Cones are an excellent material from which you can make a variety of crafts. In addition, they have a refined, pleasant aroma of pine needles. Of course, initially such material does not look very attractive. However, if you use your imagination, you can make original decorations for the holiday from pine cones. In this case, no special costs are required. Almost anyone can make something out of pine cones. How to do this?

Preparation of material

Pine cone decor always looks unusual and beautiful. The main thing is to know how to properly prepare material for crafts. Cones that fall from the tree while still closed gradually open over time. At the same time, pine ones look like small fir trees, and spruce ones look like ruffled hedgehogs. Of course, initially the decor made from pine cones looks unusual. However, over time, the crafts begin to deform. To avoid this, when processing materials you should adhere to certain rules:

1. To avoid the buds from opening even when the room temperature changes, you should lower them for 30 seconds in
2. To make the cones open faster, it is recommended to boil them for half an hour and then dry them on a radiator. The material can also be roasted in the oven at 250 °C for 2 hours. These methods allow you not only to achieve the desired result, but also to kill all bacteria. The material after processing will be safe and clean.
3. To make the pine cone decor beautiful, you can adjust the shape of the material. It is enough to soak the raw materials for the craft in water, and then tie it in the right place with a string and dry it.
4. To make the material lighter, you can bleach it. To do this, it is recommended to soak the cones in a container with bleach for 5 hours. In this case, it is necessary to observe proportions. Use one part bleach to one part water. Finally, the cones must be thoroughly washed and dried.

What decor can you make from pine cones?

Fir and pine cones are natural materials that are easy to work with. To make decor from such raw materials, it is enough to walk through the forest once and collect the required amount of material. After careful preparation, you can make original and beautiful things from pine cones. At the same time, you can save on purchasing expensive New Year's decorations for the room and for the Christmas tree.

It is worth noting that many interesting decorative elements can be made from such material. These can be miniature Christmas trees, Christmas tree decorations, a wreath for candles or entrance doors, and so on. Almost anything can be made from this material. All you have to do is use your imagination.

How to make a Christmas tree

Let's conduct a small master class. Small and original Christmas trees can be made from cones. To make this decor you need:

1. Cones.
2. Glue gun.
3. Scissors.
4. Spray cans with gold or silver paint.
5. Circle and cone made of cardboard. It is better to use brown or green material.

Manufacturing stages

So, how to make decor from pine cones? First you need to select and prepare the material. It is better to take the cones that have already been opened. The material should be cleared of debris, rinsed well and dried.

After this, the cones must be covered with an even layer of paint. This will give the material a more festive look. If you wish, you don’t have to do this if you want to maintain naturalness. If the cones have been painted, they should be dried thoroughly.

You need to glue a circle to the cone. Moving in a circle, the prepared cones should be fixed on the surface of the structure. You should start with the largest ones, gradually reducing the size of the material. The cones should fit tightly to each other. The extraordinary Christmas tree is ready. If desired, you can decorate it. An unusual decor made of pine cones can give the interior a more festive look.

Party Ball

Crafts made from pine cones for the New Year can replace even the most non-standard things. For example, many have seen glowing balls hanging from the ceiling at large parties. A similar interior element can be made from pine cones. To create such a craft you will need:

1. Balloon.
2. Toilet paper.
3. PVA glue.
4. Brown paint.
5. Cones.
6. Ribbon.

Making a blank for the ball

Such crafts from pine cones for the New Year can be made in several ways. First you need to make a preparation. You can buy it ready-made, or you can make it yourself. The last option is more interesting. You should take a balloon and inflate it to the required size. Now it’s worth pasting it over. To do this, the ball must be wrapped in toilet paper, previously soaked in a solution of PVA glue. It can also be made at home. To do this, mix 1 part PVA glue and 2 parts water. The ball, covered with more than one layer of toilet paper, should be left to dry for 24 hours.

Making a ball

When the workpiece is ready, all that remains is to glue the carefully prepared cones to it. However, there is no need to rush. The cones should be located tightly to each other. You need to glue a satin ribbon on top. The craft is ready. You can hang it from the ceiling or on a chandelier.

If desired, you can stick a stick into such a ball, placing its other end in the pot. The result will be a kind of topiary.

