***One of my more popular posts last year. Had to share again!***
A closeup of my pinecone drying.
I love the look of white pinecones. I looked through Pinterest trying to find the best and easiest way of doing this. What looked like the simplest, always linked to a picture with no instructions : (. So, I tried to figure this out on my own and I succeeded! I'm happy to share with you how I did this.
The eye screws I used. Perfect size!
I also bought a quart of white paint. I'm sure the guy at the paint section hopes I never return. Yes, I was one of those looking for the 'perfect white'. I didn't want any hint of blue or grey. Finally, after looking at all the 'white' that was on the shelves, he suggested I pick a white swatch and he would mix it for me. Hmmmmm. All I wanted was white. Soooooooo, when I saw it I knew it was the white I wanted. It was called Wedding White. With a name like that, how could it not be the perfect white!
Also get some florist wire. Any color is fine since you are only using this to hold onto the pinecone when you dip it and dry it. You do want the wire and not string because those little pinecones get awful heavy when the have a ¼ of the paint in the can hanging on them initially. I'm not kidding either. Those things get heavy!
Let me show you what I did. First I screwed the eyes crew into the bottom of the pinecone. It's a little harder than you expect but once you get the threads to bite, it's easy to twist them in. Be warned, your finger and thumb get sore doing this.
See how perfectly the eye screw fits?
This is the florist wire I used.
A piece about 7 inches long (no need to be exact!).
Dipping the pinecone into the white paint.
Keep in mind that wood floats. And the paint is thick. I used a wooden skewer to push the pinecone into the paint so that it was totally immersed.
Lots of paint on the pinecone when you pull it out!
You need to be very patient when you wait for the paint to drip off. Or, like me, wait about ½ minute and then hang it and let it drip away!
My white painted pinecones hanging to dry.
All I did was have them hang off the side of a box. I poked a hole with a screwdriver and then fed the florist wire through. Make sure to give it a little twist so the pinecone doesn't fall off.
A closeup of my pinecone drying.
A display using christmas ornaments and my white pinecones.
There are so many uses for these white pinecones! Keep in mind that you have the eye screw so can easily put an ornament hook in it. I will be putting some on my tree and hanging some on my garland. But, since it's only early November, I don't have my decorations up yet!
Anonymous
Thank you for instructions.
Debbie
Theses are amazing Thankyou so much for sharing them with us , I most definitely will be making these this Christmas
Deborah
Your directions look flawless, thank you!
Sarah
I used this method exactly a few years ago (great minds!) I used oil paint and the pinecones did NOT close when wet...they did take FOREVER to dry completely.
Michele
My dipped pinecones have been sitting for 12 hours and they have closed up tight. Even if they reopen, the paint will be all messed up in the inside. This dipping thing is ridiculous. I'm going to try light coats with spray paint keeping the core as dry as possible and see if that works better.
Anonymous
Seems like a waste of paint.. Why not just use spray paint?
Patti
Great easy tip. Wonder what they would look like in gold or burgundy.
momcrieff
Some did close but most didn't. Did you bake them before you dipped them? I think that helps.
Angela
Did you have a problem with the pinecones closing up after u painted them? I dipped mine when they were open, then they closed and sat in the sun in 90 degree heat all day and have not reopened. Is there something I need to do different?
Lynne Harrison
Liked this very much. Very informative and easy to follow.
Thanks.