During our stay in the Black Hills of South Dakota, our campsite was situated under several evergreen trees that had recently showered the ground with pinecones. Our kids were eager to scoop some up as souvenirs of our stay. So we bagged them up and they traveled all the way back to Pennsylvania. With Christmas around the corner I was on the hunt for something creative the kids and I could do with them. So I turned to Pinterest, where I found a few crafty bloggers who created paint dipped pinecones.
Of course the project seemed simple enough. (Famous last words!) We set up a space in the garage where the pinecones would be left in peace to drip dry. And we (attempted to) secure paper clips around the tops of the pinecones to use as temporary hooks for drying.
We already had a can of white paint leftover from a previous painting project. I poured it into smaller cans so it would be easier to submerge the pinecones. After dipping the first pinecone I felt the paint was a bit too thick, so I used a little bit of water to thin it out some. We had some problems with the pinecones falling off of the paper clip hooks, so the kids and I ended up getting a lot of paint on our hands. I think if I had used finer gauge wire hooks (like ornament hooks) I could have wound the wire tighter around the tops of the pinecones. Live and learn. 🙂
I also made a tactical error when doing this little project. It is now getting pretty cold at night here in Pennsylvania, and my paint station was set up in our unheated garage. And I had forgotten that when pinecones get cold and damp, they close up. And that’s just what these pinecones did … right around those temporary paperclip hooks. Womp, womp.
So will I ever try this project again? Possibly–I don’t give up easily. 🙂 (Jarrett is joking that it must mean we have to go back to the Black Hills–he’s rather eager to get back there!) I think spray painting the pinecones would have been a lot easier and would have achieved more consistent results. In the meantime, though, I think the grandparents will still enjoy this little gift from their grandchildren. Now please excuse me while I go try to figure out how to get the rest of the paperclip hooks off the other dozen pinecones. Oy!
If our foiled results haven’t discouraged you from giving this a try, go see how these should have turned out by checking out this blog. And be sure to follow us on Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, where we share all kinds of ideas related to camping and traveling. Happy camping … and crafting!
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