Wreath of pine cones

You can also make an extraordinary decoration from it. Most often they are used to create a New Year's wreath. Traditionally, such a product is woven from spruce branches. However, recently wreaths began to be made from satin ribbons and New Year's tinsel, decorating it all with balls and paper flowers. If desired, you can create it from cones. To work you will need:

1. Stapler.
2. Scotch.
3. Newspapers.
4. Fir cones.
5. Spray paint, preferably brown.
6. Scissors.
7. Glue gun.
8. Beads, ribbons, spruce branches, etc.

Let's get started

First of all, you need to make the base of the future wreath. If you don’t have time, you can purchase a ready-made one in a specialized store. If this is not possible, then the bases for the wreath should be made yourself. It will cost much less. The newspaper must be rolled into a long tube and then rolled into a donut. The edges of the material can be fastened using a stapler. It is recommended to additionally wrap such a blank with cut newspaper and then with tape. This will prevent the finished product from becoming deformed.

To hide the base material, cover the workpiece with an even layer of paint. After the coating has completely dried, you can glue the cones, filling the entire space with them. Finally, the wreath should be beautifully decorated using satin ribbons, beads and twigs. It is recommended to varnish the finished wreath to preserve it for a long time.

Star made of cones

This New Year's decor made from pine cones can be an excellent decoration for a Christmas tree. The process of making such a star is quite simple. To work you will need:

1. Ribbons.
2. Metal skewers or strong wire.
3. Fir cones of various sizes.

How to do it

You need to make 5 skewers of equal length from the wire. They should be connected by bending them in the center. This will be the basis for the five-pointed star. It is necessary to string cones onto the wire, assembling an original composition. One of the twigs should be bent and tied with a satin ribbon. This will allow you to hang the finished craft near the fireplace, on the wall or on the doors. Such a star can be attached to the top of the New Year's tree.

Christmas decorations

If you wish, you can make an original decoration from cones with your own hands for the New Year tree. The products are quite simple to manufacture, durable and beautiful. How can you turn a simple bump into a work of art?

The easiest option is to use old small soft toys. To begin with, you should paint the prepared pine cone in the appropriate color, and then attach the toy’s head to it. You can also add a tail, paws and wings. The result is an original Christmas tree toy.

There is an even simpler way to make such crafts. First, you should paint the cones in the desired color or cover them with glitter. Finally, you need to attach a neat bow made of satin ribbon or several pine branches, as well as a string, to the toy. The craft is ready, all you have to do is hang it on the Christmas tree.

Using felt and felt, you can create original fairy-tale characters from ordinary pine cones. The most important thing is to firmly glue all the parts together. Otherwise, the toy will begin to crumble over time.

To make Christmas tree decorations, you can use not only cones, but also their scales. Before starting work, they should be carefully separated from the base. To make a toy, you need a blank. It can be made in the form of an animal figure. In this case, foam rubber and papier-mâché can be used to make the blank. You should carefully glue the scales of cones to the surface of such a base, and then decorate everything with sparkles, creating a snowy effect.

Working with children

Cones are an excellent natural material that can be used for activities with children. However, in this case it is not worth using glue to fasten the parts. Usually plasticine is used for classes. It is worth noting that children really like the process of making figurines. In addition, creating crafts allows you to develop hand motor skills, as well as influence the mental development of the child. Before starting classes, you should familiarize yourself with several rules:

1. The cones must be well dried.
2. The variety of sizes and shapes of the material allows you to develop your child’s imagination.
3. Small parts of the figures can be made from plasticine and other suitable materials.
4. If the child is no more than 3 years old, then crafts can be made from only one cone. For older children, you can come up with several compositions.

Chanterelle made of cones

To make a chanterelle with your children, you will need:

1. Plasticine in white, orange and black.
2. Cones of various shapes and sizes.

To begin with, you should choose a material that will be suitable for making the body, tail and head. The cones should be connected to each other using plasticine or good glue. The workpiece is ready. All that remains is to decorate it. To do this, you should sculpt the paws, ears, eyes, nose and muzzle of the animal from plasticine.

Nimble hedgehog

This animal can be made from one beautiful and large cone, which has already fully opened. It remains to be decorated with individual parts made of plasticine. To complete, you need to sculpt 4 legs, ears, nose, eyes and face of the animal.

You can also mold the body of a hedgehog from plasticine, and then cover its top with scales of cones or small cones of the same size. If desired, the back of the animal can be decorated with mushrooms and apples. They can be molded from plasticine.

