Dried Orange Wreath with Cinnamon: The Perfect Winter Wreath

If you’re looking for winter wreath inspiration, here’s an idea you’ll love! This dried orange wreath project was inspired by an orange and cinnamon wreath that I saw on Pinterest. I loved that the orange and cinnamon would make this wreath so fragrant, in addition to being beautiful to look at. 

While I designed this wreath to last all winter, I think it works pretty well as a fall wreath too. I didn’t wait until winter to display it in my home – it’s already hanging on my front door! 

As a sweet side note, while I was making this wreath, my two-year-old daughter was my biggest cheerleader. She cried, “You make that yourself? Good job, Mama!” Lately she’s been very enthusiastic about praising any food or crafts that she sees me make!

Dried Orange Wreath: Drying Out the Oranges

Drying out the oranges for this wreath was a process. It takes a few hours of drying them at a low temperature in your oven. I followed a separate tutorial, which is linked in the directions below. 

I found that the thin slices tended to get holes in the middle when they dried. Slightly thicker slices turned out better, but they took longer to dry.

I used maybe four oranges total, and only about half of mine were usable. I definitely recommend doing a test orange before you cut up a whole bunch of oranges. This will help you see what works best!

Once dried, the orange slices last for a few years. Just don’t store them in an airtight container – they need to breathe!

Dried Orange Wreath: Making the Wreath

I thought about gluing pieces of wire to the oranges and cinnamon to hold them in place. This would work if you wanted to reuse the wreath after winter is through. 

But in the end, I chose to hot glue everything directly onto the wreath. This was a lot quicker, plus I plan on using this wreath for as long as possible. If I do need to remove things, I can always peel off the hot glue.

Supplies

• 1-2 large oranges
• 6 cinnamon sticks
• Grapevine wreath
• Ribbon
• Hot glue gun
• Hot glue sticks
• Faux greenery stems
• Wire cutters

Directions

1. The first step for this project was to dry out the orange slices. I used this dried orange slices tutorial to get perfect dried oranges. They can last up to a few years once dried, but you need to store them in open air, rather than seal them in an airtight container.
2. You’ll also want to create a pretty bow for your wreath. I followed this Christmas bow tutorial to create a perfect bow.
3. Heat up a hot glue gun. Once ready, glue a pair of two cinnamon sticks together. I did a thin line of glue along the length of one cinnamon stick and then pressed them together until the glue dried. Repeat on all of your cinnamon sticks so you have three pairs of two.
4. Lay out your grapevine wreath and carefully arrange your oranges, cinnamon, and bow until you are satisfied with the results. I used twelve orange slices and six cinnamon sticks, but you can use more or less depending on how closely you are following my design.
5. Carefully hot glue each item in place on the wreath. Press and hold each piece while the glue dries. 
6. Using wire cutters, cut your greenery stems into smaller pieces. Then stick them into your grapevine wreath. I faced all of the stems in one direction around the outer perimeter and then the opposite direction along the inner perimeter. You can glue these in place if you like, but I just stuck the stems in really firmly and they held in place.
7. Hang your fragrant wreath and enjoy!

Dried Orange Wreath: Show Me Your Projects

If you recreate this dried orange wreath, I’d love to see pictures! Tag @LaurenMagazine when you post your wreath on Instagram.

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