About a month back, we had a huge wind storm that knocked down one of our enormous pine trees here on our farm. My husband has been slowly "chipping away at it" on his days off. As My 4yr. old and I surveyed what had been done and what still needs to be, she started to pick up pine cones- loading her arms full. This gave me an idea... Not only could I give her a fun project to do, but also get a Christmas wreath for our back door & from items my husband had put the discard pile.

Step 1: Items Needed

Items Needed:

small pine tree branch cut to size
twine
assorted pine cones
cardboard or newspaper for working surface
paint brushes
elmers glue
glitter or coloured sugars
small container
water
bowl (for glitter/coloured sugars)

If an adult or older child is going to do this project, you can just use spray adhesive for the pine cones. I would suggest doing it outside though as spray adhesive can float on the air and stick to things you dont want tacky. Plus better ventilation.

Step 2: Getting Started

Step 1

* Pour a small amount of water in a small bowl and add glue, mix until well combined
* Add enough glitter or coloured sugar to cover the bottom of your bowl
* Put a piece of cardboard or newspaper down as a working surface
* Once they are are finished with a pine cone, set it aside to dry

Allow your child total control, this can be hard for some of us. Let them pick the pine cones, paint on the glue and roll or dip them then into the glitter/coloured sugar

Step 3: Getting Started Continued...

Step 2 - ADULT

* Using scissors, cut differnt lengths of twine for the pine cones to hang from
* Shape & trim the pine tree brach to your liking, cutting off pieces that are too long or will hide the decorated pine cones
*Cut a long piece of twine and tie to each end of the branch

The Twine I used, was repurposed from a crochet hot pad that had been sitting in my drawer for 4yrs. I love to ruse things and give it a new life!

Step 3

* When the pine cones are dry, have your child hand you pieces of twine and tie them around the stems of the decorated pine cone.
( If no stems, you could use a glue gun and hot glue the twine to the tops of the pine cones)
* Cut off any ends of twine
* Arrange and tie the pine cones to the branch

Step 4: Hang & Admire

Hang your beautiful wreath and admire.

My daughter had Sooo much fun on this project that her big sister was quite jealous when she came home from school and wanted to create her very own repurposed wreath for her bedroom door. Check out my other Instructables for more Repurposed Christmas Wreaths