Cones and acorns

Decor made from cones for the New Year will look more original if you use acorns to make it. You can create beautiful Christmas tree decorations from such materials. To work on the decor you will need:

1. Acorns.
2. Cones.
3. Thin satin ribbon.
4. Sintepon or down.
5. Glue gun.

The process of making a gnome

You should remove the cap from the acorn and then make a hole in it. You need to stretch a thin ribbon through it and secure it, making a neat knot. Between the acorn and its cap you should put a piece of padding polyester and secure everything with glue. This will be the head of the gnome.

It is worth gluing a little padding polyester onto the bump so that you get a beard. Now you need to connect the body to the head, gluing everything with glue. The craft is ready.

In conclusion

Cones, chestnuts and acorns are natural materials that can be used to make original crafts. They can be not just a reminder of time spent with children, but also excellent New Year's decorations for the home and for the Christmas tree. If you approach the manufacturing process with love and due patience, you can end up with extraordinary things that will be difficult to distinguish from store-bought ones.

As I promised in the article about wreaths, I’m telling you how to paint pine cones for the New Year. I'm sure you'll love it! And also, this is a way to keep your kids busy with “socially useful work,” that is, to use their energy for a good cause!

There are working rules:

• Be sure to wash the natural material! Pour water into a bowl and add a drop of detergent.
• Fully opened fir cones look better. You can even bake them in the oven for 1-2 hours until they open.
• It is worth working with gloves. And if sprays are used, then in a respirator and in the fresh air.

It remains to figure out what and how to paint it.

What and how to paint

How can you color the pine cones?

There are many tools and methods that are suitable for this purpose:

• Sprays. Any aerosol enamels will do. We put a newspaper and paint at a distance of 15-20 cm. It is better to paint on the balcony or street, aerosols have a very strong unpleasant odor.

  

• Sponge. If you plan to decorate a lot of material, this method is completely justified. It is best to place the sponge in a container. Saturate it with paint. Dip the cones, press and twist on the sponge on all sides.
  
• Glitter and hairspray. To fix the glitter, you can use hairspray with a strong hold. Spray on the cone and immediately sprinkle it with glitter. It's too much to chicken out. You can do this several times until you achieve an even (or desired) coating.
• Glitter on PVA glue. Glue and water are mixed in a deep container. Pine cones are lowered and dipped several times. Then let the glue drip and leave to dry. You can apply glue with a brush and apply glitter on top.

  

• Acrylic paint or gouache. Apply with a brush or sponge. Just keep in mind that the sponge will only touch the edges. The brush will reach much deeper.

  

• White. Fill the cones with white. Close the container tightly and place in a dark place. After 18 hours the material will noticeably turn white. Don't be alarmed, the cones will close; This is their reaction to moisture. But then they will open again. And one more thing I’ll warn you about. Often in the photo you can see completely white shoots. But don't expect to get these results quickly. To do this, it is worth doing the procedure several times. And each time the cones should dry well.
• A tin of paint. Yes, yes, this is the simplest, but most expensive method in terms of paint. We dip the lid on a string into a can of paint, take it out, and hang it so that the excess paint can drain off.
  
• Palm, stearin wax or candles. But this is a special tool. I'll show you a master class on how to work with it. They look unusual and pretend to be Christmas tree decorations. Another advantage is that they can be flavored.
  

How to work with polyethylene wax

Will need:

• You can buy wax (flakes) at a craft store or buy cheap candles;
• Dye (oil or liquid food coloring works well);
• Fragrance oil;
• 2 bowls for a water bath;
• Wooden spoon.

Making an original decoration step by step:

A couple of tips:

• The wax should be neither hot nor cold. Just keep it warm, then it will lie in an even layer. When we lower the cone for the penultimate time, it is already thicker.
• To achieve shine, dip into hot wax one last time.

But there are other decorating ideas.

How to decorate pine cones for the New Year

Interestingly, escapes are possible not only with the help of paints. There are other means:

Color combinations

Yes, and you shouldn’t forget about color combinations, so that your composition of pine cones does not look like a cheap handicraft. I don’t know my way around the color wheel myself, but I do refer to the useful sign below:

Well, a few combinations of the cones themselves.

I think that with the decor that we prepared today, the holiday will become especially beautiful and elegant! Did you like the ideas? Share them with your friends and subscribe to other articles.

