Cotton stems are a staple in our studio because we make a lot of farmhouse style wreaths. They are beautiful and add a touch of rustic charm to farmhouse decor, but cotton stems can definitely get a little pricey.

We are always looking for ways to save money so we played around and figured out a way to make DIY Cotton Stems using just a few inexpensive items that you can find at Dollar Tree or your local craft store. We are going to show you how easy it is to make cotton stems yourself.

HERE IS WHAT YOU WILL NEED TO MAKE DIY COTTON STEMS:

• Cotton Balls
• Potpourri
• Paper Wire Stems (You can actually use tree branches if you want an even more rustic look)
• Glue/Glue Gun

Watch Our How to Make Cotton Stems Video

STEP ONE: The first thing you will do to make these DIY cotton stems is take THREE of your cotton balls and glue them together using a hot glue gun. This will make one nice large cotton boll.

STEP TWO: You glue the large cotton ball to the covered wire stem (if you are using branches you will glue to the end of a branch.) Be sure that the cotton is glued securely onto the wire stem.

STEP THREE: After you have your cotton balls glued to your stem, open the bag of potpourri and find all of the dried nut “hulls” or shells. These will serve as the “boll” of your cotton stem and they really give it a realistic quality.

STEP FOUR: Then, pick out three hulls and glue them into the points of where the cotton balls meet together, near the stem.

STEP FIVE: Repeat this process until you have as many stems as you want. You can bunch three cotton stems and twist the wire stem together to look like a little “bunch” of cotton.

There ya go! These super simple DIY cotton stems are perfect to add to your farmhouse decor and they are so much cheaper than buying in a store.

We added a few stems of lambs ear in with our DIY cotton stems and put it in a painted mason jar. It made a cute farmhouse style accent and I just love the way the cotton stems turned out!

And, here are the DIY cotton stems mixed in with a farmhouse style lavender arrangement that we made. I am loving this look so much!

Leave us a comment and let us know what you think about this DIY Cotton Stem idea! If you would like to know more about wreath making, join our Design With The Pros Club.

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