Tobacco Basket Christmas Decor

Easy DIY tobacco basket Christmas decor. Decorate a tobacco basket for Christmas and turn it into wonderful wall decor. With these step-by-step DIY instructions, you can make a tobacco basket wreath in no time. I show you two versions for the tobacco basket wreath that are perfect for fall, Christmas and winter.

I was home alone this weekend.

Blissfully alone, just me, myself, and two cats.

My guy had packed up his guitars and was gone to play at a friend’s house, leaving me and my introvert self to enjoy the silence and the prospect of binge-watching some series with lots of chocolate and maybe some wine.

I had all this time to myself.

Glorious empty time, in a quiet house that actually wasn’t in total chaos for a change.

And then it happened. I started staring at the fall decorations. Those same fall decorations I had been in love with just the other week.

Those fall decorations no longer impressed me. All that burlap and pinecones and wheat just didn’t seem to fit anymore.

And that is when the quiet ended, the chaos set in, and the cats fled to the attic.

I wanted some Christmas decor, even though it is technically and practically still fall

So I decided to make some late fall – early Christmas decor that I can transform in true Christmas decor later.

I tobacco wreath wall decoration was what I came up with.

Here is the first decorating early for Christmas version:

I have always loved the look of those vintage tobacco baskets, and I dream of owning one. But they do not exist here in the lowlands. I do, however, own one very cheap IKEA basket that has a bit of a tobacco basket vibe going. So I went for that. (I actually took it straight from my bathroom wall, where it was part of my faux concrete wall decor).

I rummaged through my craft supplies for inspiration (causing chaos in my craft room); I ransacked the garage for my florist supplies (leaving chaos in the garage as a result), and I dumped it all on my living room table (turning it into a big heap of mess). 

Yep, the peace and quiet were over because creative inspiration had moved in.

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How to Make Tobacco Basket Christmas Decor

Step 1. Find a tobacco basket (or alternative)

I have been eyeing tobacco baskets for some time now. I love that open weave, the rustic, farmhouse feel, and the way that they look awesome as part of a centerpiece as well as when used as wall decor. 

Real vintage tobacco baskets can get very expensive (or so I hear), but craft stores carry nice knock-offs like this one from Michaels in brown, and I also like this white tobacco basket … and you can get two for the price of one at Walmart.

Etsy is also a good place to find a tobacco basket like this set of three handmade tobacco baskets, or this vintage-looking extra-large tobacco basket.

And if you feel up for it, you can create one yourself. I really like this tutorial for homemade tobacco basket knockoff.

If all of that is too difficult or still too expensive, then you can do, as I did. Use a simple round basket that has a bit of a tobacco basket look. My basket came from IKEA, I am not sure whether they still carry these, but I found a similar round basket on Amazon with a slightly tighter weave.

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Step 2. Prepare you Basket for Use in Flower Arranging

This is the only technical step in making tobacco basket decor; you have to make sure your flower arrangement is firmly attached to the basket so it won’t fall off. I simply wrapped some floral wire around a small block of floral foam (some styrofoam would work too) and secured the wire at the back. 

Step 3. Turn Your Tobacco Basket Into Beautiful Wall Decor

That’s it. The fun can begin. Let’s start making the tobacco basket wall hanging with flowers. Once you get the base set, it is all easy assemble after that.

To make the floral piece in your wreath, simply start adding greenery and flowers. I went for all faux and fake because this Christmas wreath has to last all season, and that means staying fresh and good-looking for weeks to come.

Alternatively, you could use hot glue. But that does make it more difficult to change things up when you decide you don’t like something.

Or to move this early Christmas wreath with a fall vibe into proper Christmas decor with winter vibes.

You can see me in action making this wreath in the video I have added below. Or keep reading for the written step-by-step.

In the video you can even see how I swapped out some white-washed pinecones for brown ones because I didn’t like the way the wreath was developing.

I first added greenery to set the outline and determine how big I wanted my flower arrangement inside the basket to be.

Next I added roses and pinecones to give the flower arrangement some volume and determine where I wanted the focal point to be.

Can you believe that that little twig of pinecones and needles is faux? I know! Don’t those fake greeneries look so much more real these days?

Tips for Making a Tobacco Basket Wreath

Construct Your Tobacco Wreath Vertically

Normally I make my wreaths while they are lying down. With this tobacco wreath, I quickly changed that and hung it, and worked from it there.

This way I could see exactly how everything would look in real life, and I could double-check that nothing was too top-heavy and would fall down once gravity hit it.

This is especially important if you plan to use it as a front door wreath because the impact of opening and closing the door and the additional risk of wind and rain in outdoor use make your basket wreath more vulnerable. 

How to hang a tobacco basket

Usually, I like to hang wreaths (especially when used as a door wreath) with ribbon. But because of the curved edge of the basket, this didn’t look so good. I quickly found out that the easiest way to hang a Christmas basket wreath is using the open weave of the material.

Simply use a small nail or hook and hang the basket on that. The basket itself is very lightweight, and if you don’t use any heavy flower decorations, the whole thing can easily be supported by a small nail.  

Hammer in that nail in slightly above the center of the wreath, there where the wreath touches the wall. That way the rounded tobacco basket will hang straight.

Use a twig of leaf in your arrangement to hide the nail.

How to Quickly Change Tobacco Basket Christmas Decor into a New Style

The basic design of this wreath is so versatile. With a nice mix of faux evergreen foliage, you can easily swap out the decorations that make it seasonal. 

A few weeks after I made the first version of the tobacco Christmas wreath in browns and golds, I turned it into this white and silver Christmas wreath.

This light and whiter version of my tobacco basket Christmas decor fit in better with my Christmas decorations I kept adding to my room.

As you can see I basically took out some of the elements (the copper leaves and some of the gold decorations) and added in white painted pinecones and more stems of evergreen pine.

I loved this white Christmas look of my tobacco basket wreath so much that I left it up in January for my winter decorating.

A tobacco basket wreath is simply a super easy-to-use accessory in your farmhouse decor. But it fits in with any style really because I think it would work beautifully in a boho style home or coastal beach house too.

6 STUNNING DIY CHRISTMAS WREATH IDEAS

If you love a wreath or two as much as I do. You will love these ideas for creative Christmas wreaths my blog friends made. Check out these awesome ideas for a DIY Christmas wreath.

DIY Macrame Christmas Wreath Idea by HARBOUR BREEZE

Three Wreaths Christmas Wall Decor made by SOUTHERN HOME AND HOSPITALITY

Pastel Ornaments Christmas Wreath by OUR CRAFTY MOM

Simple Christmas Wreath with Vintage Ornaments by SONYA BURGESS

Front Door Christmas Wreath by A Loverly Life

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