How To Make Pinecone Trees
Pinecone trees are truly a delightful sight to behold! These whimsical creations beautifully blend nature's simplicity with charming creativity. By carefully arranging and attaching pinecones to tree-shaped structures, you can bring a touch of the forest's enchantment right into your own home or garden. Decorating them with twinkling lights or colorful ribbons adds an extra festive flair, perfect for any season or occasion. Whether you're crafting them as a fun DIY project or admiring them in a park, pinecone trees never fail to bring a smile to your face and warmth to your heart. So go ahead and let your imagination run wild amongst the pine branches and cones, creating your very own piece of natural art for all to enjoy!
SUPPLIES AND SHOPPING LINKS
- styrofoam cones
- styrofoam cylinder (optional)
- glue gun and glue sticks
- brown fabric
- scissors
- mini pinecones
- cinnamon sticks (cut in pieces)
- variety of unshelled nuts (pecans, almonds, hazelnuts, Brazil nuts)
- acorns and acorn caps
- ribbon
GETTING STARTED
The first step is creating a base for your cone tree. I cut a 2.5″ x 4″ foam cylinder into three sections then attached them with hot glued to the base of each cone. I find that a serrated knife is easiest to use when cutting styrofoam. (You can opt out of this step if you want your trees to sit flush on your tabletop.)
Next step is to attach strips of brown fabric using your hot glue to cover your cones. The fabric provides a good surface for attaching the pinecones and nuts. It also creates a dark background, so you don’t see the light green styrofoam through any small cracks or empty spaces.
To decorate, start at the base of the cone using your hot glue gun to attach mini pinecones, unshelled nuts, acorns and cinnamon sticks in a random pattern. Then work your way around and up the cone covering it completely.
By the way, it may not be easy breaking cinnamon sticks in half, so I suggest using garden clippers. If the cinnamon sticks are too skinny, try gluing several pieces together to get the look you want.
Tiny pinecones are really good for filling in small spaces, as well as the acorns and acorn caps. I think you’ll find the unshelled nuts help to add interest with their unique shapes, colors and textures. Because the almonds are the lightest in color, I did make a conscious effort of spacing them out in order to balance the overall look of the trees.
The last step is covering the base of the tree. I’m using brown ribbon to wrap around the styrofoam base securing it with straight pins. You can also use hot glue if you don’t have pins.
