Pine Cones…Cheap and Easy Ways to Use Them….Pets, Decor & Place Settings

I had just finally got my yard cleaned up from after the last hail storm and then, wham, here came another. We have lots of pine trees in our yard so the wind and hail always knocks huge amounts of pine cones and pine needles off the trees and into our yard, which I then proceed to trip over (the pine cones) or stab my feet with when wearing flip-flops. As I was walking around with a trash bag, picking the prickly cones up I remembered being outside last fall/winter, gathering these up for decorations in the house and remembered how cold it was….so I thought, why not gather them now instead of tossing them and figure out some other ways to use them….I mean, they’re free! And if I gather them up now, they’ll be less likely to be broken and smashed….and it’ll be a lot warmer!

When my son and I first visited Colorado about ten years ago to see the state we’d be moving to soon we did a lot of sight-seeing. One day we were walking around the Air Force Academy and I kept picking up pine cones and putting them in my son’s backpack. My husband asked me what I was doing and I said, “Taking them back to Texas.” Why? Because every Christmas I spent money on the scented pine cones to decorate with.

During the fall months and in to the winter, I always have pine cones in the house (I like to decorate with whatever is outside at the time, bring the outdoors in) but I’ve never tried to “scent” them except for one year where I put vanilla extract on them but that didn’t last. I don’t know why I never researched how to scent them, I think I just thought it would be hard, expensive or time-consuming. Well, it’s not! I now have about fifty that smell like cinnamon and orange and I’ll use them in more ways than one.

And even if you don’t have any in your yard, they can pretty much be found anywhere here! A lot of these ideas are things you’d probably do more in the fall/winter but this will give you time to gather pine cones, scent them, and you can have some ideas in the back of your mind of things to look for if you garage sale or thrift store shop.

Regardless of how you use pine cones, you want to get all the nasty bugs and stuff off and out of them, especially if you’re bringing them in to your home. After I gathered a bunch up, I simply rinsed them off and let them dry for an hour or so. Then I covered a cookie sheet with foil and baked them at 200 degrees for an hour. That kills the bugs, helps open the cones up, dries up any sap, and it made the house smell good. Then let them cool.

I picked up two different essential oils from Natural Grocers. The cinnamon oil cost $5.25 and the orange oil cost $3.75 for a 1 fl. oz bottle.  (Both of the oils together cost less than buying a small bag of already scented ones!)

Then you simply put the cones in a resealable plastic bag (make sure you leave enough room to be able to close the bag). Put whatever essential oil you want in a spray bottle with just a bit of water. Spray the pine cones, close the bag and shake it to mix up the oils. Open the bag and spray again, and then close and shake once more. Leave the bag for four to six weeks to infuse the pine cones with the scent. Shake the bag every week to distribute the oil scent. This will make the pine cones smell yummy for a lot longer….and it’s so easy and inexpensive!

Now I’m not the best “DIY” person so my examples aren’t the most beautiful but here’s some ideas you might be able to use for your own projects…believe me, these are very basic things so you could elaborate even more!

So even if you only have a glass jar or vase  (you don’t even need a ribbon), you could fill it up with your scented pine cones just for a decorative touch AND it makes the house smell so good. You can save money on air fresheners and it’s natural! I added some cinnamon sticks to one of my bags of cinnamon essential oil. You could also add whole nutmeg or cloves. And there are so many different essential oils to choose from, you can pretty much have any scent you want.

I always prick myself when gathering pine cones because I don’t wear gloves…if you have any kids help you gather them, you’ll want to make sure their hands are protected. But as I thought about them sticking me, I thought about our cats, especially our new one who likes to dig in our indoor plant dirt and knock it out of the pots. Hmmm. So I looked up pine cones to make sure they weren’t poisonous to cats and found out they can be a great deterrent to animals getting in your plants so …..

These are just plain “baked” pine cones in the plants but once my scented ones are ready, I’ll replace these with them and again, it will help make the house smell good and keep the cats away from where they shouldn’t be….love it!

I love to entertain and have lots of napkin rings and place card holders but I like to decorate seasonally so here’s a couple of ideas (cheap and easy)….

Simple, easy and when you have a table laid out with these, it will make even more of an impact….when we have friends/family over, they always like the way I dress our table. (And of course you can paint them to match or contrast your table.)

I also like to send a little something home with guests (not always, but usually)….I found these little boxes at the Dollar Tree (package of 8 for $1.00) and bought tons of them. I have used them for holidays, parties and showers. A box of scented pine cones makes a cute place setting and can be taken home and enjoyed. You could also tie a ribbon around the box to dress it up even more.

Now I did all of this (gathering pine cones, baking them, taking pics and painting) in a couple of hours so I only have one coat of paint on the ones I painted…

You can fill up a tray, plate, or any type of container with a few pine cones and candles. I painted a few white just to see what they’d look like. These would look nice displayed throughout the house for a cozy feel on a cold evening….*I’d use unscented candles or candles that match or mix well with whatever scent your pine cones have.

This is a staple decoration throughout our house every December and January. It’s just adds a little something different, brings the outdoors in, and the pine always smells good. Now this year, it’ll smell even better with some cinnamon or orange hints. If you don’t have pine trees in your yard, ask a neighbor or friend if you can gather up their pine cones or even take a cutting or two from a tree, it’ll grow back and help trim some sagging branches maybe.

Of course there’s always the “bird feeder” you can make with peanut butter and bird seed….I do this every winter and the birds love me….as do the squirrels and deer (they like birdseed too).

So I admit, I’m ones of those who saves ribbons from gifts….usually not for gifts I’m giving, but for little decorations I do around the house. I happened to have some silver ribbon and paint so I just put them all in a basket and I thought, why not paint some sticks too?

So obviously none of ideas are “fancy” but for a quick and inexpensive decoration, place setting or room deodorizer, they are cute and inexpensive and you could do so many different things, using different paint colors, bowls or baskets, ribbon….look around your yard and house and you’ll probably have most everything you need. The essential oils don’t cost a lot and you can also find ribbon, baskets, and glass dishes at thrift stores or garage sales for next to nothing.

My husband’ a great sport! When he got home the other day, the kitchen was full of pine cones, pine tree leaves, sticks, rocks, baskets, and it smelled like spray paint and baked pine cones….he didn’t even ask why or raise an eyebrow!

Tammy’s Tip ‘O the Day!

I would line any expensive wood dish or basket with some type of cloth in case any oil comes off the pine cones, just to be safe.