One Christmas wreath - three ways
Creative Artisan Karen has added a bit of Frenchic sparkle to her front door by creating an aged country Christmas wreath out of foraged pinecones with a nod to old bronze, verdigris and tarnished gold. Neutrals Stylist Abi has gone for a calming bauble wreath in soft neutrals to match her home, while DIY Specialist Kayleigh has favoured the rustic look with a colourful palette wood wreath.
Natural glow
To create a natural wreath Karen collected pinecones and covered them in Tuff Top Coat (you can also use Frenchic’s Finishing Coat for this). Karen took two jugs and put slightly watered down Tuff Top Coat into one of them and poured it over the pinecones (with the other jug underneath to catch the excess to use on the next pour). She repeated the process, going from jug to jug until they were completely covered.
Karen then took an icing sugar drencher and popped her chosen Frensheens in there and shook it over the pinecones – this method allowed Karen to mix the Frensheens together well. Karen’s favourite mix? Gorgeous Gold and Green Goddess but she also loved the mix of Beautiful Bronze and Green Goddess for an aged metal look.
Karen wanted warm colours on this wreath so used all the Frensheens, Gorgeous Gold, Cool Copper, Beautiful Bronze and Green Goddess, but avoided Sexy Silver as it wasn’t the right shade for the project.
She then set the pinecones aside to dry before adding some floristry wire to each cone and attached them to her wreath frame (a charity shop find) along with some faux greenery.
Karen’s top tips:
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Use two jugs so you can reuse the mixed Tuff Top Coat or Finishing Coat.
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It’s a bit messy as you will get product over your hands so you may choose to wear gloves and an apron.
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Once covered in the Tuff Top Coat place in a box to avoid the air drying them too quickly.
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When sprinkling the Frensheens, do this over a box to catch all the leftover Frensheen which can then be used again on another pinecone.
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Turn the pinecone upside down and tap to remove any loose Frensheen before drying.
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Mix your Frensheens – the colours you can create are endless!
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If your front door is open to the elements, Karen recommends popping some Finishing Coat in a plant mister and spraying your wreath to protect it.
Luxe Sophistication
For Abi’s fantastic crafty DIY Christmas wreath, she got hold of some cheap baubles and an old wire coat hanger, which she untwisted it to stretch it out. Abi wanted a wreath that matched the calm, neutral décor in her home, so got to work painting the baubles. She used the earthy shade of Salt of the Earth and the classic cream tones of Crème de la Crème.
Once the baubles were fully dry, Abi threaded the baubles onto the wire in a random pattern, alternating the different shades and sizes of the baubles.
Abi then twisted the coat hanger at the top to tie it together and added a large gold bow – the perfect peaceful crafting project amongst the Christmas chaos.
Rustic Warmth
Kayleigh cut down old bits of palette wood, to the size she wanted. It can be any size but bear in mind if you’re putting it up on your front door, you won’t want it to be too long.
Palette wood can be pretty rough, so Kayleigh sanded it down with a 120-grit sandpaper to get rid of any edges. Then for the paint. It’s Christmas after all, so Kayleigh went with the dark green of Victory Lane, the bright red of Hot Lips, both in the Al Fresco range to withstand being hung on the front door, plus a dash of metallics with King’s Gold, which can also be used outdoors. Kayleigh gave each colour three coats.
Kayleigh wanted the rustic look for her wreath and to tone down the bright shades, so once the paint was fully dry, she gently used an 80-grit sandpaper. Although, if want a more vibrant hue, you can skip this second sanding step.
To fix the pieces of palette wood together, Kayleigh used batons of wood on the back to nail them together and then turned it over to add wood with nails to the front.