Chestnuts belong to autumn like eggs belong to hens. Without chestnuts, acorns and colorful leaves, autumn would lose its charm. Collecting chestnuts is one of children's favorite pastimes. Besides thetried and tested animal figuresYou can also use it to make tasteful door decorations such as a chestnut wreath and enjoy autumn to the fullest. Chestnut wreaths will improve your mood and cost almost nothing.
How big should your chestnut wreath be?
First, think about how big your chestnut wreath should be and how many chestnuts you can collect. For example, for a wreath with a diameter of 30 cm that will be completely covered with chestnuts, you will need about 100 chestnuts. If you also use other natural materials such as pine cones, moss, acorns and rose hips, then you will of course need fewer chestnuts.
The base of your wreath can be a blank made of straw or Styrofoam. These can be found in almost every craft store and cost under €5. To prevent the white Styrofoam from showing through the gaps between the chestnuts, it is best to paint the blank with dark brown acrylic paint. However, you can wrap a straw wreath with brown crepe paper or fabric.
If you want to create a rustic look, you can also tightly wrap the Styrofoam wreath with jute twine. However, this variant is more suitable for smaller chestnut wreaths.
Would you like to be even more creative? Then look around your home to see what you can repurpose and use as a wreath blank. An interesting option would be to form a piece of foam tubing/insulating tubing into a wreath and tape the ends with electrical tape.
Attach chestnuts to the wreath
You can now start attaching the chestnuts to the wreath using a hot glue gun. Even though it may not seem like it, it is quite time consuming and you have to take extra care of your fingers to avoid blisters.
When gluing the chestnuts, glue the flat side of the chestnuts to the foam to make the nut more stable and secure on the wreath. With the wreath lying flat on a flat surface, begin gluing the nuts in sections from the inside out, slowly working your way around the wreath until all sides are filled. By gluing the nuts from the inside out and filling all the gaps, there are fewer gaps.
Make a bow for the wreath
You can use a nice decorative ribbon with a wire edge for the bow. You can also use the leftovers to make a loop for hanging. Make sure you use extra hot glue to make the loop sturdy.
Tip: Your chestnut wreath will be heavy. Be careful not to hang it on a plastic hook or it will fall. Hang it from a secured nail, screw, or wreath hanger on the door.
How do you tie a beautiful bow? This simple and quick guide shows it:
Step 1: Cut 4 pieces of ribbon. The first 2 pieces are the same size and the longest are 45 cm. The next piece is a few centimeters smaller than the first two (38 cm). The last piece is the smallest (10cm) and is used as the center to hold the bow together.
Step 2: Make two circles using one of the longer (45cm) pieces and the middle (38cm) piece of ribbon. Use a little hot glue to hold the circles together.
Step 3: Place the small circle on top of the large circle. Glue them together in the middle.
Step 4: Fold the bow in half to create the indentations of the bow. Tape the ribbon together at each fold.
Step 5: Take the shortest (10 cm) piece of ribbon and fold it in three. Add the end to the bottom of the bow, making sure you have an equal amount of ribbon on each side. Wrap the short piece around the center of the loop and the hanging pieces. Add hot glue to hold the whole thing together.
Step 6: Finally, fold each ribbon in half and cut a piece diagonally.
IfAlternative to the classic wreathYou can make a chestnut heart and hang it on the front door or on a tree. Pierce the chestnuts with a hand drill and thread them onto a stronger wire. Thanks to the wire, the circle can be shaped like a heart. You can also use a clothes hanger from the laundry. Twist the ends of the wire together and trim off the excess.
Then we have a variety of options for what to add in the middle as an accent. For example, you can leave a few chestnuts or empty snail shells hanging on a string. Here we recommend a trick for threading: Dip the end of the string in wax. This means it doesn't fray and you can easily thread it through a small hole without a needle.
Preserve the chestnut wreath
The chestnut wreath is a very popular fall decoration because it will last all fall and maybe even a few years. The selection of the materials used is crucial. Cones, acorns and rose hips, for example, will stay beautiful much longer than fresh greens. For longer durability, you can spray the wreath with hairspray. This works like a seal of moisture in the fruit.
And what materials would you like to use for your fall wreath?
