Pinecone crafts?

[AAK]

Need ideas to use pinecones?

[weliveintheforest]

paint with glue and then sprinkle glitter on for an ornament, make a wreath

[NiteNicole]

Someone gave my grandmother some that had been dipped in wax and scented. They were so nice! I have no idea how they did it, but they were a big hit as a gift.

[prescottchels]

In 6th grade we made a fir cone wreath/candle holder center piece thingy. It was pretty neat!
Cut a piece of cardboard or plywood or similar into an 8-12" square, cover w/felt or fabric, secure w/glue or tacks
On the top hotglue fir cones to board in a circle, maybe a 2 high or 3-4 if you do a base of 2 cones all the way around. In the center of the circle place a chunky pillar candle

Could work w/pine cones too, but they're generally fatter than fir cones so the whole thing might have to be bigger.

Also like to make bird feeders w/big pine cones that are real open between the layers. you can make a mixture of suet and peanut butter or just one or the other-fill the layers of the cone w/whatever works: butter knife, fingers, spoon... and then roll the whole thing in bird seed, tie a sturdy string to the top and hang from a tree branch or house eve. It's VERY messy, but so worth it!

ETA: they're great fire starters too if you have a wood stove or fireplace

[luv-my-boys]

Originally Posted by NiteNicole

Someone gave my grandmother some that had been dipped in wax and scented. They were so nice! I have no idea how they did it, but they were a big hit as a gift.

I made some last yr. There are several wonderful coniferous trees in our neighborhood with different types of cones. What I did was I bought a block of scented wax (I bought online at a candle making store) I melted it down per the instructions (tip: if you dont do candle making a lot shop around at thrift stores for pots to use for it so you dont ruin or have to clean up after for $3 I basically threw the pot away than have to scrap the bits of candle off of it) I used a pair of kitchen tongs and several layers of newspaper with a final layer of parchment on top on my dining room table. I basically dipped and placed on the parchment paper to dry and let them sit overnight. I then wrapped in those clear cello bags (dollar store!) They were neighbor/teacher/secret santa gifts and were well received. They would also be great to add to wreaths for a little scent here and there. I placed several around our home and they were wonderful...yummm apple cider!

[luv-my-boys]

Things we do with our supply of pinecones:

pinecone owls (wiggly eyes,feathers,paper wings)
pinecone turkeys (same as owl but with the turkey feathers at back)
pinecone bird feeders
pinecone "christmas tree" pinecone painted green and added embellishments for "ornaments"

[AAK]

Wow, thanks for all the ideas. I don't really know what kind of tree these cones came off of, I have a variety of shapes/sizes that I collected long ago. Now, dh is like "we've had these for about 8 years now. . .can I throw them out yet?"

Now, I will just use them!

Amy

[mamababamba]

with our smaller redwood cones, ds and I dipped them in gesso mixed with watercolors in different pastels and they became our easter eggs...

[FrodoLives!]

My brother has a fireplace, and I'd like to send him some of those homemade scented cones that burn different colors. Does anyone know how to make them?

A couple of variations on the dipped-in-glue-and-glitter cones: bleach them first, with hydrogen peroxide. Then paint the edges of the "petals" with glue and dip in "crystal" glitter. Coating them with gesso might be pretty too, but a different effect. Another variation is to use spices instead of or mixed with your glitter. We made them dipped in cinnamon, ginger, allspice and cloves. We tied them with red ribbon and hung them for scented Yule ornaments on the tree!

I love to go scavenging after an early December ice storm - not only to I get pine cones, but lots and lots of naturally fallen fresh greens for wreathes and garlands!

[anjasma]

I also love fir and pine cones in their natural state. We are working on some garland for our tree this year incorporating cones and shells we find at the beach and some scrap fabric.

[busymama77]

Originally Posted by weliveintheforest

paint with glue and then sprinkle glitter on for an ornament, make a wreath

This is what I have in mind for DS to make as Christmas presents this year.

[NiteNicole]

I have some teeny ones in my yard and my mom has all different kinds and sizes so I'm going to gather up as many as I can. I'm going to paint some, glitter some, and leave some natural and then use them in center pieces and garlands. I just kind of love pinecones.

[igglebah]

Great ideas!! i love the waxed cone idea. we do bird feeders every year ad the kids love it.

[AAK]

Originally Posted by NiteNicole

Someone gave my grandmother some that had been dipped in wax and scented. They were so nice! I have no idea how they did it, but they were a big hit as a gift.

Are these meant to be burnt?

Amy