Mini Wreath made from Pine Cone Scales!

Of all the things I have made so far, I think this is my favorite! Making mini-crafts are always cool! I love working with the scales. It is like putting a jigsaw puzzle together! I love the rich brown wood texture of the scales. And I find it oddly soothing to pull the scales apart from the pine cones! Kind of like popping little packing bubbles. Here we go! 

Materials:

• sharp scissors
• glue gun and glue sticks
• acrylic paint (red, silver) (optional)
• paintbrush (optional)
• glitter glue (optional)
• rings about 7cm-8 cm (3 inches) in diameter (some examples are a canning lid, the rubber from a canning lid, a ring cut out of cardboard, an expired glow in the dark bracelet (from the dollar store)

about 40 pine cones scales per mini wreath-scales with patterns on the inside work well if you plan to leave the wreaths natural color.

Step 1
Collect and lay out your materials.

Step 2
Lay out the scales around your ring. This gives you an idea of how many you need and how you might arrange them. I use slightly smaller ones for the inside circle so they fit together better.

Trim the ends off the scales where they were attached to the cone. This allows you to methodically glue them on. Saves having to pick up and put down the scissors a million times per wreath!

Step 3
Glue the scales, cut side insides and inside upwards on the top edge of the ring. Glue them so the cut ends are even with the inner edge of the ring.

Continue gluing until the first ring is complete.

Step 4

If you haven't already, cut the tips off the remaining scales. 

Step 5 
Lay each one with the cut tip facing outside the ring. Overlap the lower layer of scales. Glue them in place. Try to line the tips up so they make a smooth even outer ring.  

If you notice extra glue, this is a great place to stop and use tweezers to remove the bits.

Step 6

Measure a piece of ribbon to fit along the middle edge of the scales. Cut it leaving a little for overlap and in case you cut it too short.

Lay down a line of glue for a short distance and press the ribbon on the glue. Let dry. Repeat until the circle is complete. Trim off the ribbon end.

Step 7
Use more ribbon to make a loop to hang the mini wreath. Tie an overhand knot at the end. Glue the knot to the back of the wreath. Let dry and glue a second time, ensuring more of the ribbon comes in contact with the glue. If you use the glow sticks, also glue the ends so the loop won't break apart.

 









Here's the finished product! 

Optional Variations: 
Instead of gluing the scales cut ends outward, overlap them so they create a loop around the middle of the wreath. Here, I have made a tiny bow from 4 pine cone scales and painted them red and silver. Then glued them on the bottom of the wreath. Classy eh?

If you need scales for this project, you can purchase them here.