Nature Inspired DIY Christmas Wreath

Have you realized that nature gives us all what we need to decorate with this holiday season! You can bring natural Christmas decor into your home this season starting with making a wreath! Discover the most sustainable Christmas wreath ever by gathering the materials to make one from your garden, yard or nearby woods - natural items like pinecones, berries and fresh greenery! A DIY wreath that's festive enough for Christmas and pretty enough to display all winter long. 

Welcome to our monthly   Sustainable Craft Challenge hosted by Julie @Sum of their Stories!  This challenge is all about sustainable crafting! Each month is themed and all projects must have some sort of a sustainable element to them. This could be an upcycling or recycling element, or something that reduces waste, uses leftovers, etc. The theme for the month of November is Christmas!  

So much of what we buy for Christmas is made to replicate nature. Plastic berries, silk leaves, synthetic trees - most will eventually end up in landfills when we're done with them! So why not embrace this Christmas season with a cozy and earthy DIY wreath! One with a natural and rustic look - filled with gathered pinecones, berries and evergreens! It's basically a free craft for the most part. All biodegradable and easily recyclable! Here's how to make one!

You will need:

• Tree or shrub vines
• Cotton thread (thick #10 or #12)
• Slim pinecones (white pine tree)
• White pine evergreens
• Scissors/pruning shears
• Wired Christmas ribbon

I didn't have to go far to gather natural elements. There are lots of white pine trees loaded with pinecones surrounding the backyards of our community. And every year, I pick bags full of fallen pinecones off the ground. After cleaning and baking them to remove any bugs or critters, you just never know when I might need pinecones to craft or decorate with! So I always have plenty on hand! Here are some projects that I have made in the past using pinecones, here,  here, here, here, here and here. Whew!

Plus, beautiful plants like this Nandina bush which has  lovely red bamboo berries to gather. I love decorating using berries. You might remember this project from last year. The berries are still looking nice and red on it!  And if you look close enough at all the surrounding shrubbery in my yard, you will see wood vines curling up and around them - like a pest, lol!

To make the wreath, the first thing I did was to create a natural wreath base by wrapping a few wood vines into a hoop about 12.5 inches wide.  Then secured the vines together using dark thick cotton thread tied around them. You can barely see the thread. It blends in perfectly! So much better than using wire! I didn't want a thick wreath, so using a few vines worked out just fine.

Once the vines are secured, begin tying the slim pinecones onto the vines using the same type of cotton thread. First one side and .  .  .

then the other side, forming a symmetrical shape of pinecones on the hoop. 

Continue tying on the pinecones to each side until .  .  .

the pinecones look full, balanced and decorative.

Then begin adding pine evergreens clipped from a nearby white pine tree.

Add a bit of color to the pinecone wreath by attaching berries picked from the Nandina bush. And finally, add a large wired-edged bow with tails onto the top center, attaching a looped bow wire from the ribbon to hang. 

How cool does this nature inspired wreath look for Christmas!

Be sure to check out all the creative Christmas Sustainable Crafts projects from my fellow crafters listed below:

Julie | Sum of Their Stories | Felt Star and Bead Garland 

Terri | Our Good Life | End of the Season DIY Rosemary Wreath

Gail | Purple Hues and Me | Nature Inspired DIY Christmas Wreath

Marci | Stone Cottage Adventures | Framing a Quilted Pig

Maria | Simple Nature Décor | Jeweled Oyster Shell Ornament

Stephanie | Crazy Little Love Birds | Create a Beautiful Winter Tree Scenery Using Cardboard

T’onna | Sew Crafty Crochet | Upcycled Christmas Baubles

Christine | Christine”s Crafts | Christmas Tree Diamond Decorations

Mel | Décor Craft Design | DIY Christmas Snowman From Old Socks

Allyson  | Southern Sunflowers | Christmas Tree Shaped Fabric Pillow No Sew Tutorial

Shelly | Mimi- A Great Name for Grandma | DIY Christmas Tree String Art