Easter Wreath

Using Pine cones and washcloths!

This project was extremely simple, however it was very time consuming. I started it last fall when I could finally get my hands on some pine cones. I took a pair of wire cutters and cut each pine cone into three sections, gently working my way into the center of each cone and snipping carefully. As they are cut apart, you will see that each section now looks like a flower. If you turn the bottom part upside down, it looks like a succulent.

Next, I spray painted them. Some of them I even sprayed with two colors. I did this to the bottom of a couple to add in some succulent looking plants.

Now, I am an admitted "junker" so I was able to use an old Christmas wreath that someone had thrown away. All I did was fluff it a bit. Once my pine cone flowers were good and dry, I simply hot glued them onto the wreath.

I went above and beyond for my wash cloth bunnies, but I wanted to see how well Unicorn Spit would stain fabric. So I spent $3.47 at Walmart on a package of 18 white wash cloths. They were washed with a little bit of detergent but I didn't use fabric softener because I wasn't sure how that would affect the dyeing process.

Then I got out my Unicorn Spit stain. I made a spray bottle of water for every color of spit I had and then squirted some in. Use less spit if you want your colors lighter; more if you want them darker. Practice spraying the water/spit bottle onto a paper towel to make sure it sprays evenly BEFORE you spray your fabric. I've used misting bottles too, but they tend to clog up if you add too much spit into the water. Though they work well, my finger got really tired of spraying!

These may look more complicated than they are, but the designs on these were made using daubers for polka dots, keys, doilies and a felt table runner from the Dollar Tree. All I did was prepare my unicorn spit/water mixture in separate spray bottles, lay the runner and doily over the wash cloth and sprayed using a variety of colors. I did use a temporary adhesive to the back of the table runner so that it would stick better as I sprayed the unicorn spit. The great thing about the table runner and doilies- they can be rinsed and reused over and over!

Now, I used a hair dryer to help these dry because it helps set the color and I didn't want the inside of my dryer multicolored, and then I ironed them really good! You can even throw them in the dryer (after they're dry of course!) for an hour to make sure they get good and hot. Let them sit for 24 hours and then put them in a bucket with 1 gallon of water and 1 gallon of white vinegar. They must stay in this mixture for 24 hours. Then I just squeezed out the excess liquid and threw them in the washing machine with just a little bit of detergent and washed on cold. Dry as normal and wallah!

Finally, I rolled up my bunnies, hot glued eyes, mustaches, flowers and pom poms for bunny tails and then tied a ribbon around each neck. You can see the directions here: https://www.smartschoolhouse.com/diy-crafts/wash-cloth-bunny

Lastly, I strung a thin wire through the inside of the bunnies and attached each one to the wreath. On this project, I did hot glue all of my flowers on my wreath, but if you only want to utilize one wreath throughout the year, just attach everything with wire. I only wired the bunnies on so that I can remove them after Easter has passed and still have a spring/summer time wreath. I did the same with the bow. I'll switch it out for a summery color ribbon in a few weeks.