Christmas Candle Wreaths {Using What You've Got}

Driving across the country to see family, we usually stop at least once for a Cracker Barrel meal. They allow RVs to park overnight in their large parking space in the back which means often we'll have dinner, sleep, and breakfast. Cracker-Barrel-palooza. 

 

I noticed for the season as we drove home from Texas last month the restaurant had sweet wreaths around the bottoms of every table oil lantern, along with large versions on their walls. It was a simple touch of festivity. The best part: just about anyone has the elements for such in one's yard or neighbors' (as long as they don't mind you poking around in their nature goods--one of our neighbors has a mini forest and kindly lets me gather pine cones for kindling and such). So I wanted to try my own version when we returned home:

 

All of these steps are very flexible from the nature goods, the measurements, the arranging, as you can see.

 

Materials:

sturdy scissors or razor to cut cardboard, a glue stick to attach natural toned paper, small to smallish pine cones, pruning shears to cut twigs into 1-1.5 inches pieces, berries (I used the fake version we have handy in our Christmas decorations), hot glue gun

 

1. Cut a ring of cardboard to fit around your candle that is about 1 inch thick. Consider allowing for a little extra room in the middle, as the pine cones and sticks might crowd in toward the candle space a bit.

 

2. Rip paper into about 1 by 2 inch strips. Glue to cover the top and edge of the cardboard ring.

 

3. Layout the pine cones and consider where stick pieces can fill in gaps and holes. Then start attaching the elements with your gun.

 

4. After the pine cones and sticks have filled up the ring to your liking, glue on your berries where you'd like to add accent.

 

And you're done! Aren't they sweet?

Our dining room table is lined with three candles and wreaths now adding a warm, new touch for the Christmas season.

 

Thank you, Cracker Barrel. :)