Christmas decorating ideas: pinecones may be used to create inexpensive but elegant decorations for your home at Christmas. Here are some ideas.
Using pinecones to decorate your home during the holidays is a beautiful way to welcome guests. Nature produces cones with unique beauty that may be used for various adornments throughout your home. One of the most beautiful and versatile of all plant materials, pinecones can be scented, painted or varnished and used or creating crafts, floral designs, decorations, and wreaths. They can be used inside or outside, alone or in combination with bows, fruits, and/or vegetables,
For a fun family outing with the kids, go out in search of pinecones. Then, after bringing them home, it is best to clean them well to remove all the bugs and dirt that they have collected. Conditioning them in the oven can do this. You don't have to do it, but heating them first melts the sap and as a result adds a nice glaze to the pinecones. Also, pinecones that are not opened will open in the heat. However, if you use them to decorate outside your home, and your climate is humid or wet, the cones may close again. Use an old cookie sheet or cover a sheet with foil. Place the pinecones on it and put it in oven. Bake them at about 200 ° until the sap is melted and the pinecones are open. Test first with one pinecone to get the right temperature. As an added bonus, your house will smell wonderful!
One very pretty way to use pinecones to decorate with is to use them as a centerpiece for a table. You can simply scatter them on your table for your holiday dinner. Spray paint them with a variety of colors, such as white, glitter, or gold and place them in a basket, bowl, or pie pan, alternating them in layers with a small 35 or 50 Christmas light strand. Lay fresh pine branches into the container to make a nest for the cones. Add some Christmas ribbon (make bows or crinkle some wired ribbon all around) and then nest the pinecones in the center. Add colorful candies around the edges, or small Christmas ornaments if the basket has a handle, tie a bow on it. If not, tie one around it's circumference. You may want to add a special touch by painting several of the pinecone tips with a glitter fabric paint pen.
They may also be used to make many variations of Christmas tree ornaments. One simple way to do this is to tie or glue gold thread around them and hang them upon the tree. Glue gold ribbon to top of cone for hanger. Glue ribbon roses and greenery in circle around top of cone. An angel ornament may be made by using a glue gun to glue a hazelnut to the stem end of a pinecone for the head. Glue 2 silk leaves just below the hazelnut as wings. Then, glue a ribbon hanger loop to the back of the cone and spray paints the entire piece gold.
Pinecones may be used to make beautiful wreaths as well. Purchase a wire wreath from a craft store. Carefully push the cones in between the wires, filling in the holes with smaller pinecones, nuts, berries, ribbons, small ornaments, etc. If some of the cones are to wide to fit between the wires you can soak them in water and they will close up. Then you can shove them between the wires and when they are dry they will open up again.
There are numerous ways than pinecones may be used to shine forth in your home during the holiday season. However, as you decorate, don't forget the tiny birds outside who might enjoy one of your pinecones as well. Coat them in peanut butter, and roll them in birdseed. Hang them from your patio, porch or tree, and watch the little backyard visitors that will come and feast. Enjoy!
