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DIY Easy Rustic Christmas Wreath with Deer Antlers, Magnolia, and Pinecones

Hi, it’s Rachel with The Ponds Farmhouse, and I’m back with an easy, rustic DIY Christmas wreath tutorial for you today. If you are looking to decorate your home with a cozy, rustic cabin Christmas feel, you are in the right place. Wait until you see this DIY rustic deer antlers wreath made with a combination of natural elements such as foraged pinecones, magnolia leaves, and grapevine.

This DIY Christmas wreath is an easy project that requires minimum craft skills and can be made in under one hour. As you gather your supplies, enjoy a crisp autumn day with leaves falling.

So grab a large basket, and let’s go foraging.

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Deer Antlers For Christmas Wreath

I recently purchased this deer skull with antlers while thrifting in Wilmington this summer. I have been gathering deer antlers and reindeer serving pieces for the holidays and thought the antler skull would make an excellent addition to this year’s Christmas decor.

Thrift Store Find - Deer Antlers with skull on a repurposed Chair and vintage book.

I wasn’t exactly sure how I would use the deer antlers, but home with me, it came. I can’t wait for you to see the Christmas wreath I made using my thrift store find.

How to Forage For Supplies?

As I began decorating the farmhouse, a rustic, elegant cabin feel emerged. So, on Sunday afternoon, Brad and I went foraging for supplies.

It was a beautiful day, and the autumn leaves fell like snowflakes.

We gathered a large basket of pinecones and magnolia leaves from around our property. I decided that a Christmas Wreath using natural elements combined with the deer antler skull would be a stylish addition to the dining room.

Foraged natural elements of pinecones and magnolia leaves

If you don’t have a supply at your home, ask neighbors and friends to help. I’ve picked up pinecones along the highway and gathered evergreens as well.

Insider Tip

Before gathering natural elements and bringing foraged materials into your home, I recommend reading –Foraging Safety Guide: Tips for Pinecones, Acorns, Flowers, and More.

How To Make A Christmas Wreath with Deer Antlers, Magnolia Leaves, and Pinecones

Once you finish foraging, you are ready to make your Christmas wreath using deer antlers, magnolia leaves, and pinecones.

Supplies

First, gather all your supplies. You will need several pinecones and a good selection of magnolia leaves.

Insider Tip – Optional Evergreen Ideas

If you don’t have access to magnolia leaves, this rustic wreath will look beautiful made from cedar, pine, or fir. The assembly would be slightly different, but the overall rustic appearance would still be evident.

Use your imagination to create a unique one-of-a-kind wreath this year.

Prepare the foraged materials.

Clean the leaves with a damp paper towel to remove dust or bugs. Then, separate the leaves by size.

Also, clean the pinecones and freeze them for a few hours to kill bugs.

I am recycling last year’s grapevine wreath, so I removed all the old leaves and as much of the hot glue as possible.

Recycled Grapevine wreath with magnolia leaves and pinecones

We had just dismantled last year’s magnolia wreath, so I plan to recycle the grapevine wreath for this year’s project. Can you believe the fresh magnolia wreath lasted almost a full year? I hope this one does, too.

Insider Tip

If you don’t have a grapevine wreath to recycle, look for an ugly one in a thrift store. Usually, the grapevine is perfect for a new project. If the decorations are ugly or damaged, the price is usually cheap.

You can also forage for grapevine. Just pull the vine from the trees and make your wreath.

You want to form a circle the size you need and begin wrapping and intertwining the vine until it is as full as you desire.

How To Assemble Magnolia Leaves and Pinecones

I have tried many methods for adding magnolia leaves and pinecones to wreaths; by far, the easiest is using a hot glue gun. In addition, when you finish the Christmas Wreath, you can easily disassemble it and recycle the grapevine wreath for your next project.

You want to begin with the larger magnolia leaves and add hot glue to the stem. Press the stem between the grapevine around the wreath’s perimeter.

Place the leaves at a slight angle and overlap them as you go around.

Make an Easy Magnolia Flower

Next, make these easy magnolia flowers with the smaller magnolia leaves and pinecones.

Here is a close look at what the magnolia flower will look like.

Add hot glue to the stems of each leaf and assemble the leaves in a circle, like flower petals.

Assemble the magnolia leaves to look like flower petals on the Christmas Wreath.  Using natural elements for a rustic wreath.

Then, add hot glue to the bottom of the pinecone and press it into the center of the magnolia leaves.

Repeat this process, allowing each flower to overlap the previous one until the wreath is filled with the natural elements.

Fill the Deer Antler Wreath with magnolia and pinecone flowers.

How To Hang The Christmas Wreath

Now, you are ready to hang your wreath. You can add the wreath to a door, either inside or outdoors.

I plan to use my Deer Antler Christmas Wreath for a rustic cabin Christmas ambiance over my dining room table.

Because this is a large area, I added a wooden shelving element to the wall and then hung the wreath and deer antlers. This added depth and visual interest to the antler wreath.

Use a wooden element to hang the magnolia, deer antler and pinecone wreath.

The deer antler skull is attached to the wreath’s center with an S hook.

Hang the deer antler skull with an S hook mixed with natural elements.

Hanging Options for the Christmas Wreath

The Christmas wreath and the deer antler skull can hang on the wall with simple command strip hooks. They are less visible than some of the other hanging options.

In addition, the deer antlers can be attached to the grapevine wreath instead of hanging separately. Here are a few options.

  • Tie the antlers to the wreath with twine.
  • Hang the deer antlers on the wreath with an S hook.
  • If you are using antlers without the skull, they can be attached with hot glue.
  • There are many faux antler options available to create a rustic Christmas wreath.

Deer Antler Christmas Wreath with Natural Elements

The combination of natural elements and the deer antlers give this fun Christmas wreath a rustic, cozy cabin feel.

It’s a perfect addition to our monthly Supper Club dinner party theme, “A Cabin Christmas Dinner Party“.

DIY Easy Rustic Christmas Wreath with Deer Antlers, Magnolia, and Pinecones for a natural element wreath.

The Christmas wreath was easy to assemble and took less than one hour. The only expense was the deer antler skull, which was a great deal at the thrift store.

You can add a ribbon to the Christmas Wreath or leave it as is for rustic cabin Christmas decor.

Christmas Wreath hanging on a shiplap wall for a rustic cabin holiday feel, made with natural elements of foraged pinecones & Magnolia

Video

Additional Christmas DIY Projects

Here are a few other Christmas DIY Projects you may enjoy.

Resources

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EASY Rustic DIY Deer Antler Christmas Wreath with Magnolias and Pinecones for a cabin Christmas with natural elements.

Alex

Wednesday 13th of November 2024

I love these! My husband is always bringing home antler sheds and I'm starting to run out of ideas of how to use them. I never would have thought to use them when I make my Christmas wreaths! I'm so excited to start decorating for the holidays now! Thanks for sharing!

Rachel

Wednesday 13th of November 2024

Alex, I'm so glad you like this idea. Thank you for stopping by.