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Preserving Pinecones For Crafts And Decor

Join me for this  easy craft  as I share an  easy process  for preserving pinecones for crafts and decor.  Grab a  small bucket  and gather  fresh pine cones  from your yard from  pine trees  or  wooded areas. Nature offers great gifts and it's FREE! In  30-45 minutes  to clean and  1-2 hours  of  drying time  to  open back  up, you will have pinecones to enjoy for years!
Prep Time30 minutes
Active Time5 minutes
Total Time1 day
Keyword: 1-2 hours, 30-45 minutes, air drying, aluminum foil, baking process, clean pine cones, collectpine cones, cookie sheet, cooling rack, craft stores, cupr of white inegar, dish soap, drying time, easy craft, easy process, easy way, fail proof method, female cones, fresh pine cones, holiday seasons, home decor, large baking sheet, paper towels, pesky bugs, pine cone turkey, pine needles, pine trees, small bucket, spray varnish, sticky sap, visible dirt, wooded areas
Yield: 78 pinecones

Equipment

  • 1 large towel
  • 1/4 tsp dish soap and warm water
  • 1 cooling rack
  • 3 baking sheet or cookie sheet depends on how many fresh pinecones you are cleaning and drying.
  • 1 parchment paper parchment paper for each cookie sheet
  • 1 pair of rubber gloves Keep sticky sap from getting on your hands
  • paper towels

Notes

 

Preserving Pinecones for Crafts and Decor

 

Supplies List  Preserving Pinecones For Crafts And Decor

      • Pinecones/female cones
      • Soap
      • "‹Sink or bucket
      • Cookie sheet
      • "‹Paper towels
      • Parchment paper  or  aluminum foil
      • "‹Rubber gloves
      • Large towel  - for  air drying
      • "‹Cooling rack
      • Spray varnish  (optional)
 

Step 1: Soak Them In Dish Soap And Warm Water

Place pine cones  in the sink with  warm water  and 1/4 teaspoon of  dish soap  to  clean pine cones  from any  visible dirt  and  pine needles.  

After the water and  dish soap  covers the  female cones  let them soak for  30-45 minutes. This helps remove  pine needles  that may have been missed.

In the meantime,  place pine cones  on a  large towel  or stack of  paper towels  to absorb any  excess water.

Wear rubber gloves when preserving  fresh pine cones, especially from  pine trees  because of their  sticky sap. My gloves are covered in sap.

Cindy's Tip: Wear gloves, it's a must. The sap is sticky and you will wind up like Chevy Chase in the movie Christmas Vacation. Your hands will be sticky for a long time!
 

Step 2: Let Them Dry Completely

 
Air  dry pine cones  in a  single layer  on  paper towels  or a  large towel  overnight for several hours.  We did this  easy process  in the early evening. Make sure to turn them on the other  sides of the cone  to finish  air drying.  

Cleaning Pine Cones With White Vinegar

Cindy's Tip:  This is another method to  clean pine cones- add 1  cup of white vinegar  to 2  parts water. This will remove  dirt and pesky bugs. I chose  warm water  and  dish soap  because my mom used this technique for  preserving pinecones. It works like a charm!
air-drying-on-large-towel
 

Step 3: Adding These To The Oven

 

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Next, use a  baking sheet  or  cookie sheet, lined with  parchment paper  or  aluminum foil  before adding the  fresh pine cones  for the  baking process. I used a large  baking sheet  for each set of pinecones for 78 pinecones.

Place pinecones on the  baking sheet  or  cookie sheet  in a  single layer  for  1-2 hours  drying time  in the oven. Keep an eye on them depending on the size.

Cindy's Tips: Perfect Preseved Pinecones Keeping Them for Years

As fresh pinecones are going through the  baking process, this is when they will  open back  up. Since they will  open back  up, leaving room between each one is important. They will get wider from baking.  

This process is also important to get rid of  pesky bugs, which is when the  sticky sap  gets removed from the  fresh pine cones.

After the  baking process  add the pinecones to a  cooling rack. I didn't add  spray varnish  to our pinecones after preserving them. They are still perfect today!
Cindy's Tip:  This is another method to  clean pine cones- add 1  cup of white vinegar  to 2  parts water. This will remove  dirt and pesky bugs. I chose  warm water  and  dish soap  because my mom used this technique for  preserving pinecones. It works like a charm!
 
preserving-pinecones-for-craft-and-decor-on-parchment-paper

 
opened-after-baking
closer-look-inside-crate
 
centerpiece-for-fall-with-nuts-dried-sunflower-heads
 
centerpiece-for-fall-with-nuts-dried-artichokes-acorns-walnut-shell-half-filled-with-dried-lavender
 
preserving-pinecones-for-craft-and-decor-centerpiece-for-christmas-and-winter
Happy Crafting and Happy Fall!