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We are, in essence, surrounded.Īnd where there are pine trees - you guessed it - there are pine cones. Every single window in my home gives way to a Douglas or a Norway Fir. Now, they are an enormous part of my everyday life. Before moving to Eastern Oregon, I never lived among conifers. There's no end to the magic of pinecone decorating and crafts.I live in a place called Pine Valley in a house called Pine Cottage. Use your imagination and come up with your pinecone ideas. You can also dip them in wax to make great fire starters. You can create cones that burn in colors by soaking them in various salts. The greener the cones are, the more noise they make, so dry them thoroughly if you don't like the crackling. You'll find other pinecone crafts for kids online, including making miniature Christmas trees and Rudolph reindeer figures.Īdd pinecones to your home or outdoor fireplace or wood stove and listen to the pops and crackles. Add a pipe cleaner as a hanger to hang them in trees to attract winter birds. Have them dab peanut butter on the tips of the cones and roll the cones in birdseed. Another great activity for the kids is feeding the wild birds. If you put up a snow scene in your home, have them create small Christmas trees for the display. You can also glue the little ones on a picture frame or mirror for a unique gift.Ĭhildren love to paint pinecones and add glitter, but many other kids' craft projects involve pinecones. Paint them, use them in their natural state or do some of each. Add cones to wooden napkin rings using a glue gun. Place a fat candle into a clear glass bowl or jar and add small cones between the candle and the outer glass. Miniature cones can be as small as ½ inches long and are great to use in candle displays. Add them to holiday flower arrangements, too. Add ornament hooks and hang them on the tree, fresh wreath, or any other greenery you have displayed in the house. You can use white glue to add glitter, sequins, or mini poms to the outer tips. Use them as they are or spray paint them in white, silver, or gold. If you put up a Christmas tree, decorating a fir tree with pinecones couldn't be more natural. For the holidays, use a glue gun to assemble cones on a wooden or wire wreath base, add some ribbon, a bow, or other holiday trim for the perfect door wreath. If you want a terrific hostess gift, a basket of cones with a big bow would be appreciated by anyone. For a floor display, get a tall clear glass vase and fill it with pinecones. Combining an attractive basket or artistic ceramic or glass bowl with pinecones on the mantel or a hall table is a great decorating idea. The largest cones can decorate a shelf all by themselves. They come in various sizes and are a wonderful symbol of fall but can be enjoyed throughout the year.
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You can use beautiful cones for home decorating and crafts.Ī pretty bowl or basket full of cones makes a nice Thanksgiving table centerpiece. You see cones everywhere at this time of year because many tend to come down with fall winds. When the female cones open in the spring, they disperse the seeds needed for new trees. The male version is smaller and makes pollen that pollenate the more prominent female cones. Some trees have male pinecones, some female, but most have both. Conifer means cone-bearing, and the tree category includes cedars, firs, cypresses, and redwoods. Pinecones are the reproductive organs of pine or conifer trees. Everyone knows what a pinecone looks like, but you may not know much about them.