Bye Bye Bear, Hello Fall

Grace
by Grace
5 Materials
$4.99
3 Days
Easy
Ever since Meegan @whatmeeganmakes got me into making wreaths, I've decided to make a wreath for every season, not necessarily for every holiday, but mostly by each season.
I have one each for the Spring, Valentine's day, Summer, and the Winter/Christmas, but not for the Fall. I was inspired by a project of a blogger named Michelle@The Painted Hinge. She had a simply painted white wreath and wanted to incorporate something like that in my next wreath project.
The bear was cute, but I bought this wreath mainly for its wreath material. The Bear and her belongings had to go.
They came off easily and hubby cut a piece of the board I had in my stash for the backing.
I gave a coat of gray primer because it was something I had, but I think in the future, I will invest in white primer. I thought the final product didn't look as white as I wanted it to be. Oh well....live and learn.
I gave 3 coats of white spray paint in matte finish. I gave another coat of clear varnish in matte finish as well. I painted the backing board in chalkboard paint.
After attaching the backing, I traced "give thanks" on a piece of graph paper from a stencil I had and then transfered it to the backing.
I used white chalk paint I had and hand painted the words. I think I should have done this before attaching them together. Oh well..
Hehe, it's done and I snuck in another small project I was working on.
Next step, I wanted to use these pine cones I picked up from my hubby's work. :)


I soaked them in 50/50 water and vinegar solution and baked them for 2 hours on 200 F. I learned about this cleaning method from a hometalker named, Donna Powell. Initially, I thought I would paint them to give some blings, but when it came out of the oven, I loved its original color so much that I decided to just give a coat of varnish in matte finish. This picture doesn't do it justice on their color. It's quite shabby.
When I was contemplating how to arrange the pine cones, I realized they were perhaps too tall and they would rub against the storm door and possibly get ruined, so I decided to cut them in half.
I just LOVED the color and the dry texture of the pine cones and couldn't part with any of them. Silly, isn't it? So I decided to use all of them. My DIY fairy godmother, Larrisa @ prodigal pieces also agreed that it was a good idea to use them all.
Don't you just love those little fellas?
I found a roll of ribbon tape at Michael's. I used their 50% off coupon, so even though it was pricey at $10.00, I got it for 4.99 and there were 10 yards to it. It was a worthy investment I think.
What do you think? Isn't it simple and chic? I think the ribbon tape is just perfect. How would you call this style considering what the wreath used to be?
Here is the last comparison shot.
Random and sneaky. :P


I am just going to sneak in this pantry sign because it was too simple a project to make it a post. :P I found that plate at Restore store for a dollar I think. It's old and it's very pretty and I thought it worked well above my pantry door frame.
Suggested materials:
  • Pre-owned wreath   (Goodwill)
  • Board for backing   (my stash)
  • Paint   (my stash)
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3 of 4 questions
  • Linda Hunt Linda Hunt on Sep 17, 2016
    Hello. Lovely idea and the simple look is stunning. How long do you soak the pinecones to clean them, please? I love the natural details of the colours the pinecones have as they are.
  • Vivian Vivian on Sep 18, 2016
    Did you use hot glue to attach the pine cones?
  • Holly Holly on Sep 18, 2016
    How did you cut the pine cones? I have tried everything and can't seem to cut them without mangling them. Thank you.
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