Heat up some eggnog, put on the Bing Crosby, and get out your cinnamon-scented candles, because this project is festive!
All right, Matt hasn’t celebrated Christmas in several years. I am determined to make this one extra special to make up for what he’s missed. That includes baking sugar cookies for his co-workers, buying us ugly Christmas sweaters… and decorating, decorating, decorating!
I saw an advent calendar on Pinterest made with real tree branches, and it inspired this piece for our coffee table. I couldn’t get started making it until Advent had already begun, so this version only has three candles in it instead of four. I recycled three birch candle holders my dad made for me a few Christmases back, drilled to fit tea lights, and decided we’d just light the candles any night we were home, rather on the four Sundays leading up to Christmas.
This project is quick and simple to make (it took less than an hour, not including the candle holders, but if you have a drill and a saw they won’t add on more than ten minutes!), and it will make any room feel like Christmas. We’re using ours on our coffee table, and it has already changed the mood in our house!
Supplied I used:
- AdTech Project Pro glue gun
- AdTech Mini Multi-Temp Glue Sticks
- 10″ cake stand from Hobby Lobby
- Birch branch pieces of varying heights, drilled to fit tea lights
- Artificial pine branches (I chose flame retardant ones!)
- String of artificial red berries
- Glitter pinecones from Michael’s
- Wire cutters
- Paper for tracing
- Pencil
- Scissors
- Yankee Candle red apple tea lights
Step one:
Trace the top of the cake stand onto a sheet of paper, and cut out the circle to use a template.
Step two:
Using wire cutters, trim the artificial pine branches to arc around the circle template, glueing together as needed. Leave circle unfinished.
Step three:
Place candle holders onto template and wrap branches around to ensure these pieces will fit within the wreath. When you are sure you have the length correct, use hot glue to seal the circle.
Step four:
If using berry clusters, simply glue decoratively around the wreath. If using a string, wrap the string around the wreath to help bind it together, cutting only when enough has been used.
Step five:
Hot glue pinecones intermittently around the wreath.
Step six:
Wait for all pieces to set, then lift wreath and place atop the cake stand. Fill with candle holders, complete with tea lights.
Step seven:
Place on a table, light the candles, and enjoy!
*Be sure to keep the candles away from flammable materials for your safety.
