How to Make a DIY Clothespin Sunflower Wreath
This DIY sunflower wreath made with clothespins is a great way to decorate your front door for summer or fall!
It’s been several years since I made my first clothespin wreath, and I’m finally getting around to making a sunflower version!
There are lots of different ways to make clothespin sunflower wreaths, but I really love how mine turned out! Also, you’ll notice that the way I positioned the clothespins is slightly different than my Fourth of July clothespin wreath. You’re welcome to do it either way, but this new version uses a little less clothespins.
And look how cheerful this DIY wreath is! It’s a beautiful wreath for summer and even into the fall.
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What you need to make a sunflower clothespin wreath
- wooden clothespins from the dollar store: you will need a total of 117, I used 3 packs of 54 from Dollar Tree
- wire wreath form: I used a 14″ wire frame from Dollar Tree (plus an extra to help with spray painting the clothespins)
- yellow and brown spray paint: I highly recommend this brand, I used the colors Sweet Mango and Espresso
- disposable gloves for spray painting
- painters tape
- 1.5 inch wired ribbon and a chenille stem for a bow
- faux flowers: I used various sunflower bushes from Michaels (Hobby Lobby and Joann will have similar)
- wire cutters (to cut florals and/or pipe cleaners)
- hot glue gun (and maybe E6000 glue–optional)
- jute twine
What’s the best way to paint clothespins?
Good question! You have three options for painting (or coloring) clothespins:
- hand paint with acrylic paint and a small paint brush
- spray paint
- dye with Rit dye
I avoid option one because…I’m lazy. Also, the finish doesn’t turn out as smooth with acrylic paints (the clothespins tend to be kind of dull which I don’t like as much).
I’ve honestly never tried option number three because it seems like a lot of work with more mess/cleanup involved. But…I should probably give it a chance since I could dye ALL my clothespins at once. Hmm. I worry that the color won’t be quite right or strong enough, though.
Which is why I ultimately always choose the second option, to spray paint. I find it the easiest and I know I can count on a good quality finish (I especially have good luck with this spray paint). Keep reading for my favorite way to spray paint clothespins.
How to make a clothespin sunflower wreath
If you want to follow along as I make this summer wreath, you can watch this video tutorial. Or you can read the same written instructions below.
Step 1: Paint clothespins
First, spray paint all 117 clothespins yellow.
My favorite way to spray paint clothespins is to use a spare wreath form* and just hold it while spraying, rotating it with one hand while spraying with the other. (You’ll probably want to do this outside like I did, and wearing gloves is a great idea.)
Clip the clothespins onto the outer two rings of the wreath form, leaving a little bit of space in between. Do light coats and make sure you get all areas of the clothespins, including the tops. I did 2-3 coats on each (let them dry in between).
To dry, I hung the wreath form from a clothing rack that I have in my super messy basement (I’ve basically claimed our unfinished basement as my overflow craft storage).
*To go faster, you can also use the actual wreath form you’ll be using, too. That way you can have two going at once (we’ll be painting it in a second anyway).
Once you’re finished painting all the clothespins yellow, separate out 39 that will have brown tips. Using painters tape, carefully tape off the bottom of the yellow clothespins underneath the groove where the wire sits so only the top is exposed.
Clip the taped clothespins to a wire wreath frame and spray paint them brown. I used an egg carton to hold my painted clothespins while drying.
Once dry, you can remove the tape, but do so carefully. Even though I was using a gentle painters tape, some of the yellow spray paint peeled up with the tape. No worries, though, I was usually able to use the good side on the front of the wreath. Or you can also put imperfect clothespins to the back or even under your flower decorations if you need to hide anything.
Step 1.5: Spray paint wreath form
I really should’ve made this its own step, but I’m trying to stay consistent with the steps in the video, so…here we are. And even though I say this is optional, I highly recommend spray painting your wreath form so it blends in perfectly with your clothespins. Otherwise, depending on the color of your wall or door, you may see the wires.
I first spray painted the entire wreath form yellow. Then, I cut a circle out of some butcher paper and laid it over my wreath form to paint just the inner circle (and a little bit of the connecting rings) brown (where the brown tips of the clothespins will sit).
Step 2: Assemble wreath
This Dollar Tree wreath form can be split into six sections with the little supporting wires, so I like to start assembling right up against one of those.
Take a brown-tipped clothespin and place it on the inner two rings, so the wires rest naturally in the holes of the clothespin. Place a yellow clothespin on the outermost ring, right behind the first clothespin. Take another yellow one and place it on the two middle rings.
Repeat this process all the way around until the wreath form is full.
This is what your wreath should look like now. If you position your clothespins exactly like mine, every other section will have either 20 or 19 clothespins.
Step 3: Glue clothespins
If you want to add some extra stability, you can hot glue the clothespins at the back of the wreath. Since they’re only on one ring, they like to flip around. So I put a dab of hot glue on the clothespin underneath, gluing down the tip of the floppy clothespin.
Hot glue is okay for this, but not great. I had some clothespins still pop off after the glue dried (and more as I took final pictures and video). Instead of hot glue, I’d probably recommend using E6000 glue instead (especially if your wreath will be displayed in the sun). I’m just impatient and didn’t want to wait overnight for that to dry. It’s up to you what glue you use (if you even want to do this step).
Step 4: Make a wreath hanger
For a wreath hanger, I simply tied a piece of twine around the outer ring of the wreath form and tied a knot. You can make the loop however big you need.
Step 5: Make a wired bow
This is my Long-Tailed Wired Bow. You can find a step-by-step tutorial for it HERE.
For this bow, I made 4.5 inch short tails, 9 inch loops, and 12 inch long tails. I later second guessed myself and wondered if the long tails looked funny (and ultimately did trim them shorter), so you could just make all the tails short if you prefer.
Once you’ve made your bow, you can attach it to the wreath by wrapping it around the wire frame and twisting in place a few times to secure it really well. Trim the ends of the chenille stem and tuck in the ends so you don’t have any sharp pieces.
Step 6: Add faux florals
I used two large faux sunflowers, some leaves, greenery, and a few sprigs of white daisies. I positioned everything around the bow, then hot glued it down once I was happy with how it looked.
And you’re done! How easy is that?! So bright and sunny, and the perfect pop of color for my front door!
DIY Clothespin Sunflower Wreath
I hope you love your new sunflower wreath! This easy project is the perfect Dollar Tree craft for summer or fall!