How to make budget New Year's decor with your own hands and not spend a penny? We have found the most creative and fresh ideas that will help you turn simple pine cones into real works of decorative art.

Alternative Christmas tree

This idea will certainly appeal to conservationists who, as a matter of principle, do not use a live spruce as a New Year's tree. To create an alternative Christmas tree, you will need a base - a small cut of a stump or a pot for an indoor flower. If desired, the cone can be coated with paint; for these purposes, you can use regular gouache or decorative aerosols with glitter. To decorate such a Christmas tree, textile bows, felt balls, sequins, beads, and artificial snow are useful.

Original Christmas tree toy

Making Christmas tree decorations with your own hands is a good tradition. Children will especially like it. You can create original jewelry with the whole family. To do this, you should stock up on jute, rain, glue with glitter, paints and satin ribbons. Do-it-yourself toys will transform the interior and make the atmosphere very cozy and warm.

Decor element

Pine and fir cones evoke the forest and fill the house with a wonderful aroma. And even if the interior is decorated with an artificial Christmas tree, you will get the impression that it is real. To enhance the effect, fir and pine cones can be used as decorative elements. For example, put candles in transparent jars, tie the vessels with jute and complete the composition with several cones. To give them a snowy look, you need to paint them with white or silver paint in advance.

Festive composition

An interesting New Year's composition will make the atmosphere in the house especially solemn. You can choose a place for it in the hallway on the console, in the living room on the chest of drawers, in the dining room on the middle of the table, in the bedroom on the bedside table or dressing table. The simplest option is to place a wicker basket, glass or wooden bowl filled with pine or fir cones. You can surround the composition with fir branches, LED garland, candlesticks and figurines of New Year's characters. A festive mood will be ensured for both the owners of the house and the guests!

Pine or have long become very common materials for New Year's crafts. Such a gift from the forest will certainly be created in the house and will become an excellent interior decoration. The cones are durable, and therefore any craft will remain in the apartment for several years and will look as if it had just been brought. Before figuring out how to paint pine cones for crafts, you need to pay some attention to the next part of the article.

How to choose a painting material

It turns out that everything is not so simple, and you need to choose your cones wisely. After all, they will soon become a decoration of the house. It is best to opt for open cones, which will look more interesting, but if any were not found in the forest, you can also collect closed specimens. After drying in the oven over low heat, natural materials will begin to open up. The process itself does not take very much time.

Preparatory stage

Immediately before work, when thinking about how to paint cones for the New Year, you need to spend some time preparing the selected specimens. Some of them may contain contaminants that must be removed. To do this, each cone is carefully examined, and if necessary, washed and dried. The drying procedure is best done in a well-ventilated room, but using heating devices for drying is not recommended.

In the absence of severe contamination, all cones are thoroughly cleaned with hard brushes to remove particles of earth or other debris.

If the materials for crafts were collected wet, they must be dried. An oven is suitable for this purpose. This measure is necessary so that the future decorative element can please its owner for a long time.

It is important to know that the buds contain large amounts of resin. You need to get rid of it using digestion technology. The collected materials are washed under running hot water (2-3 times). Then they need to be placed in a pan, filled with water and a small amount of washing liquid added. The digestion process lasts 3 hours, and the water itself is changed several times.

After the time has passed, the cones are taken out of the pan, transferred to a towel and wait for the water to drain. Then they need to be dried. To do this, future crafts are placed in a warm place for several days. During this time, just figure out what you can use to paint the pine cones for the craft.

There is another subtlety in opening the cones. As mentioned above, you can use the oven. But if time permits, then natural materials are simply placed in a warm room and waited until they begin to open. If you need to leave the opening at a certain stage, it is recommended to use wood glue. The cones are dipped into it using clamps, and then transferred to polyethylene to dry. The adhesive mass will not allow the scales to open further.

What paint to paint pine cones

So, you have the cones at hand, all that remains is to determine what to paint with, because there are a huge number of painting materials. First of all, you should consider ease of use. Sold in large jars with a wide neck, where you can completely immerse the cone. This approach will significantly speed up the painting process.

Some people prefer acrylic paints or gouaches. Here there will be a little more work, because you will have to spend some time painting each cone with a brush. The work itself is not difficult, just more labor-intensive. But you don’t have to think about how to paint pine cones for the New Year.

