Pinecone Crafts to Try this Christmas: 3 Easy DIYs

Pinecones are the perfect Christmas crafting material because they look festive, they’re free, and they are environmentally friendly! This year, I tried three pinecone crafts that I would like to share with you! To show how diverse pinecones can be, I made a tree ornament, a household decoration, and something that can be given as a gift.

3 Pinecone Crafts:

• Snow-Frosted Pinecone Tree Ornament
• Pinecone Wreath
• Pinecone Birdfeeder
  

For these crafts, I tried my best to use things I already had on hand in order to be as environmentally sustainable as possible. I also wanted to spend the least amount of money I could. I encourage you to do the same by looking for substitutes for any of the materials I use that you may already have on hand.

If you’d like to learn more about how you can make your Christmas more environmentally sustainable, check out my post Eight Tips for a More Sustainable Christmas!

Preparing Your Pinecones

If you want to use free pinecones, the first step for all three of these DIYs will be to find some pinecones. All instructions for the pinecone crafts below will assume the pinecones have already been prepared. I collected mine from parks and sidewalks around my neighborhood. Once you have your pinecones you will want to prepare them properly so they don’t end up rotting and to get rid of any bugs. I will put the basic steps here, but I encourage you to read my post with the full instructions.

1. Gather your pinecones
2. Wash off any visible dirt and debris
3. Soak the pinecones in a water and vinegar mixture for 20 mins
4. Let the pinecones dry overnight
5. Bake your pinecones at 225°F for 2+ hours (time may vary)
6. Let them cool before use

For the full instructions on how to prepare your pinecones you can read my post How to Prepare Pinecones for Crafts!

Snow-Frosted Christmas Tree Ornament

These pinecone tree ornaments are super easy to make! And they look adorable. All you need is some pinecones, white paint (I used acrylic), a paint brush, some ribbon or string, and glue! Optionally, if you have some glitter you can add that on at the end to make them shine!

Materials:

• Pinecones
• White Paint (I used acrylic, but whatever you have should work too)
• Paint Brush
• Ribbon or String (I used twine because it looks natural and rustic)
• Glue (Preferably hot glue, but others will work as well)
• Glitter (Optional)

Steps:

1. Paint the tips of the pinecones white. To make the snow effect look more realistic, paint them so the outermost parts are solid white and fade the paint as you go deeper into the different sections of the pinecone.

2. Let the paint dry completely.

3. Add glitter and then let dry again (optional).

4. Measure out strings for each of your pinecones. Tie them into loops as shown in the picture.

5. Glue the strings to the tops of the pinecones. You may want to hold them in place for a few seconds as the glue starts to set.

6. Let them dry completely and then hang them on your tree!

Pinecone Wreath

To make this pinecone wreath you will need pinecones, ribbon, a hot glue gun, and something to use as the wreath base. I’ve seen people use lots of different materials as their wreath base, such as foam or wire, but I wanted to use what I already had, which was popsicle sticks. Another tip for making your wreath is to use different shapes and sized of pinecones to make a pattern.

Materials:

• Pinecones
• Hot Glue Gun
• Popsicle Sticks
• Ribbon

Steps:

1. Arrange your pinecones the way you’d like them to look on the wreath. You want to find out what size to make your base.

2. Lay out your popsicle sticks to match the size of your pinecones. Make sure you overlap the ends slightly to account for where you will be gluing.

3. Use your glue gun to glue the popsicle sticks together. You will want to glue a popsicle stick on top and underneath at each joint like a sandwich. Use the picture for reference. This will create more stability.

4. Put a line of hot glue along your base and press your pinecones onto it as best as you can.

5. Once the first line of glue has set, slip your wreath over. Add more hot glue at all the points that touch the base to reinforce it.

6. Glue on any details or decorations you’d like to add. I just added more pinecones but you can add things like little bows or holly.

7. Add a decorative ribbon to hang your wreath with. I just happened to have this pinecone ribbon leftover from an old project that worked perfectly!

Pinecone Birdfeeder

To make this pinecone birdfeeder you’ll need pinecones, vegetable shortening, birdseed, and twine. These birdfeeders will help the birds around your house stay fed, and they completely biodegrade so you don’t have to worry about taking them down. They also make great gifts for nature lovers and can easily be made by kids as gifts for family members! Once your feeders have been made, you can store them in the freezer until you’re ready to use them.

Materials:

• Pinecones
• Twine (Or other biodegradable string)
• Vegetable Shortening
• Birdseed

Steps:

1. Tie twine to the top of your pinecone. You can tie it in a loop, or leave a long string to tie onto branches. Make sure you are using twine or another biodegradable string so the birds can use it in their nests when the feeder is empty.

2. Press the vegetable shortening into the crevices of the pinecone. Cover the whole thing. You can wear gloves for this part if you’d like, but you don’t need them.

3. Press birdseed into the vegetable shortening on your pinecone.

4. Hang your birdfeeder somewhere that birds like to go. Try to find a place where they have things to land on near by, like branches. Or, if you’re saving your feeder for a gift, store it in the freezer!

I hope you like these pinecone crafts and try them for yourselves! Comment below and let me know how yours turn out. If you enjoyed this post, check out my post Eight Tips for a More Sustainable Christmas for more sustainable Christmas ideas!