As the fall weather gently moves the warm days of summer to the shorter days and cooler temperatures of fall and winter I'm noticing the green leafs slowly turning bronze and I'm looking forward to the next season as eventually the scene will become those beautiful colors of fall. The pines are dropping their cones and its time to start creating fall decor.
Besides acorns I enjoy creating crafts with the abundance of pine cones available beneath all the handsome pines. But, before I can bring them inside as a decoration I rid them of all the wigglies, bugs, dirt and wax. There are several ways to do that and one of them is to layer them on a cookie sheet and place them in the oven at 250 degrees for about 30 minutes (please keep an eye on them and be sure to remove the upper rack- lets not start a fire). Another option is to fill up a 5-gallon bucket with HOT water about 1/2 way full. Then add 2 cups of vinegar making a 1 cup vinegar to 1 gallon water solution. Vinegar will disinfect, kill any bugs that are living inside the pine cones, and get rid of the sap residue.
collection of unbleached pine cones
To bleach the pine cones use a solution of bleach and water with a ratio of 2 parts bleach to 1 part water. Soak the pine cones in the bleach solution for 24 hours (it make take longer). You could use a 5 gallon bucket or for smaller batches, a large bowl could work. To keep them submerged place a brick (5 gallon sized bucket) or large plate on top to the pine cones to keep them under the bleach and water solution. Once they dry (either by placing them back into the oven at about 250 degrees for 30 minutes to a hour) they will open back up. They will also open up if left in the sun to dry for about 24 hours.
How to Preserve Pine Cones for Crafts and Decor
Once the pine cones have dried completely, you will want to spray them with a clear acrylic spray to preserve them for crafts and decorating. There are several brands that make clear acrylic spray like Krylon, Rustoleum, and Mod Podge to name a few, but you can use whatever you have on hand.
The acrylic spray helps keep the pine cones from becoming brittle and breaking up easily (which will eventally happen anyway especially if they are used in an outdoor decoration). But spraying them with a clear coat helps keep them for at least a few seasons.
Now you have bleached pine cones to use for fall and winter decor. Options would be to fill crystal glass or wooden bowls, glue a ribbon to the bleached pine cone and hang on the mantel or a Christmas tree. Spray with adhesive and sprinkle with glitter to make a very festive pine cone decoration. Share with friends and pass on this how to with others or invite someone to create decoration with you. Thank for stopping by and Happy Life!