Erin Fox
Creating elegant Christmas decorations with a simple pine cone
At this time of the year, the forest floor is littered with pine cones. Gather as many as you can to make into Christmas ornaments, to burn on the fire or to complete a wrapped present.
To open up the pine cones, you can either place them under the radiator for several hours or put them onto a baking tray into the oven.
For a pine cone reindeer head you will need twigs and glue. Glue the twigs and the leaves at the widest end of the pine cone and leave to dry. You can always create a face for the reindeer with some googly eyes and a red button for the nose.
Make a simple Christmas tree ornament with some ribbon. Cut three strips of ribbon of equal length. Place them flat on a surface and layer them so they are fanned out. Fold the ends into the centre, gluing into place. Leave to dry and glue to the base of the pine cone.
To hang them up, make a loop with some string or ribbon, knot it and then place this onto the base of the pine cone using extra strong glue.
Allow the glue to dry and then hang the decorations on the Christmas tree.
Pearls
To make a miniature pine cone Christmas tree you will need some clear glue, coloured pearls – or you can cut up a string of beaded pearls for decorating the tree – and scissors. Pipe glue into the pine cone petals where you want to place the pearls and then using tweezers place the pearls in neatly.
Pop the pine cone into a tiny flower pot to complete the Christmas tree look.
Try making an entire wreath out of pine cones with a few sprigs of holly for a splash of colour. Spray the pine cones silver or gold or even green for the miniature Christmas tree decorations.
Large pine cones are treasures, so save some for preserving and you will have them for years. Fill a basin with warm water and add half a cup of vinegar. Place as many pine cones you can fit into the basin and leave to soak for 20 minutes.
Leave the cones to air dry for several days. Cover your work surface with old newspapers and spray varnish the pine cones. Allow to dry for several hours.
If using this method to preserve the pine cones they cannot be place in the oven or near a naked flame afterwards, but you can still use them for making decorations.
