Pinecone Ornament

With Isla in preschool this year there are a lot of fun festivities during the holiday season. Holiday pajama day, wear your Christmas best (or worst) day, and make an ornament for the Christmas exchange.

So the brainstorming began. There were lot’s of ideas involving popsicle sticks, but that’s not something I keep on hand. It needed to be something that she could make mostly by herself, so some of the more involved ideas were out. We do spend a lot of time in the woods, and what better to put on a Christmas tree than something that fell out of a tree! Pinecones and acorns!

We set about collecting pinecones and acorns. We found some awesome pinecones that weren’t really pokey (I think from a fir tree… but I’m not a tree expert, so no guarantee.), and this year the acorns were epic! Huge!

Naturally, when you bring outside things inside you need to make sure that they don’t have critters. The best way to do this is to put them in the oven at 200 degrees for 20-30 minutes. If you chose pinecones that are all closed up you can soak them in water for 30 minutes before you put them in the oven. They should open up for you.

Once you’ve cooked the critters, break out your paint and glitter! We chose white acrylic paint and iridescent glitter (called Olaf).

Isla went heavy with the paint, which actually worked out well for the glitter. We poured the glitter onto the painted pinecone over a bowl to catch the extra, and set it aside to dry.

Isla also painted an acorn - the hat separated from the nut so she painted and glittered them separately and then glued them back together once dry. Once everything is dry get out your ribbon/string/tulle. Thread it under the top layer of scales and tie a bow. Use the extra ends to make a loop to hang it on the tree. If you decide to do acorns they are a little more tricky to tie a bow on. Try using fishing line to attach the ribbon, or use hot glue. Get creative!

My version.

Isla’s pinecone and acorn ornament… I think hers turned out better than mine!

I hope you have fun crafting your own ornaments this Christmas season! What’s your favorite Christmas craft?

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