by N. A. Hernandez

Created on: December 07, 2007   Last Updated: January 26, 2008

Pine cones go so beautifully with Christmas, so making one into an ornament and hanging it on your tree can look beautiful. Creating your own specail touches and seeing them hanging throughout the season can enlighten your mood and bring a smile to your face. It is a fun arts and crafts project to get your children involved in and you can save the ornaments that your family creates for years and years to come.

If you are gathering the pine cones from a tree then you are going to want to debug them. Many little bugs can live inside the pine cones and you do not want them all over your tree. So to debug your pine cones you can place them in a plastic bag tightly for about 2 to 3 days, or place on a baking sheet lines with foil and bake them on low heat for about 1 to 2 hours. Either way is effective at killing the bugs that may be lurking in your pine cones.

Here is a fun way to decorate a pine cone into an ornament...

Pine Cones (of course)
Glitter spray paint or plain glitter and glue
Metallic green and red paints
Paintbrush
Ribbon or thread (to hang it up)

Lay newspaper out on the desired working space.
Spray paint the cones
While still wet if your child desired plain glitter rather then spray glitter, then have them roll the pine cone around in the glitter. You can place the glitter in a shallow bowl that has enough room to allow your child to roll the pine cone in. Or they can use their hands and sprinkle the glitter over it.
Spray paint the pine cone again until desired color is reached.
Place the pine cone up on its base to completely dry.
Next cut a piece of the thread or ribbon about 4 or 5 inches long.
Glue one side of each ribbon or thread to the top part of the pine cone to be able to hang it from.
You can add a bow to the top of the pine cone with a bell if you desire.

Pine cone ornaments are fun and easy to make. you can hang them on a tree or gather a bunch together in a basket as a pretty table piece decoration.

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