Magnolia and Pinecone Holiday Wreath

We love making wreaths, especially for Christmas. It’s the perfect time for a big, glittered showstopper wreath! Because we make so many wreaths, we’ve learned a thing a two. So we’ve got some great tips to share.

One of our favorite tips for a big fancy wreath is choose three different sized decorations: something beautiful and big (that’s the star of the show!), something medium sized (fancy filler, we call it), and something smaller (the little items that knit it all together). For this wreath, the magnolias are the stars, the pinecones and ornaments are fancy filler, and the berry picks and sprigs knit it together. Then we finish it off with a big bow!

How To Make A Magnolia and Pinecone Holiday Wreath

Materials
18” grapevine wreath form
3 silk or faux magnolias, 7” diameter
50 faux floral magnolia leaves, small and medium (we cut ours from long garlands)
16 pinecones, 2” – 4”
8 ball ornaments, brushed gold & glittered gold, 2.5” diameter
8 ball ornaments, brushed gold, 1.5” diameter
12 ball ornaments, brushed gold & glittered gold, .75” diameter
4 pearly berry picks
4 gold fir sprays
12 feet of purple wired ribbon, 2.5” wide
Metallic gold spray paint
Fine gold glitter
White craft glue
Floral wire

Tools
Craft paint brush
Hot glue gun and glue sticks
Wire Cutters
Scissors

Here’s What To Do
1. Paint & Glitter Pinecones
Before we start assembling a wreath, we like to prep everything. So we started by spray-painting the pinecones. (Brush off any dirt first.) Then we glittered the tips of the pinecones.

Here’s our glittering technique:
We made a five-to-one mixture of water and white glue. We painted it onto the tips of the pinecones and then sprinkled generously with the gold glitter. You should let your glittered pinecones fully dry before you start making your wreath.

2. Build Up The Background
Next we like to create a full background for the wreath elements to go on. For this wreath, we created a bed of leaves as the backdrop for the magnolias, glittered pinecones, and ornaments. We snipped the leaves off two magnolia garlands, then we glued them one-by-one onto the grapevine wreath with hot glue. We clustered the leaves into overlapping flower shapes to make it look more natural.

3. Add The Biggest Stuff
The biggest stuff goes on next and in this case, that’s the magnolias. We evenly spaced the flowers and hot glued them to the wreath right over the leaves. Then we added the largest ball ornaments. We arranged them so some are clustered together and some are single. These ornaments went into the spaces between the magnolias.

4. Add A Big Loopy Bow
You might think that the bow goes on last, like wrapping a present. But we think it needs to go on with the other big decorations. That way you can tuck the other smaller decorations in and around it. For a dramatic holiday wreath like this, we love a big, loopy bow! We attached the bow to the top of the wreath. That way the tails of the bow hang into the center and fill up the open space.

If you’ve never made a big loopy bow, here’s a video showing how we make them. It’s easier than you think!

5. Add The Glittered Pinecones
Next we added the pinecones. We tucked them into the open spaces created by the bigger clusters of ornaments. We glued the pinecones so they are poking out from under the magnolia petals. By decorating the wreath with the biggest stuff first, you create obvious places to add the next smaller items. Your wreath will have clear spaces that are perfect for your glittered pinecones.

6. Add The Smaller Stuff
Then we started filling in with the smaller ornaments. This covers any bare spots and fills in smaller gaps. We used glittered and matte ball ornaments, so we made spread them out.

7. Add The Little Picks
Lastly, we added fir sprays and berry picks. Our berry picks came as a big stem with lots of branches, so we cut them apart into smaller picks. Then we glued them around the wreath. We tucked them into the ornament clusters and under the glittered pinecones and magnolias. We did the same with our fir sprigs. We cut the sprigs into smaller pieces and hot glued them around the items already on the wreath.

We use this technique to make all our showstopper wreaths, although the Christmas ones are always the most glam! Still, we always start with a background (like leaves), then add the goodies from the biggest to the smallest. Then we finish with sprays and picks.

Have you ever made a big dramatic wreath? What was the occasion? Have any tips or tricks to share? We’d love to hear them. Let us know in the comments below!

Cheers,
Jennifer & Kitty