Our Hopeful Home: DIY Fall-Inspired Rustic Cotton Boll Wreath

Today I'm sharing how to make a fall-inspired rustic cotton boll wreath.

cotton boll wreath pine cones dianthus pumpkins hello fall sign

I've been churning out fall projects like wildfire these days, taking advantage of my newfound sense of motivation. My latest creation is a DIY fall-inspired cotton boll wreath.

My original plan was to create a cotton boll garland, and the project just morphed from there. More importantly, it was -- like most of my projects -- simple and inexpensive to make. Cotton boll wreaths are incredibly expensive in the stores, but I promise you that you can make one for yourself for much less.

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DIY Fall-Inspired Cotton Boll Wreath Supplies

1. 18" grapevine wreath. I got mine at Hobby Lobby for $3.00 (40% off coupon).

2. Two packages of faux cotton bolls (total 24 bolls). I paid $3.60 per bag of 12 (Hobby Lobby 40% off coupon).

3. Pine cones (I used 7, found them in the yard), Dollar Tree floral wire (already had), scissors (or wire cutters) and Dollar Tree faux greenery and feathers (already had).

cotton boll pine cone feather dianthus floral wire scissors

4. Glue gun (for pine cones) and glue sticks (already had).

DIY Fall-Inspired Cotton Boll Wreath Instructions

This is really simple, folks. Just take the end of your floral wire and insert it into the cotton boll on one side of the pod. Gently push it all the way through the cotton until the wire comes out the other side.

Here's an overhead view to give you a better idea of wire placement. I tried to keep the wire close to the base of the cotton boll.

cotton boll pine cones floral wire garland wreath

Once I got a number of them threaded onto the wire (essentially a garland of sorts) I started laying the wire out around the wreath to determine how many more cotton bolls and pine cones I would need to make it around the entire wreath.

I tried to space out the pine cones as equally as possible but you really don't need to be exact. I just left a space on the wire anywhere I wanted to place a pine cone.

NOTE: You could stop here and have a garland and call it a day.

cotton boll pine cone floral wire garland wreath

Here it is in progress, still attached to the floral wire supply. Once I had it all placed where I wanted, I cut the garland off from the wire supply and I proceeded to attach the garland to the grapevine wreath with individual strips of floral wire, wrapping the strips over and around the garland wire, using them like twisty ties.

I did this all around the entire wreath, leaving open space for the pine cones. Then I went back and attached the pine cones with hot glue.

Initially I was going to leave it like this but I felt that it needed something more. I apologize for the bad quality photo. It was originally hanging in my foyer on a chalkboard and I could not for the life of me get a picture that had any semblance of normal lighting.

cotton boll wreath pine cones dianthus feathers pumpkins hello fall sign

Ta-da. I scrounged around in my stash and came up with some Dollar Tree faux bright green fuzzy (Dianthus) flowers as well as some decorative feathers in fall colors.

I just detached the fuzzy flowers and feathers from their stems and literally stuck them into the wreath -- no wire and no glue. Easy peasy.

cotton boll wreath pine cones dianthus feather pumpkins hello fall sign

It was really starting to feel more fall-inspired and rustic at this point.

The orange pumpkin on the left is siting on top of a thrifted candlestick that I painted off white and distressed a few years ago.

It is sitting in a wire cloche that I have absolutely LOVED for years. I bought two of them on sale at JoAnn's and have never regretted it.

I placed another pumpkin on top of a Target brand thrifted vintage-inspired candlestick that already came distressed -- score! For this one I used candle sticky wax to hold the pumpkin in place.

I picked up the little Hello Fall sign for 40% off at Hobby Lobby, and I think it works perfectly sitting happily inside this rustic wreath.

The plush white and orange pumpkins were each $1.00 at Target's Bullseye Playground.

cotton boll wreath price tag $59.99 Hobby Lobby

Here is a Hobby Lobby price tag for a pre-made 18" cotton boll wreath. Granted, you can always buy it with a 40% off coupon. But even at that rate it will cost you $36.00 for the wreath. I spent approximately $13.00 for my version, which I like even more since it has some fall elements and theirs does not.

So, a garland turned into a wreath. Go figure. I hope I've motivated you to tackle a fall DIY project. There is plenty of time left to create something -- maybe even this wreath.

Well, that's it until next time, friends!
I hope you enjoyed reading about my
DIY Fall-Inspired Rustic Cotton Boll Wreath

and that I've inspired you in some way!

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