Paint Dipped Pinecones
January 3, 2011 by Jessica Christman
Filed under For the Home, Winter Crafts
Bring a little winter woodlands into your house during the pre and post holiday months with these pretty dipped pinecones. If the cones around you aren’t fully opened (open cones look best) dry them out in the oven on the lowest setting until they open completely.
Things you need:
Pinecones
1 quart white paint
Floral wire
Newspaper
Things to do:
1. Wrap a piece of floral wire around the top of the cone loosely. You’ll use this both for dipping and drying so you’ll want it either well hidden in the cone or easily removed. Curve the top of the wire so that it is easily wrapped around the hanger.
2. Spread out the newsprint below a hanging surface. A closet hanging rod works well.
3. Shake the paint well and then open. Dip the pinecones slowly into the paint and suspend each over the can for a minute to let most of the excess drip off.
4. Hang over the newsprint to dry. Once the paint has hardened, slip or remove the wire before displaying.
Great project! Luv it!
i just love it !! cant wait to dip paint all the pine cones ive been collecting !!!
The pine cones looked great until they closed up after dipping them into the paint.
think you have yo put then in the oven on low to get them to open is what ive heard
You are exactly correct. Preheat your oven to no more than 200 degrees. Then place one layer of pinecones closely together (where they are barely touching) on an aluminum foil covered cookie sheet. The heat will cause your pinecones to open up. Just be sure to watch them carefully and turn them every once in a while to prevent them from burning.
maybe just use white spraypaint? much faster…no globs or drips??
The spray method doesnt cover as well as the dipping method. I have tried both and way prefer to dip mine. I also like to sprinkle them with sparkle. Really makes for a pretty display.
Do you put them in the oven after dipping and dried or before?
Hi Debbie! To get your pinecones to open up, you would put them in the oven first and then paint them once they are open. Hope this helps! Happy crafting
Hmmmmm…. when I first collected my pinecones, I put them in the oven at 200 degrees for about 40 minutes to prep them. Then I sprayed 2 coats of primer. At all times the cones were open.However, when I dipped them in latex paint, they closed up. So I am at a loss as to how to keep them open…All ideas will be greatly appreciated, thank you!
I just made some my closed back up with the latex paint too. I also dipped some in oil baised polly. the ones in the polly did not close back up so I guess it needs to be done with oil baised paint.
Thank you-I will try the oil-based polyurethane paint. Happy holidays!
I just noticed how old the entries were, hope someone is still out there to answer this question.
you could also put sparkles on them silver or white. i bet when sitting in the sun on the table they will sparkle.
This sounds like a project Ill really enjoy. Thanks!
I have tried this, but I smashed and crushed some cheap glass ornaments. Any color or multicolor is really pretty. Then just sprinkle onto the pinecones. They shine and glisten. Make some red and green for the holiday, and then make some with the white and silver or gold.
The smashed glass doesnt sound kid friendly )
To all of you very creative people, Help! Is there another way to color pine cones w/o using paint? I put pine cones back outside to decompose into new soil. Any ideas? Thank you!
You could try making some home made glue,then sprinkling them with the colored sugar sprinkles, or use food coloring to color the glue. I did a google search on home made glue and there is one that uses only flour, water, sugar and vinegar. They should all be compostable.