my wreath, hopefully, that killed any little critters. But if you are gathering pinecones from outside it is a good idea to bake them in the oven at 200 degrees for 20 minutes.
• “Are your wreaths flat on the back or did you completely cover the styrofoam?” I used a wreath form with a flat back so it lays nicely against a wall or door.
• “Did you start at the middle or back of the wreath to glue pinecones?” I started on the outside but have made other wreaths starting from the middle. Either way works!

Additional related questions on pine cone wreaths!

How do you keep pine cones on a wreath?

Attach pine cones to a foam or grapevine wreath base with hot glue.

Do you need to bake pine cones for crafting?

It’s a good idea to put your pine cones in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake at 200 degrees for 2-3 hours to kill any bugs or mildew.

How do you clean and prepare pine cones for crafts?

You might be wondering how to clean pine cones for crafts especially if you picked them up outside. Soak pinecones in a water and vinegar solution, mixing 2 parts warm water with 1 part white vinegar, and then bake in the oven for a few hours.

How to remove sap from pinecones

Follow the steps above for pine cone cleaning with a water and vinegar solution and then bake at 200 or 225 degrees for a few hours to remove sap from pinecones.

Making pinecone wreaths takes some patience but it’s a fun DIY and it looks amazing!  Have you tried making one? Do you have any other favorite pine cone crafts or ideas?

I love the look of bleached pinecones and painted pinecones for wreaths and I’ve also made a painted pinecone door swag that turned out so pretty!

I hope you enjoyed learning about how to make a pinecone wreath. Check out 50+ decorating ideas and DIYs for Fall, Thanksgiving, and Halloween plus free printables and my friend’s beautiful 30+ printable Thanksgiving cards.

Thanks for stopping by and happy Fall!

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