Pine Cone Wreath (AKA Craft Fail)

As I entered my third year in my apartment and realized that I am really starting to put down roots in DC, I began feeling really nostalgic for the Northeast. Sometimes the nostalgia was almost painful in a way I have never experienced before. I asked my mom to collect some pine cones from our home in Pennsylvania (AKA "The Farm") during her last visit and collect she did!

This huge box of pine cones traveled from Pennsylvania to Tennessee (where a few more large ones were added) to DC.

I incorporated the pine cones into my winter decorating and hardly made a dent in the box. In true Harriet fashion, I went to Pinterest to find some inspiration to knock out a few more pine cones and decided on a wreath for my back door.

hgtv.com provided an easy step-by-step guide to making a pine cone wreath and I used it as my starting point. An order from Hobby Lobby later (oh, the pains of living in a city with no craft store and no car) I was all set!

I chose to leave my pine cones au natural and was really, really excited when I hung it on my back door:

This lasted about three days or so and then a couple pine cones fell off. No big deal, I thought, I must have skimped on the hot glue and the swinging of the door rattled them loose.

I came back from spending Christmas at my lovely boyfriend's parents' house to several more downed pine cones.

Fail. This is what I've got now:

I am trying to figure out why the hot glue did not hold and am still planning on putting it back together. If nothing else, next year it will be an indoor wreath.

Winter Decorations

I love decorating and have been working very hard to make my apartment a home since I moved in two years ago. I rented this apartment on a whim and while I was distracted by the parts about it that I didn't like, my caring boyfriend pointed out the space and potential. This place is far from perfect but I am so glad that he saw past the ugly cabinets, berber carpet and corner-cutting upgrades and supported me in my decision to take the risk in renting it.

My favorite features of my home is my fireplace. I can't use it (unfortunately) but since it is such a focal point I have been able to enjoy decorating it!

This winter's fireplace is my favorite decorating effort:

I absolutely love the way it turned out!