"How To Fascinate Your Friends Into Oh's... & Aw's... And Make Them All Warm & Fuzzy Inside!"

...Amaze Your Friends With Your Very Own Warm & Fuzzy Pine cone Christmas Tree...

Site Created August 8, 2009.

Dear Pine Cone Craft Enthusiast,

Pine cones grow on evergreen trees which are located mostly in the Northern Hemisphere.

Pinecones have that natural warmth to them. The female cones make excellent decorating tools or ornaments for the Christmas season festivities.

They come in many sizes and shapes, however I particularly like the wide and rounded Red Pine Cones better. Ponderosa Pine cones or Lodge Pole Pine cones have this athletic shape as well. They make your decorations appear rich, strong and durable.

Pine Cones that are preserved with tender loving care can ensure you a lifetime of decorative uses.

If you live anywhere near Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, you can find god-zillions of these pine cones sitting proudly on the ground waiting for someone to comment on how handsome they are.

The only people I know that give them the 'Big Sigh' are Lawn Care Workers. They must rake them away before they pass their lawn mowers to cut the grass beneath the tree.

If the lawn-care workers pass his/her lawn mower over them, they dull the mower's grass blades. So the Workers really like it when people pick them up for whatever reason.

The problem lies in the lack of creative artists or ignorance. They have so many attractive uses it literally blows my mind. So here's where I come in. Since 98.3% of people simply ignore them, I've decided to put them to beautiful use.

Check out my Pine cone Crafts Store.

My daughter and I have collected tens of thousands of these cones since 2005. Through a great deal of trial and error we've discovered many incorrect ways to preserve these amazing natural objects. And we're going to share every correct step from picking, preparing, painting, polishing to decorating your very own Pine cone Christmas Tree Masterpiece.

Step #1

It takes 10 minutes or less to snatch up 200 pine cones while they are plentiful. During early Spring, March - June, they fall from pine needle trees and simply cover the ground like apples do in the Fall (Autumn).

Every 2nd year I've discovered a decline of pine cones under my favourite pine tree. I'm not sure if the weather has anything to do with this observation, however they seem to reappear the following year in greater numbers.

Once the weather changes to sunshine with a nice brisk wind the pine cones expand and detach themselves easily from the tree. Some days I would get clunked on my head forcing me to wear a baseball cap.

side view of a pine cone

They are not heavy enough to knock you out, however they do have sharp edges. The dry warm wind continually loosens their tree grip so you can repeatedly visit your favourite pine tree for another 50 cones the very next day. This continues throughout the Spring and Summer months.

It's always better to pick them on a third day following two full days of sunshine. The outer petals open very wide on sunny dry days. Excellent pine cones are easy to spot and pick on these days. But if you go after a rainy day, the petals are firmly closed. The rain contracts their shape making it a tad more difficult to check for damage.

Although you can easily pick a lot more during this wet stage, you'll have much more work ahead to do. You will need to dry them under a hot sun to check for quality and cleanliness.

This is unnecessary work and rather tedious. I prefer the sunny day picking as it saves a lot of time and effort.

Below is a picture of pine cones we had to dry under the sun to check for damage and dirt.

Washed Pine Cones