You can use spray paints. This choice has its advantages: a large number of colors, there is paint with glitter (which will make the pine cone even more original), and, again, quick processing of natural materials.

What do you need for work?

Before you create a New Year's masterpiece and think about how to paint the pine cones white, you need to have the following materials on hand:

• the required number of pine cones;
• white paint (it is recommended to opt for alkyd enamel, which dries quickly);
• a piece of steel wire;
• several newspapers.

Step-by-step instructions

Wire will be needed to facilitate the painting process. At one end, the steel is bent in the form of a hook so that a pine cone can be easily attached to it. The same hook is made on the opposite side so that in the future you can hang the craft to dry.

You need to choose a place in the room where you will subsequently place the buds for drying. Here newspaper is spread on the floor in several layers so that liquid paint does not get on the parquet or carpet.

Before starting work, shake the jar containing the paint. Then attach the cone to one of the hooks and immerse it in the jar. When removing the cone, you need to hold it over the jar to allow excess dye to drain.

The cones are hung in the chosen place to dry. After the crafts have dried, you can carefully remove them from the hooks. For convenience, you can install two chairs, put any stick of suitable length on the backs (even an ordinary mop will do) and hang the pine cones on the stick. So, the answer to the question of how to paint pine cones white has been received.

What other colors can you paint pine cones?

To make the pine cones look more original and festive, you can choose any color you like; everything is left to the discretion of the person making the craft. To work you will need the following things:

• a thick piece of foam rubber;
• paint (gouache);
• acrylic lacquer;
• polyethylene film;
• a pair of gloves;
• the required number of cones.

Painting is done like this. You need to take gold gouache and mix it with acrylic varnish, after which the resulting liquid is evenly distributed over the foam rubber. How well each flake is painted depends on the thickness of the layer. That is why it is recommended to take a thick piece of foam rubber.

At the workplace, you need to spread a plastic film so as not to stain the surface with paint, place foam rubber on top, put a pine cone on it and slowly turn it clockwise. Before performing the step already described, it is recommended to protect your hands with gloves. It is especially worth noting that the paint is consumed in small quantities.

During operation, the foam rubber must be periodically turned over to the reverse side, because... the paint material will flow to the bottom. After reading this part of the article, there should be no questions left about how to paint pine cones gold.

Small tricks

Some people, before painting cones for the New Year, first bleach them so that the paint adheres better. To do this operation is quite simple, you need to have on hand:

• a large amount of bleach containing chlorine;
• bucket;
• plate;
• a pair of gloves;
• a few cones;
• cargo.

Place the pine cones in the selected bucket and fill it with bleach until it completely covers the natural materials. You need to place a plate on top that will prevent the cones from floating to the surface. A weight is needed to hold the plate; you can use a brick or some other heavy object.

The whitening process itself takes 24 hours. After this time, the cones must be washed in plenty of water and dried. After all these actions they should open up and become light in color. Once everything is dry, you can start painting the cones for the New Year.

How to give pine cones an unusual look

To make the cones more decorative, you can use glitter, which is applied to the edges of the scales. If the choice fell on acrylic paints to complete the craft, then it is recommended to use a varnish suitable for wood at the final stage of work. This will give the craft a glossy, sparkling look.

If you need to cover the cone with several layers of paint, you should remember that it takes time for each layer to dry completely. Before you take on another paint and continue working, you need to make sure that the first coat is completely dry. Otherwise, you may damage the work already completed.

Precautionary measures

The article listed many options for painting pine cones to make them beautiful and unusual. In conclusion, we need to talk about safety measures, because incorrect use of paint and varnish products can lead to serious troubles. This is especially true for work in which children take part.

If you decide to use aerosol paints, you need to remember that they contain volatile substances that are harmful to the respiratory system, and the paint itself is explosive and flammable.

During work, it is recommended to use special eye protection glasses and respirators. You should wear gloves on your hands to protect your skin. If work is done indoors, it must be ventilated. It is recommended for adults to use aerosol paints, while very young children should be occupied with less dangerous preparations for the holiday. The same goes for coating buds with varnishes that have a pungent odor.

All work with substances that can be harmful to human health must be carried out in compliance with all safety precautions. If the weather permits, it is best to use varnishes and other substances with a specific aroma in a well-ventilated area, or even outside.

We hope that after reading this article you will no longer have to rack your brains over how to paint pine cones for crafts.